Fifth Open House at Dürr Technology Center in Bietigheim-Bissingen – Dürr presents new painting robot to trade audience
09/23/2005
- Range of services widened: New test center for seam sealing
- Plasma oven and other innovations
- Over 500 visitors from Germany and abroad expected
- Environment Minister Tanja Gönner in attendance
Dürr Systems GmbH is further expanding its global leadership in automotive painting systems with innovative high-tech products and services. At its 2005 Open House, which begins today, the company is introducing for the first time the newly developed EcoRP E painting robot. At the same time, Dürr is presenting many other innovations designed to lower costs and raise quality in the painting process for automobiles and trim parts in mass production. Over 500 guests, including Baden-Württemberg's minister for environmental affairs, Tanja Gönner, are expected to attend during the six-day event at the Dürr Technology Center in Bietigheim-Bissingen.
"Up with painting quality, down with costs"
"We are pursuing a clear goal in product development. Our motto is 'up with painting quality, down with costs,' says Dr. Hans Schumacher, Managing Director of Dürr Systems GmbH and host in Bietigheim-Bissingen, in outlining Dürr's innovation strategy. The new EcoRP E robot, which is especially designed to replace older painting machines in existing paint booths, fulfills this aspiration in several ways at once. On the one hand, it allows very short installation and start-up times. On the other, it offers more flexibility, for example, in roof painting, because it moves on a traversing rail mounted below the booth ceiling.
Robot facelift brings more flexibility of movement
Besides the newly developed EcoRP E, Dürr is also presenting in Bietigheim- Bissingen a facelift of the proven EcoRP line of robots, of which over 2,000 have already been sold. This version has significantly more flexibility of movement thanks to a redesign of its horizontal arm, hand axle, and housing. It allows, for example, parts with complex geometry to be painted optimally even in relatively small booths, an advantage especially for automobile industry suppliers in painting vehicle trim parts.
Even more customer services through new sealing test center
Dürr is opening the doors of its new test center for sealing processes for the first time at the 2005 Open House. It gives customers and material producers the opportunity together with Dürr to test and optimize production processes before employing them in mass production. Four state-of-the-art robots are on hand with which all process of applying high-viscosity materials can be tested.
"The new test center represents a further expansion of our range of services. That puts us on the right path because the future lies in an integrated offering of sophisticated services and technologically leading products with maximum customer benefit," said Ralf Dieter, within Dürr AG’s Board of Management in charge of the Paint and Assembly Systems division, today at the opening of the Open House before factory, planning, and paint shop executives from the automobile industry.
Paint consumption significantly lower with ESTA interior painting
Another featured topic at the Bietigheim-Bissingen event is the use of electrostatic application for metallic painting and vehicle interior painting. In both cases, paint consumption and painting costs per car body can be significantly reduced. In the case of interior painting by robot, for example, using Dürr ESTA technology increases application efficiency to as high as 65%, while conventional air atomizers achieve at most 35%. The ESTA technology opens up further opportunities to save through lower energy consumption, lower costs for waste disposal, airflow management, and booth cleaning and reduced emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). At the same time, ESTA painting offers higher first-run rates, better quality results, and more productivity by shortening cycle times.
Better scratch resistance through UV plasma drying
In the area of drying technology, Dürr is introducing the innovative PlasmaCure ultraviolet curing process. That does not involve curing the clear coat on the car body with ultraviolet lamps, but rather with a plasma process in a plasma chamber. PlasmaCure increases scratch resistance considerably. Also, the problem of "shadow areas," such as the heavy-wear entry area on the vehicle doorsill, can be solved. "PlasmaCure not only sets new quality standards, but is also an emission-free and energy-saving process that meets the demands of our customers regarding economy and environmental soundness," summarizes Dr. Uwe Siewert, Managing Director of Dürr Systems GmbH.
Environment Minister Tanja Gönner in attendance
The fifth Open House event in Bietigheim-Bissingen will run from September 23 to 30. Visitors will be able to gather information on what is new, taken to the next level, and visionary from Dürr at eleven demo stations and in technical presentations. On September 27, Baden-Württemberg's minister for environmental affairs, Tanja Gönner, is attending Dürr's event in Bietigheim-Bissingen to inform herself about the company's contribution to environmentally sound and energy-saving production processes.
Family Day afterwards
Following the Open House, Dürr is holding a Family Day event in Bietigheim-Bissingen on October 1. Employees will then be able to introduce their families and friends to their workplace and the site.
The Dürr Group is one of the world's leading suppliers of production systems and of modules and components in the area of measuring and process systems. The company is focusing on its core business in the areas of painting technology with emphases on robot and application technology, final assembly and automation technology, environmental and energy technology, and mechanical engineering. Its main customer groups are the automotive industry and its suppliers as well as the general industry sector. Dürr achieved sales revenues of € 1.9 billion in 2004 with about 7,300 employees.
Digital pictures of the new EcoRP E painting robot and of Dr. Uwe Siewert and Dr. Hans Schumacher may be obtained by request from the above-named contact persons.
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