Coating installation and associated operating method having a simulation of the amount of coating agent required

A coating installation for coating components with a coating agent, having

• a) a coating station with at least one robot station arranged in the coating station, the robot station comprising a coating robot for coating the components with the coating agent,
• b) a conveyor for feeding the components to be coated into the coating station,
• c) an information source for providing a component identifier which is assigned to the component fed into the coating station, the component identifier in each case representing the component type of the component fed into the coating station by the conveyor and the coating agent type of the coating agent to be applied to the respective component,
• d) a paint supply device for providing the coating agent to be applied with a specific coating agent quantity required for coating the respective component according to the respective component type and the respective coating agent type,
• e) a pig source station at the paint supply device,
• f) a pig destination station at the robot station in the coating station,
• g) a pig line connecting the pig source station to the pig destination station for conveying the coating agent quantity required for coating the component at the robot station from the paint supply device through the pig line to the robot station, and
• h) a paint supply controller for controlling the coating agent quantity which is filled into the pig line from the paint supply device at the pig source station and conveyed through the pig line to the pig destination station, wherein
• i) a simulation computer is provided which simulates a coating of the respective component,
• j) the simulation computer receives from the information source the component identifier with the component type and the coating agent type for the respective component which is fed into the coating station by the conveyor,
• k) the simulation computer calculates from the component type and the coating agent type, by simulating the coating, the required coating agent quantity which is required at the robot station for coating the respective component, and
• l) the simulation computer transmits the required coating agent quantity to the paint supply controller, so that the paint supply controller fills the required coating agent quantity into the pig line with the pig source station.