Annular LED Spray Gun Lighting for Uniform Coating Assessment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Achieving a homogeneous and uniform coating on complex objects with undercuts, openings, or irregular surfaces is challenging, especially under unfavorable lighting conditions, requiring skilled operators and leading to potential quality defects and increased material usage.
Innovation Solution
A detachable illumination device with an annular LED illuminant carrier is integrated into the spray gun, providing continuous or adjustable lighting to enhance visibility during coating, and includes a counter electrode to improve electrostatic coating quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the spray gun is operated under unfavorable lighting conditions, then the coating process can continue without interruption, but the coating quality cannot be properly assessed and defects occur
Solution Approach 1:
An illumination device is introduced as an intermediary element between the spray gun and the work area. This device includes an annular illuminant carrier with LED illuminants that provide directed lighting exactly where needed - on the surface being coated - enabling real-time quality assessment without interrupting the coating process.
2Manufacturing precision
If better lighting conditions are provided to assess coating quality, then coating defects can be detected early, but the coating process must be interrupted and additional equipment is needed
Solution Approach 1:
The illumination device is merged with the spray gun system through detachable connection. The annular illuminant carrier connects to the gun barrel via a connecting bar with electrical connection, combining the lighting function with the spraying function. This allows the illumination device to be attached when needed and removed when not needed, maintaining productivity while enabling quality assessment.
Solution Approach 2:
The illumination device is designed to be dynamically adjustable - it can be detached and reattached to the spray gun as needed. The connecting bar allows for electrical connection when attached, and the entire assembly can be quickly removed to restore the spray gun to its original configuration, enabling flexible adaptation to different working conditions.
3Manufacturing precision
If an illumination device is permanently integrated into the spray gun, then lighting is always available for quality assessment, but the spray gun structure becomes more complex and harder to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The illumination device is segmented from the main spray gun body into a separate, detachable unit. The annular illuminant carrier with LED illuminants can be independently attached to or removed from the gun barrel, avoiding permanent integration. This segmentation maintains the simplicity of the original spray gun while adding the illumination capability when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The connecting bar serves multiple functions: it provides mechanical support for the annular illuminant carrier, establishes electrical connection for power supply to the LEDs, and enables detachable mounting. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components, simplifying the overall structure while achieving the desired integration.
4Manufacturing precision
If the annular illuminant carrier is positioned close to the gun barrel for optimal lighting, then coating quality can be assessed in real-time, but the illuminants may be contaminated by coating material
Solution Approach 1:
The annular illuminant carrier is positioned at a specific distance from the gun barrel - close enough to provide optimal illumination of the work area for real-time quality assessment, but far enough to minimize direct contamination from coating material. This local positioning optimization balances the competing requirements of lighting effectiveness and contaminant avoidance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables inexperienced operators to achieve optimal coating results with reduced material usage and time, while preventing defects like 'orange peel' and 'electrical wrap around', thus enhancing coating uniformity and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
The illuminant carrier (5) has at least one illuminant (6), particularly in the form of an LED
Implementation Method 2
The illumination device (4) furthermore has a counter electrode (12)
Data Source
AI summary
A spray gun, in particular a powder spray gun, has a handle part and a gun barrel connected to the handle part. The spray gun further includes an illumination device for continuously or optionally illuminating and/or lighting at least one region of an object to be coated by the spray gun. The illumination device is detachably and in particular exchangeably connected to the spray gun and has a ring-shaped lighting means carrier with at least one lighting means, in particular in the form of an LED. The lighting means carrier extends around a downstream region of the gun barrel, on which it is radially supported.