Method and system for spraying material in a spray pattern having a variable form and collecting excess material
AssigneeFANUC Robotics North America, Inc.
InventorsRaymond J. Guzowski, David W. Lazar
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A variable form spray system includes a robot manipulator, a masking tool assembly integrated with the manipulator, sealer supply hardware which supplies spray material to the manipulator and sealer recovery hardware which recovers material sprayed and skived by the masking tool assembly. Spray pattern form is controlled by collecting overspray using adjustable skive manifolds of the assembly on each side of the spray pattern which function to vacuum off the edges of the airless spray pattern. The positions of the skive manifolds are programmable.
Claims18
A method for spraying a material in a spray pattern having a variable form, the method comprising the steps of:
- a. providing a material supply means for supplying a material which is a fluid;
- b. providing a material spray means for spraying the material from the material supply means along a spray path in a spray pattern having an initial width at a workpiece position spaced from the material spray means along the spray path;
- c. providing a masking means for obstructing a selected portion of the spray path;
- d. operating the material spray means to spray the material along the spray path in the spray pattern;
- e. generating a first set of control signals for moving the masking means to obtain a desired width of the spray pattern at the workpiece position;
- and
- f. moving the masking means relative to the spray path in response to the first set of control signals to obstruct a selected portion of the spray path of the material to reduce the initial width of the spray pattern to the desired width at the workpiece position.
A method for spraying a material in a spray pattern having variable width and for collecting overspray material, the method comprising the steps of:
- a. providing a material supply means for supplying a material which is a fluid;
- b. spraying the material along a spray path in a spray pattern having an initial width at a workpiece position along the spray path;
- c. generating a first set of control signals for moving a masking means to obtain a desired width of the spray pattern at the workpiece position;
- d. providing masking means for selectively obstructing the spray path of the material;
- e. moving the masking means relative to the spray path in response to the first set of control signals to obstruct a selected portion of the spray path adjacent a first side of the spray pattern to reduce the initial width of the spray pattern at the workpiece position;
- and
- f. collecting a first portion of overspray material obstructed by the masking means adjacent the first side of the spray pattern during the step of spraying.
A method for the programmable definition of edges of a desired spray pattern of a fluid material and the recovery of overspray material, the method comprising the steps of:
- a. providing a plurality of skive manifolds each for obstructing an associated selected portion of a spray path of fluid material being sprayed;
- b. providing a storage tank;
- c. controlling a position of each of the skive manifolds relative to the spray path to obstruct the associated selected portion of the spray path outside a periphery of a desired spray pattern;
- d. collecting overspray fluid material obstructed by the skive manifolds in the selected portions of the spray path during spraying of the fluid material along the spray path;
- and
- e. directing the collected overspray fluid material to flow into the storage tank.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.