Method of electronically tracking physical deposition of coating material

An electronic computing device configured for electronically tracking of spray coating of a coating fluid on a physical surface by a spray gun arranged to spray the coating fluid in a spray direction, the device comprising:

• a communication unit arranged to:
• receive, from a distance sensor module comprising at least one distance sensor, the distance sensor module being connected to the spray gun, distance data provided with a second timestamp, the distance data indicating a physical distance between the spray gun and the surface;
• obtain, from an electronic memory, three-dimensional coating model data of a spray cone associated with the spray gun;
• receive, from a positional sensing system connected to the spray gun, position data provided with a third timestamp, the position data providing an indication of the spray gun relative to a first position on the physical surface;
• obtain, from a flow indicator, coating fluid flow data provided with a first timestamp, the fluid flow data providing an indication of a mass flow rate of the coating fluid through the spray gun;
• and
• a processing unit arranged to:
• adjust the coating model data based on the coating fluid flow data;
• match the fluid flow data, the distance data and the position data over time based on the first timestamp, the second timestamp and the third timestamp;
• calculate, based on the distance data, the position data and the three-dimensional coating model, coating deposition area data of positional spray coating deposition on an area of the physical surface per unit of time;
• and
• calculate, based on the coating deposition area data of positional spray coating deposition on the area of the physical surface per unit of time, thickness of a layer of coating fluid on the physical surface.

A computer program product comprising computer executable instructions causing a computer, when the instructions are executed by a processor comprised by the computer, to execute a method of electronically tracking of spray coating of a coating fluid on a physical surface by a spray gun arranged to spray the coating fluid in a spray direction, the method comprising:

• receiving, from a distance sensor module comprising at least one distance sensor, the distance sensor module being connected to the spray gun, distance data provided with a second timestamp, the distance data indicating a physical distance between the spray gun and the surface;
• obtaining, from an electronic memory, three-dimensional coating model data of a spray cone associated with the spray gun;
• receiving, from a positional sensing system connected to the spray gun, position data provided with a third timestamp, the position data providing an indication of the spray gun relative to a first position on the physical surface;
• obtaining coating fluid flow data provided with a first timestamp, the fluid flow data providing an indication of a mass flow rate of the coating fluid through the spray gun;
• adjusting the coating model data based on the coating fluid flow data;
• matching the fluid flow data, the distance data and the position data over time based on the first timestamp, the second timestamp and the third timestamp;
• calculating, based on the distance data, the position data and the three-dimensional coating model, coating deposition area data of positional spray coating deposition on an area of the physical surface per unit of time;
• and
• calculating, based on the coating deposition area data of positional spray coating deposition on the area of the physical surface per unit of time, thickness of a layer of coating fluid on the physical surface.