The present invention relates to an apparatus (100) for applying a
coating agent (11) to a substrate (5) movable by a feeding device, particularly for applying a
lubricant to a sheet or continuous strip of
metal that can be supplied to a forming press or
deep drawing process, comprising at least one injection valve (4) in which the
coating agent (11) is permanently present under pressure and can be applied to the substrate (5) for atomization through a
nozzle opening (13) and an air cap (14), wherein the injection valve (4) is provided with an
injection air valve (17) and a
nozzle opening (13) variable in the outlet area by means of a
nozzle needle (7) adjustable in its position, wherein an electrical actuation is provided for opening / closing and adjusting the nozzle needle (7). The
actuator (8) and the
position sensor (9) for detecting the current position of the nozzle needle (7) are connected in
signal technology to the
control unit (10) of the injection valve (4) and directly or indirectly to the central
control unit (3) of the device (100), wherein the
actuator (8) has an electrically
linear drive that can adjust the nozzle needle (7) without stopping and the
control unit (10) or the central control unit (3) is adapted to generate,
encode and decode
pulse width modulation encoded command signals (1) and / or feedback signals (2) for multiple adjustment links of the at least one injection valve (4) to coat a predefined, variable amount of
coating agent (11) onto the substrate (5) through the injection valve (4).