Mechanical and plant engineering company Dürr produced its 18,000th painting robot for Audi in Ingolstadt, Germany. The robot features the latest EcoBell4 atomizer with 4-main needle technology for rapid color changes with minimal paint and rinsing agent losses.
Dürr is equipping a new top coat line for car manufacturer Audi in Ingolstadt to paint the interior and exterior of the new Audi Q6 e-tron series. The milestone robot, an EcoRP L033i, will be installed in May in the interior paint booth. The six-axis painting robot,
Jürgen Haas, Head of Product Development Application Technology, Dürr, Marcus Treppschuh, Head of Sales Application Technology, Dürr, Jörg Spindler, Head of Manufacturing Engineering, AUDI AG, Dr. Lars Friedrich, Head of the Application Technology division, Dürr, Sven Veit, Director Manufacturing Engineering Paint Shop, AUDI AG, Hannes Kupke, Manufacturing Engineering Paint Shop Audi Ingolstadt site.
equipped with Dürr’s latest EcoBell4 atomizer, requires just four seconds for each color change thanks to the patented 4-main-needle technology. “This application technology enables us to connect our three most frequently used colors directly to the atomizer, significantly reducing paint and rinsing agent consumption,” explained Sven Veit, Director Manufacturing Engineering Paint Shop at AUDI AG. With Dürr’s latest EcoBell4 atomizer technology, the car manufacturer not only saves operating costs but also protects the environment with fewer VOC emissions.
Sustainable paint supply
The new top coat line includes a total of 28 robots and corresponding application technology. Dürr is also supplying a quality measurement cell to measure paint layer thickness, structure, and shade, as well as a cleaning station where two EcoRS Clean F robots use feather rollers to clean the car bodies. For this project, Audi is also using Dürr‘s EcoSupply P special color supply system with pigging technology to flexibly provide unlimited colors consecutively for application.
Painting robots success story
Copyright: AUDI AG
In 1998, Dürr supplied its first painting robot, an RP7 robot, to Nissan in Spain. The mechanical and plant engineering company is now on its third robot generation, introduced in 2016, benefiting from a modular structure that places the color changer and metering pump on the robot’s front arm, ensuring fast color changes with minimal paint loss and rinsing agent consumption.
At the end of April, Dürr delivered the milestone robot to Audi at its Bietigheim-Bissingen headquarters. “We are always prepared to take on a challenging project. After all, painting a large volume of cars to a high-quality standard is what we do every day. New at Audi are the numerous innovations we are implementing for the first time: the EcoBell4 with 4-main needle technology and high transfer efficiency painting technology. This is what makes the project so special,” said Dr. Lars Friedrich, Head of Division Application Technology at Dürr.
About Dürr
The Dürr Group has been established in the United States since 1970 and currently employs approximately 1,400 people. From the Campus with a state-of-art validation, testing, and training center in Southfield, MI, Dürr USA represents four of the five divisions. Paint and Final Assembly Systems offers equipment for painting and assembly processes, while Application Technology provides paint, sealants and adhesives application systems. Dürr’s Clean Technology Systems division is leading in air pollution control, noise abatement systems, and battery electrode coating lines. Dürr has three locations in the US: Dürr Systems, Inc. in Southfield, MI, and De Pere, WI; Durr Universal, Inc. in Stoughton, WI. The subsidiary Schenck USA Corp., with headquarters in Deer Park, NY, and additional locations in Hudson, MA, and Southfield, MI, offers balancing machines, vibration and condition monitoring systems, spin testing and services for the aerospace, automotive and general industry. The customers of Dürr USA include automotive and commercial vehicle manufacturers, as well as their suppliers, and a diverse group of other industries like the chemical or wood industry. HOMAG Machinery North America operates the production facilities for HOMAG Group in Grand Rapids, MI, which is also the base for the sales and service company Stiles Machinery Inc. The HOMAG Group produces machinery and equipment for the woodworking industry.
The Dürr Group is one of the world’s leading mechanical and plant engineering firms with particular expertise in the technology fields of automation, digitalization, and energy efficiency. Its products, systems, and services enable highly efficient and sustainable manufacturing processes – mainly in the automotive industry and for producers of furniture and timber houses, but also in sectors such as the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, medical devices, electrical engineering, and battery production In 2023, the company generated sales of €4.6 billion. The Dürr Group has over 20,500 employees and 142 business locations in 32 countries, and it operates in the market with five divisions:
- Paint and Final Assembly Systems: paint shops as well as final assembly, testing, and filling technology for the automotive industry
- Application Technology: robots and products for the automated application of paint, sealants, and adhesives
- Clean Technology Systems: air pollution control, coating systems for battery electrodes, and noise abatement systems
- Industrial Automation Systems: automated assembly and test systems for automotive components, medical devices, and consumer goods as well as balancing and diagnostic technology
- Woodworking Machinery and Systems: machinery and equipment for the woodworking industry
