Application system for applying a coating agent

Abstract

An application system for applying a coating agent onto a component, in particular for applying a sealant onto a motor vehicle body part, includes a material supply for providing the coating agent, a temperature control device for controlling the temperature of the coating agent, an applicator for applying the coating agent, and a coating agent line between the material supply and the applicator. The temperature control device controls the temperature of the coating agent in the coating agent line downstream of the material supply.

Claims

1. An application system for applying a coating agent to a component, comprising: a material supply for providing the coating agent, an applicator for applying the coating agent to the component, a coating agent line extending between the material supply and the applicator, and a tempering apparatus thermally coupled to the coating agent line, wherein the tempering apparatus is configured to temper the coating agent in the coating agent line downstream of the material supply; the tempering apparatus comprises a tempering device which supplies a tempered liquid heat carrier, and the tempering apparatus comprises a heat exchanger which is connected on an input side to the tempering device and on an output side supplies a tempered gaseous heat carrier for tempering the coating agent; the applicator is guided by a multi-axis application robot, and the application robot and the heat exchanger are arranged on a carriage which is configured to move along a rail, and a first energy chain upstream of the carriage, wherein the first energy chain supplies the heat exchanger on the carriage with the liquid heat carrier, and guides a line portion of the coating agent line, and feeds back the gaseous heat carrier from the heat exchanger in order to temper the line portion of the coating agent line in the first energy chain, and a second energy chain downstream of the movable carriage, wherein the second energy chain guides a line portion of the coating agent line between the carriage and the applicator, and feeds back the gaseous heat carrier from the heat exchanger in order to temper the line portion of the coating agent line in the second energy chain.

2. The application system according to claim 1, wherein, between the material supply and the applicator, the coating agent line extends at least in part into an at least partially closed receiving space, and the tempering apparatus is configured to conduct a fluid heat carrier through the receiving space to temper the coating agent.

3. The application system according to claim 1, wherein the tempering apparatus includes a heat carrier line, and the tempering apparatus is configured to conduct a fluid heat carrier through the heat carrier line to temper the coating agent.

4. The application system according to claim 3, wherein, between the material supply and the applicator, the coating agent line extends at least in part into an at least partially closed receiving space, the heat carrier line extends, at least in part, through a portion of the receiving space, and the heat carrier line includes one or more bores through a wall thereof, the heat carrier line configured to release the heat carrier flowing through the heat carrier line through the one or more bores into the receiving space for the coating agent line to temper the coating agent.

5. The application system according to claim 4, wherein the heat carrier emerges outwardly from the receiving space through openings in a wall of the receiving space.

6. The application system according to claim 4, wherein the heat carrier line has a plurality of bores through the wall thereof, the plurality of bores being evenly distributed over the part of the heat carrier line within the receiving space.

7. The application system according to claim 2, wherein the tempering apparatus includes a heat carrier line, and the coating agent line is at least in part adjacent to the heat carrier line.

8. The application system according to claim 7, wherein the heat carrier line surrounds the coating agent line.

9. The application system according to claim 8, wherein the heat carrier line surrounds the coating agent line helically.

10. The application system according to claim 7, wherein the coating agent line includes an inner wall and an outer wall, the coating agent line is configured to contain the coating agent flow within the inner wall, and the heat carrier line extends between the inner wall and the outer wall of the coating agent line.

11. The application system according to claim 1, wherein the tempering apparatus includes a nozzle in fluid communication with a heat carrier and configured to facilitate expansion of the heat carrier.

12. The application system according to claim 1, wherein the tempering apparatus comprises a Peltier element configured to cool the coating agent line.

13. The application system according to claim 1, wherein the tempering apparatus includes an electrically powered heating tube coupled to the coating agent line and configured to heat the coating agent flowing through the heating tube.

14. The application system according to claim 12, wherein the Peltier element extends over a length of at least 50 cm of the coating agent line.

15. The application system according to claim 1, wherein the applicator is guided by a multi-axis application robot, the application robot has a proximal robot arm and a distal robot arm, and the tempering apparatus tempers the coating agent at least up to the distal robot arm of the application robot.

16. The application system according to claim 1, wherein the tempering apparatus tempers the coating agent line over a line length of at least 50 cm.

17. The application system according to claim 1, wherein the tempering apparatus tempers the coating agent line over a line length of at least 20% of its overall length.

Description

DRAWINGS

(1) The disclosure is described below in greater detail together with the description of exemplary embodiments, making reference to the drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an application system according to the disclosure for applying a sealant to motor vehicle bodywork components,

(3) FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view through a double-walled coating agent line,

(4) FIG. 3 shows a side view of a coating agent line having a helical winding with a heat carrier line,

(5) FIG. 4 shows a schematic representation of a receiving space (e.g. energy chain) for a coating agent line, wherein a gaseous heat carrier is fed into the receiving space, and

(6) FIG. 5 shows a schematic representation to illustrate an application system according to the disclosure with two energy chains and a heat-exchanger arranged therebetween.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(7) FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an application system according to the disclosure for applying sealant (e.g. PVC plastisols) to a motor vehicle bodywork component.

(8) For this purpose, the application system has a multi-axis application robot 1 with a robot base 2, a rotatable robot part 3, a proximal robot arm 4 (“arm 1”), a distal robot arm 5 (“arm 2”), a robot hand axis 6 and an applicator 7. The applicator 7 may be, e.g., the “EcoGun Sealing 3D” which is sold by the applicant, although other applicator types are also usable in the context of the disclosure.

(9) The robot base 2 of the application robot 1 is mounted on a carriage 8 wherein the carriage 8 is movable along a rail 9 in the direction of the arrow. The rail 9 is herein arranged laterally beside a conveyor line and extends parallel to the conveyor line, wherein the motor vehicle bodywork components to be processed are conveyed through the application system.

(10) The supply of the sealant to be applied is carried out via a feed line 10 which extends through an energy chain 11, an energy chain 12 and a protective sleeve 13 to the applicator 7.

(11) A return line 14 extends from the applicator 7 to a material supply 30, so that the feed line 10 together with the return line 12 enables material circulation from the material supply 30 to the applicator 7.

(12) Furthermore, the application system has a tempering device 15 which provides tempered water which is conveyed via a feed line 16 to a heat exchanger 17 on the carriage 8. From the heat exchanger 17, a return line 18 extends back to the tempering device 15, enabling a material circulation of the tempered water between the tempering device 15 and the heat exchanger 17.

(13) The heat exchanger 17 tempers, as the heat carrier, ambient air and the air is then blown both into the energy chain 11 and also into the energy chain 12 in order to temper the feed line 10 which extends there for the coating agent. Furthermore, the tempered air emerging from the heat exchanger 17 is also blown into the protective sleeve 13 in order also to temper the feed line 10 extending there for the sealant.

(14) It should be mentioned herein that the two energy chains 11, 12 are configured largely closed, so that the inner temperature within the energy chains 11, 12 is essentially determined by the temperature of the air tempered by the heat exchanger 17 and blow in.

(15) The heat exchanger 17 is arranged on the displaceable carriage 8 so that the spacing between the heat exchanger 17 and the air-tempered line portions of the feed line 10 for the coating agent is as small as possible. This is important since the heat capacity of air as a heat carrier is only relatively small, so that the tempering effect of the air used as a heat carrier is sufficiently large only over a relatively short distance.

(16) In the exemplary embodiment shown, the feed line 10 for the coating agent is therefore tempered over almost its entire line length between the material supply 30 and the applicator 7, so that the sealant applied by the applicator 7 maintains the prescribed temperature regardless of the ambient temperature.

(17) FIG. 2 shows a cross-section through a variant of a coating agent line 19 according to the disclosure with an inner wall 20 and an outer wall 21. Arranged within the inner wall 20 is a line cross-section 22 through which, during operation, the coating agent to be applied flows. Arranged between the inner wall 20 and the outer wall 21, however, is a line cross-section 23 through which, during operation, a liquid or gaseous heat carrier (e.g. air, water) flows in order to temper the coating agent in the inner line cross-section 22.

(18) FIG. 3 shows a simplified side view of a coating agent line 24 according to the disclosure which is externally wound round helically by a heat carrier line 25 in order to temper the coating agent in the coating agent line 24.

(19) Furthermore, FIG. 4 shows a schematic representation of a coating agent line 26 which extends over part of its line length through a receiving space 27 (e.g. energy chain, protective sleeve).

(20) In addition, a heat carrier line 28 which has a plurality of equidistantly arranged bores 29 within the receiving space 27 also extends through the receiving space 27, through which bores a gaseous heat carrier (e.g. air) emerging through said bores into the receiving space 27 in order to temper the interior of the receiving space 27. Furthermore, due to the emerging air, an excess pressure is generated in the receiving space 27, by means of which contamination of the interior of the receiving space 27, for example, by overspray is largely prevented. The tempered air emerging through the bores 29 therefore generates a defined space climate in the receiving space 27 in order to temper the coating agent in the coating agent line 26.

(21) FIG. 5 shows a schematic representation of the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 1, so that, for the avoidance of repetition, reference is made to the above description, wherein the same reference signs are used for corresponding details.

(22) From this schematic illustration, it is clear that tempered air is fed from the heat exchanger 17 via heat carrier lines 31, 32 into the energy chains 11, 12 in order to temper the feed line 10 which extends there for the coating agent. The heat carrier lines 31, 32 can each have bores within the energy chains 11, 12, from which the tempered air can emerge into the interior of the respective energy chain 11, 12 in order to temper the interior of the energy chains.

(23) The disclosure is not restricted to the above-described pexemplary embodiments. Rather a plurality of variants and derivations is possible which also may make use of the disclosure.