Automated manufacturing method and system and in-mold coated plastic article produced thereby

An automated system for manufacturing a coated plastic article, the system comprising:

• a compression mold having open and closed positions for making the article, the mold having upper and lower mold halves wherein one of the mold halves has a mold surface which at least partially defines an article-defining cavity;
• a program-controlled, vision-guided, first manipulator and an automatic sprayer support on the first manipulator for movement to at least two control axes for spraying at least a portion of the mold surface with an in-mold coating composition;
• a program-controlled, vision guided, second manipulator and an end effector supported on the second manipulator for movement to at least two control axes for picking a heated blank of moldable plastic sheet material from an oven and placing the heated blank over the cavity at a predefined position and orientation between the upper and lower mold halves;
• the other one of the mold halves forcing an inner portion of the heated blank into the article-defining cavity and into contact with at least a portion of the in-mold coating composition, wherein the mold halves cause the in-mold coating composition and the inner portion of the blank to cure and bond to one another so as to form the coated plastic article in the closed position of the mold.