Automatic painting and maintaining wet-surface of artifacts
AssigneeABB Schweiz AG
InventorsDidier Rouaud, Michael G. Nelson, Srinivas Nidamarthi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system and method of coating a workpiece is disclosed. A controller is in electronic communication with a robotic manipulator having a coating dispenser. A layer of coating is applied to a surface of the workpiece by the robot. A wet-surface time is determined corresponding to the areas of the surface upon which the layer of coating is applied. A second layer of coating is applied prior to the expiration of the wet-surface time of the first layer. The layers of coating in adjacent segments can be applied in an overlapping manner within the boundary regions of the segments.
Claims16
A computer-implemented method of coating a workpiece, comprising:
- establishing electronic communication between a controller having a processor and at least one robot having a coating applicator;
- executing instructions with the processor that control the robot, the instructions written on a non-transient computer-readable medium;
- determining, with the controller, a wet-surface time corresponding to each of a plurality of segments of the surface of the workpiece upon which a first layer of coating is to be applied;
- selecting at least one segment from the plurality of segments of the workpiece based at least in part on the wet-surface time for the first layer of coating as determined by the controller, wherein the selecting step includes changing a size of the at least one segment to permit complete coating of the at least one segment with the first layer of coating prior to a last wet-surface time of any area in the at least one segment elapsing;
- applying the first layer of coating to the at least one segment of said surface of the workpiece with the at least one robot;
- and,
- applying a second layer of coating to the at least one segment for which the wet-surface time has been determined by the controller with the at least one robot prior to the wet-surface time elapsing for the at least one segment.
A method of coating a workpiece, comprising:
- determining, with a controller, a wet-surface time corresponding to each of a first segment and a second segment of a surface of the workpiece upon which a layer of coating is to be applied;
- selecting the first segment of the surface of the workpiece based at least in part on the wet-surface time for the layer of coating determined by the controller, wherein the selecting step includes changing a size of the first segment to permit complete coating of the first segment with the layer of coating prior to a last wet-surface time of any area in the first segment elapsing;
- automatically dispensing, with at least one robot a first coating layer over the first segment and the second segment of an artifact, the first coating layer having an average thickness over the first segment and a thickness that tapers so that an average thickness over at least an area of a boundary region of the first segment and a boundary region of the second segment is less than the average thickness over the first segment;
- and,
- automatically dispensing with the at least one robot a second coating layer over the second segment of the artifact before the wet-surface time for the first segment, the second coating layer having an average thickness over the second segment and tapers so that a reduced thickness less than the average thickness over the second segment extends over at least an area of the boundary region of the first segment and the boundary region of the second segment.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.