Printhead Control for High-Speed Coating Precision
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional rotary atomizers have limited application efficiency, resulting in significant overspray, while newer printhead technologies struggle with precise control at high speeds due to long robot control cycle times, making it difficult to achieve accurate and efficient coating of small areas.
Innovation Solution
A separate printhead control system is introduced, operating with a shorter cycle time than the robot control, allowing for precise temporal and spatial control of the coating agent jet, enabling high dynamic and spatial accuracy in coating applications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a printhead is used to coating a limited area on a component surface, then application efficiency is improved and overspray is reduced, but the control precision of the paint jet in terms of time and space becomes more difficult to achieve at high speeds
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is segmented into two independent parts: a robot control for positioning the printhead and a separate printhead control for managing the paint jet. This segmentation allows each controller to operate at its own optimal cycle time, resolving the conflict between high-speed operation and precise control.
Solution Approach 2:
A communication interface acts as an intermediary between the robot control and printhead control, enabling coordination between the two systems. The printhead control receives position information from the robot control and independently manages the paint jet timing, ensuring precise coating boundaries at high speeds.
2Productivity
If the robot moves quickly to achieve high area performance, then productivity is improved, but the reaction time required for precise switch-on and switch-off of the applicator becomes too short for usual robot controls
Solution Approach 1:
The control functions are segmented such that the printhead control independently manages the paint jet switching with its own fast cycle time, separate from the robot control's positioning cycle time. This eliminates the bottleneck where the robot control's longer cycle time limited the response speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the printhead control cycle time to match the actual coating requirements, allowing the paint jet to be switched on and off with the necessary speed and precision independent of the robot's movement speed.
3Device complexity
If the cycle time of the robot control is used for controlling the printhead valves, then device complexity is reduced, but the temporal accuracy required for precise painting cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is divided into a robot control unit for positioning and a separate printhead control unit for temporal control of the paint jet. This segmentation introduces additional complexity in terms of system architecture but enables the necessary temporal accuracy that cannot be achieved with a single unified controller.
Solution Approach 2:
A communication interface serves as the intermediary between the robot control and printhead control, allowing the two systems to coordinate their operations. This interface manages the data exchange and synchronization, justifying the added complexity by enabling precise temporal control.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure concerns a coating device for coating components with a coating agent, in particular for painting motor vehicle body components, with a printhead, a multi-axis coating robot and with a robot control which controls the coating robot. The disclosure additionally provides for a separate printhead control which controls the printhead valve of the printhead.