ABB says its robots have helped Electrolux reduce the emissions at its manufacturing plant in Dudley Park, South Australia.
The company installed a fully automated and flexible powder coating facility for oven and grill cavities at the plant, replacing a wet enamel flow-coating process.
The new process consists of a four stage ceramic powder coating line in which different sized and orientated oven and grill cavities are suspended from a moving, overhead transfer conveyor.
An IRC5 controller monitors the conveyor’s process and identifies the orientation and differences in the oven cavities and grill boxes.
Four ABB IRB 2400 six-axis robots, equipped with a ceramic powder coating nozzle system, operate in conjunction with the conveyor. Using the information from the controller, they move to the precise position to apply the appropriate powder pattern.
According to the manufacturer, the robots have helped ensure a consistent high gloss ceramic coating for over 2000 oven and grill cavities a day.
The new facility has resulted in a coating material efficiency improvement of 10%, as well as energy savings of up to 15%, due to the elimination of the drying process. This means a return on investment within two years.
The robot supplier says the choice to use six-axis articulated robots rather than linear reciprocators means the system is flexible, allowing different types of cavities to be processed at any time.