Spray support, spray device comprising such a support, and method for manufacturing such a support

Abstract

To provide a spray support, a spray device including the support, and a method of producing the support.SOLUTION: A spray support (2) includes: a housing (8) for a high-voltage unit or a high-voltage plug; a guiding element (12) for at least one coating product hose (11); a holding element (16) for an air hose (13); a first fixing element (5) for fixing the spray support (2) to a robot (3); and a second fixing element (6) for fixing the spray support (2) to a spray (4). According to the invention, the housing (8), the guiding element (12), the holding element (16), the first fixing element (5), and the second fixing element (6) are formed by a single component.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a spray substrate, a spray device comprising such a substrate, and a method for manufacturing such a substrate. [Background technology]

[0002] In spray systems, it is known to use a support to fix the sprayer to the robot. The support is usually formed by an assembly of machined parts. Each of these parts has a different function. The support must be able to connect the sprayer to the robot. In addition, it must be able to guide the fluid hoses, guide and fix the air hoses, and support the high-voltage unit. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0003] The manufacturing and joining of the various components requires considerable cost and a relatively long and complicated assembly process. [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] The present invention aims to remedy this drawback by providing a spray support that is inexpensive and easy to assemble.

[0005] To this end, the present invention relates to a spray support comprising a housing for a high-voltage unit or a high-voltage plug, a guide element for at least one coating product hose, a holding element for an air hose, a first fixing element for fixing to a robot, and a second fixing element for fixing to a sprayer. According to the present invention, the housing, the guide element, the holding element, the first fixing element and the second fixing element are formed from a single part.

[0006] According to the invention, the manufacture of the support from a single part makes it possible to reduce manufacturing costs and to facilitate the assembly of the part with the robot and the sprayer.

[0007] According to an advantageous, but not essential, feature of the invention, such a support has the following characteristics: the support is formed using additive manufacturing; the support is made of a synthetic material, preferably polyamide 12, polyoxymethylene, polyetheretherketone or polyethylene terephthalate; the support further comprising a housing for the low voltage unit, the housing being further formed from the same parts as the remainder of the support; the first fixing element, the holding element and the second fixing element are arranged in this order along the axis of the support; the housing for the high-voltage unit or the high-voltage plug is a cylinder arranged along the axis of the support; a housing for the high-voltage unit or the high-voltage plug is located between the first fixing element and the second fixing element, the inductive element is centered on the axis of the support, and the inductive element has an inner radius having a value greater than the value of the outer radius of the housing for the high-voltage unit or the high-voltage plug, preferably the difference between the value of the inner radius of the inductive element and the value of the outer radius of the housing for the high-voltage unit is 0.1 mm to 2 mm, preferably about 0.5 mm; The support has a mark for identifying the air hose. The present invention may be implemented with one or more of the above, and any technically possible combination is considered.

[0008] According to another aspect, the present invention further relates to a spraying device comprising a sprayer, a robot and a spray support, the sprayer being connected to the robot by the spray support. According to the present invention, the spray support is as described above.

[0009] This device offers the same advantages as those described for the support.

[0010] According to an advantageous but non-essential feature of the invention, such an apparatus may comprise an air hose held in place by a retaining element and at least one coating product hose guided by a guide element.

[0011] According to yet another aspect, the present invention also relates to a method for manufacturing a support as described above, characterized in that it is a multi-jet fusion additive manufacturing method.

[0012] The invention will be better understood and other advantages of the invention will become more clearly apparent upon reading the following description of one embodiment of a spray support and spray device according to the principles of the invention, given by way of example only, and by reference to the drawings, in which: [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a spray device according to the invention, with a spray support according to the invention, viewed from the bottom up; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a rear view of the support of FIG. 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a top view of the support of FIGS. 1 and 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along plane IV of FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] A spraying device 1 is partially depicted in Figure 1. The device 1 comprises a support 2, a robot 3, which may be, for example, a reciprocating robot, and a sprayer 4, which comprises at least one nozzle 42 for spraying a fluid. For clarity, only a part of the robot 3, i.e., the end of the operating arm, is depicted. The robot 3 and the sprayer 4 are depicted as transparent and dotted lines in Figure 1 and are not depicted in the other figures.

[0015] The support 2 defines a longitudinal axis X along which the robot 3 and the spray 4 are arranged.

[0016] The support 2 comprises, at one of its ends, called the distal end, a fixing element 5 for fixing the robot 3. As can be seen more clearly in Fig. 2, this fixing element 5 is horseshoe-shaped about the axis X and comprises holes 52 intended to receive screws 32 for fixing to the robot 3, depicted as dashes in the centre line in Fig. 1. In the example shown, the fixing element 5 comprises six holes 52. The fixing element 5 further comprises a mounting surface 54 intended to position the support 2 on the robot 3.

[0017] At its proximal end, opposite the distal end, the support 2 is provided with a fixing element 6 for fixing to the sprayer 4. The fixing element 6 has four legs 62, each with an orifice 64 through which a screw can be threaded to fix the sprayer 4 to the support 2. The legs 62 are connected by bridges 68 to a ring 66 centered on the axis X, the legs 62 being regularly arranged around the ring centered on the axis X and having a diameter greater than that of the ring 66. Furthermore, two of the legs 62 facing the bottom of the support 2 are connected by an arc 69 whose function is to accurately position a template (not shown in the figure). The template belongs to the device 1 and maintains a mounting intended to direct fluids and air to the sprayer 4.

[0018] The elements 5 and 6 of the support 2 are connected by a frame 7 that forms the base of the support 2. The frame 7 comprises four risers 72, each extending from one of the legs 62 and reaching the fixed element 5. The risers 72 are substantially straight and parallel to the axis X.

[0019] Thus, by means of elements 5 , 6 and 7 , the support 2 allows the connection between the robot 3 and the sprayer 4 .

[0020] The ring 66 extends along the axis X, in the direction of the fixing element 5, along a housing 8 for accommodating a high-voltage unit (not depicted). This housing 8 is a hollow cylinder, for example a cylinder with an annular base, one of whose ends is formed by the ring 66 and the other end 82 lies in the plane of the mounting surface 54. The housing 8 is more clearly seen in FIG.

[0021] As can be seen in Figure 1, a housing 10 is provided for the low-voltage unit (also not depicted). This housing 10 is fixed below the housing 8 and comprises a space 102 perpendicular to the axis X as well as an extension 104 parallel to the axis X. The space 102 and the extension 104 form a single volume to accommodate the low-voltage unit, which volume is T-shaped when viewed from below, radially relative to the axis X. At the end of the extension 104, a hole 106 allows the passage of a cable connecting the low-voltage unit to the high-voltage unit.

[0022] During operation, the high-voltage unit is located in the housing 8. The high-voltage unit is supplied with a low-voltage current provided by the low-voltage unit. Typically, the high-voltage unit is composed of a diode that allows the voltage of the current provided by the low-voltage unit to be increased. A low-voltage unit is also used to connect the assembly formed by the high-voltage unit and the low-voltage unit to ground. Typically, to connect the high-voltage unit and the low-voltage unit, the high-voltage unit is provided with a male plug and a corresponding female plug of a connector belonging to the low-voltage unit. In applying an electrostatic coating product, the device formed by the low-voltage unit and the high-voltage unit supplies a high-voltage current to the sprayer 4, making it possible to charge the paint particles sprayed from the nozzle 42.

[0023] The coating product to be applied by the spray is directed to the sprayer 4 by two hoses 11, depicted in FIG. 1 as dashes on the center line, guided by the guide element 12. The fluid may be, for example, a coating product, such as paint. The guide element 12 defines a cylindrical portion centered on the axis X and partially surrounds the housing 8. The guide element 12 is open at the bottom of the support. In practice, the guide element 12 opens at an angle of 20° to 90° about the axis X. Preferably, the angle is 65°. The guide element 12 comprises recesses 122 provided for holding the hoses 11; preferably, the hoses 11 are arranged in a staggered manner in the guide element 12. In this case, "staggered" means that the two hoses are arranged in the recesses 122 in an alternating manner over the length of the guide element. In the illustrated example, the guide element 12 comprises six recesses 122. The guidance of the hose 11 through the recess 122 makes it possible to electrically insulate the two hoses from each other so that they do not come into contact, which could cause local arcing due to the difference in voltage between the two fluids contained in the two hoses, each with its own specific resistivity.

[0024] Because the product contained in the hose 11 is at high voltage near the head of the sprayer 4 and grounded near the robot 3, the hose 11 must be long enough to prevent any creeping discharge. Wrapping the hose 11 around the inductive element 12 allows the length of the hose 11 to be increased while limiting the overall form factor of the support 2. The length of the hose 11 depends on the resistivity of the fluids to be transported by those hoses 11 and the desired voltage. For example, for a fluid with a resistivity of 3 Mohm·cm and a voltage of 100 kV, the hose 11 needs to be 850 mm. For equal voltages, the higher the resistivity of the fluid used, the shorter the hose 11 should be.

[0025] Additionally, wrapping the hose 11 around the inductive element 12 can prevent metal flakes contained in certain fluids from orienting themselves in the direction of the electric field generated by the high voltage unit, which avoids the occurrence of short circuits inherent in the fluid.

[0026] In practice, due to the sufficient length of the hose 11 and the optimized form factor of the support 2, the guide element 12 has an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the housing 8. In practice, the distance d1 separating the housing 8 from the guide element 12 is equal to the difference between the inner radius R12 of the guide element 12 and the outer radius R8 of the housing 8. This distance d1 is between 0.1 mm and 2 mm. Preferably, this distance d1 is 0.5 mm. A space 14 with a radial thickness d1 is thus formed between the guide element 12 and the housing 8. This space 14 is used to pass the air hoses 13 of the robot 3 to the sprayers 4. These air hoses 13, depicted as dashes on the centerline in FIG. 1 , are used to supply the air bladders for forming the jet of coating product emerging from the nozzles 42 of the sprayers 4, to supply the air valves of the sprayers 4, and potentially to supply and / or decelerate the turbines of the sprayers 4.

[0027] To hold the air hoses 13 in place, a retaining element 16 is arranged outside the housing 8, between the fixing element 5 and the guide element 12. The retaining element 16 defines a part of a ring around the housing 8, which part of the ring is defined by the housing 10 and comprises a housing 162 for each air hose 13. In the illustrated example, the guide element comprises 15 housings 162 distributed around the axis X for accommodating 15 air hoses, only some of which are visible in Figures 1 to 3.

[0028] In practice, the number of housings 162 does not have to be equal to 15. For example, the guide element 12 may comprise up to 25 housings 162, or conversely, fewer than 10 such housings. To identify the air hoses 13, identification marks 18 are etched on the outside of the fastening element 5. Thus, the hoses 13 are respectively fastened to the housings 162 and then extend along the housing 8, while at the same time making it easy to position them. The hoses 13 are thus parallel to the axis X, and each air hose passes through the fastening element 5 under one of the identification marks 18. The shape of the guide element 16 allows the air hoses to be quickly fastened to the guide element 16 before they are connected to the sprayer 4 by snap-fit.

[0029] In order to make the support 2 compact, it is formed using additive manufacturing methods. The housings 8 and 10, the fixing elements 5 and 6 and the support and holding elements 12 and 16 are therefore manufactured from a single part. In other words, the support 2 is manufactured from the same block of material.

[0030] Unlike the assembly of different parts, an additive manufacturing process, which may be a multi-jet fusion (MJF) manufacturing process, makes it possible to optimize the form factor of the support 2, in particular by arranging a holding element 16 between the guide element 12 and the fixing element 5. The multi-jet fusion manufacturing process consists of applying a binder and a detailing agent to the surface to be fused using powder for each layer of the part to be produced, the function of the detailing agent being to smooth the surface. A liquid agent is then deposited to fuse the desired particles. Finally, each layer of material is heated to form the part.

[0031] In addition, the identification mark 18 is directly incorporated into the support 2 during its manufacture. Therefore, there is no need to perform an additional step to etch the identification mark 18 into the part. This makes it possible to save additional time when manufacturing the support 2, and therefore leads to lower costs.

[0032] In order to keep production costs low whilst having good mechanical properties, the support 2 is made of a synthetic material, preferably polyamide 12. This is because the use of additive manufacturing in combination with polyamide 12 makes it possible to obtain a support 2 that is lightweight and resistant to the solvents used in coating product spray equipment.

[0033] In one variant, the support 2 may be made, for example, from polyoxymethylene, polyetheretherketone or polyethylene terephthalate.

[0034] In another variant, the fixing element 5 connected to the sprayer comprises a different number of holes 52, for example 3 or 10.

[0035] In one variant, the spray device comprises a different number of hoses 11, for example one or three, which transport the coating product to the spray 4. Typically, the number of hoses 11 varies from one to four. Furthermore, each hose 11 can be used to transport a rinsing product or a solvent.

[0036] In one variation, the number of legs 62 and the number of risers 72 may vary. For example, the support may include five legs 62 and five risers 72, or three legs 62 and six risers 72.

[0037] In one variant, the high-voltage unit is replaced by a high-voltage plug that is directly supplied with high-voltage current. In such a case, instead of the low-voltage unit, a connector allows the high-voltage unit to be connected to ground.

[0038] In one variant, the guide element 12 may comprise a different number of indentations, for example four or eight.

[0039] The embodiments and variations described above can be combined with each other to produce novel embodiments of the present invention. The following embodiments can be given as examples of the present invention. (Appendix 1) A spray support (2) comprising a housing (8) for a high-voltage unit or a high-voltage plug, a guide element (12) for at least one coating product hose (11), a holding element (16) for an air hose (13), a first fixing element (5) for fixing to a robot (3), and a second fixing element (6) for fixing to a sprayer (4), characterized in that the housing (8), the guide element (12), the holding element (16), the first fixing element (5) and the second fixing element (6) are formed from a single part. (Appendix 2) 10. The support (2) according to claim 1, characterized in that it is made of a synthetic material, preferably polyamide 12, polyoxymethylene, polyetheretherketone or polyethylene terephthalate. (Appendix 3) 3. A support (2) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it further comprises a housing (10) for the low-voltage unit, which is further formed from the same parts as the rest of the support. (Appendix 4) A support (2) according to any one of appendices 1 to 3, characterized in that the first fixing element (5), the holding element (16) and the second fixing element (6) are arranged in this order along the axis (X) of the support. (Appendix 5) A support (2) according to any one of appendices 1 to 4, characterized in that the housing (8) for the high-voltage unit or high-voltage plug is a cylinder arranged along the axis (X) of the support. (Appendix 6) 6. A support (2) according to any one of appendices 1 to 5, characterized in that a housing (8) for a high-voltage unit or a high-voltage plug is located between the first fixing element (5) and the second fixing element (6), the inductive element (12) is centered on the axis (X) of the support, and the inductive element has an inner radius (R12) having a value greater than the value of the outer radius (R8) of the housing (8) for the high-voltage unit or the high-voltage plug. (Appendix 7) Support (2) according to appendix 6, characterized in that the difference (d1) between the value of the inner radius of the inductive element and the value of the outer radius of the housing for the high-voltage unit is 0.1 mm to 2 mm. (Appendix 8) 8. The support (2) according to claim 7, characterized in that the difference (d1) between the value of the inner radius of the inductive element and the value of the outer radius of the housing for the high-voltage unit is about 0.5 mm. (Appendix 9) A support (2) according to any one of appendices 1 to 8, characterized in that it comprises a mark (18) for identifying the air hose (13). (Appendix 10) A spray device (1) comprising a spray (4), a robot (3) and a spray support (2), characterized in that the spray is connected to the robot by the spray support, and the spray support (2) is a support (2) according to any one of Appendices 1 to 9. (Appendix 11) 11. A spray device (1) according to claim 10, characterized in that it comprises an air hose (13) held in place by a holding element (16) and at least one coating product hose (11) guided by a guide element (12). (Appendix 12) A method for producing the support (2) according to any one of appendices 1 to 9, characterized in that it is a multi-jet fusion additive manufacturing method.

Claims

1. A spray support (2), a housing (8) for a high voltage unit or a high voltage plug; A guide element (12) for at least one coating product hose (11), the guide element defining a cylindrical portion about a longitudinal axis (X) of the support, the guide element partially surrounding a housing for a high voltage unit or a high voltage plug, the cylindrical portion being provided with offset recesses (122) on its outer periphery, the offset recesses being configured to receive the at least one coating product hose (11) in a rolled configuration and to electrically isolate the at least one coating product hose; A retaining element (16) for an air hose (13), the retaining element defining a part of a ring around a housing for a high-voltage unit or a high-voltage plug, the part of the ring comprising several housings (162) on the outer periphery of the ring for receiving and fixing one air hose each; a first fixing element (5) for fixing to the robot (3); A second fixing element (6) for fixing to the spray (4) Equipped with A support (2), characterized in that the housing (8), the guide element (12), the holding element (16), the first fixing element (5) and the second fixing element (6) are formed from a single piece.

2. 2. Support (2) according to claim 1, characterized in that it is made of synthetic material.

3. A support (2) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is made from polyamide 12, polyoxymethylene, polyether ether ketone or polyethylene terephthalate.

4. Support (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it further comprises a housing (10) for a low-voltage unit, which is further formed from the same part as the rest of the support.

5. A support (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the first fixing element (5), the holding element (16) and the second fixing element (6) are arranged in this order along the longitudinal axis (X) of the support.

6. Support (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the housing (8) for the high-voltage unit or the high-voltage plug is a cylinder arranged along the longitudinal axis (X) of the support.

7. 7. The support (2) according to claim 1, characterized in that a housing (8) for a high-voltage unit or a high-voltage plug is located between the first fixing element (5) and the second fixing element (6), that the inductive element (12) is centered on the longitudinal axis (X) of the support, and that the inductive element has an inner radius (R12) having a value greater than the value of the outer radius (R8) of the housing (8) for the high-voltage unit or the high-voltage plug.

8. Support (2) according to claim 7, characterized in that the difference (d1) between the value of the inner radius of the inductive element and the value of the outer radius of the housing for the high-voltage unit is between 0.1 mm and 2 mm.

9. 9. Support (2) according to claim 8, characterized in that the difference (d1) between the value of the inner radius of the inductive element and the value of the outer radius of the housing for the high-voltage unit is about 0.5 mm.

10. Support (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that it comprises a mark (18) for identifying the air hose (13).

11. 11. The support (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the guide element (12) comprises at least one recess (122) for guiding the at least one coating product hose (11) and for isolating the at least one coating product hose from each other.

12. A spraying device (1) comprising a spray (4), a robot (3) and a spray support (2), characterized in that the spray is connected to the robot by the spray support, and the spray support (2) is a support (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

13. 13. A spray device (1) according to claim 12, characterized in that it comprises an air hose (13) held in place by a holding element (16) and at least one coating product hose (11) guided by a guide element (12).

14. A method for producing a support (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that it is a multi-jet fusion additive manufacturing method.

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