US-12623241-B2 - Base body for a coating cell of a coating system, coating cell having such a base body and coating system having at least one coating cell

US12623241B2US 12623241 B2US12623241 B2US 12623241B2US-12623241-B2

Abstract

A main part for a coating cell of a coating plant has a modular design and is an exchangeable element within the entire system of the coating plant. The main part is further designed to be connectible to at least one sidewall in the form of a module, to provide a particularly user-specifically configured coating cell.

Inventors

Peter Steiger
Georg Steger

Assignees

GEMA SWITZERLAND GMBH

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20210519
Priority Date: 20200520

Claims (13)

1 . A coating cell of a coating system, comprising: a base body having a modular structure; a side wall with a roof section; and an open side opposite the side wall, the open side having no wall so as to facilitate access into the coating cell by coating robot, wherein the side wall is a single uninterrupted wall fully defining a perimeter of the coating cell together with the open side, and wherein the base body comprises an integrated extraction system for suctioning or drawing off overspray powder during a coating operation of the coating cell.
2 . The coating cell according to claim 1 , wherein the base body is configured to be connected to a further base body of the same kind or type, so as to form at least one section of a coating line of the coating system.
3 . The coating cell according to claim 1 , wherein the base body forms a lower part and a cell floor of the coating cell and exhibits a polygonal surface area.
4 . The coating cell according to claim 3 , wherein the base body has at least one tub-shaped, trough-shaped or recessed interior area forming the cell floor of the coating cell which has at least one surface inclined or curved in a direction of a vent or in a direction of an extraction duct.
5 . The coating cell according to claim 4 , wherein the base body exhibits a frame-shaped exterior area which at least partially accommodates the at least one tub-shaped, trough-shaped or recessed interior area.
6 . The coating cell according to claim 5 , wherein the base body comprises an integrated extraction system for suctioning or drawing off overspray powder during a coating operation of the coating cell; and wherein the integrated extraction system comprises at least one first vent formed in the frame-shaped exterior area and arranged centrally in a side wall of the exterior area and fluidically connected to a vacuum source, wherein the at least one first vent is fluidically connected to at least one second vent which opens into the interior area and/or to at least one extraction duct formed at least in part in the interior area by a system of ducts formed between the exterior area and the interior area.
7 . The coating cell according to claim 6 , wherein the at least one first vent formed in the frame-shaped exterior area is fluidically connectable to an extraction system of a further base body of the same kind or type.
8 . The coating cell according to claim 4 , wherein the base body has two adjacently arranged tub-shaped, trough-shaped or recessed interior areas in mirrored configuration of each other which are accommodated in a common frame-shaped exterior area.
9 . The coating cell according to claim 8 , wherein the base body comprises an integrated extraction system for suctioning or drawing off overspray powder during a coating operation of the coating cell; and wherein the extraction system comprises at least one first vent formed in the frame-shaped exterior area and arranged centrally in a side wall of the exterior area and fluidically connectable to a vacuum source, wherein the at least one first vent is fluidically connected to a second vent which opens into a first of the two interior areas as well as to a third vent which opens into a second of the two interior areas by a system of ducts formed between the exterior area and the two interior areas.
10 . The coating cell according to claim 9 , wherein the at least one first vent formed in the frame-shaped exterior area is fluidically connectable to an extraction system of a further base body of the same kind or type.
11 . The coating cell according to claim 4 , wherein the base body comprises an integrated blow-off system for pulsed release of compressed air along the at least one inclined or curved surface and toward the vent or the extraction duct.
12 . The coating cell according to claim 11 , wherein the blow-off system comprises at least one blow-off rail, wherein the at least one blow-off rail has at least one blow-off vent which opens into the interior area within an edge area of the interior area.
13 . A coating system for coating and/or surface treatment of workpieces which comprises at least two coating cells according to claim 1 connected in series and to each other.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) This application is the national phase of PCT Application No. PCT/EP2021/063263 filed on May 19, 2021, which claims priority to German Application No. 102020113645.5 filed on May 20, 2020, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. BACKGROUND The present disclosure relates in general to the surface treatment of workpieces and in particular to the coating of workpieces with coating material, in particular coating powder. According to one aspect of the present disclosure, same relates to a coating booth or respectively coating cell of a coating system optimized for coating workpieces. Coating booths or coating cells for coating workpieces, in particular with coating powder, are known in general from the prior art. Such coating booths or coating cells usually comprise a coating chamber having a booth floor, two oppositely positioned workpiece passageways as well as a conveyor device for transporting workpieces to be coated through the coating chamber. For example, printed publication EP 0 071 756 A2 relates to a coating booth having a conveyor device which transports the objects to be coated through the booth's interior via an entrance and an exit. A spraying device of the booth is thereby a manual spray gun behind openable doors in a wall panel. However, automatically controlled spray guns can also be provided. The doors also allow access to the interior of the booth. The spraying devices with the spray guns can all be arranged on the same side of the booth. Spraying devices in the form of wall panels prepared with slots for guns to pass through can also be provided on the opposite side. Instead of a conveyor device for automatically transporting the objects to be coated through the booth's interior, the objects to be coated can also be manually introduced into the booth's interior and—subsequent a coating procedure—removed again. The conveyor device for automatically transporting the objects to be coated through the booth's interior can also be arranged beneath the booth floor of the coating booth and has a workpiece carrier which extends into the coating chamber of the coating booth through a conveyance slot in the booth floor. Coating booths having such “floor conveyors” are particularly used in the coating of high-quality workpieces since high coating quality can be achieved by arranging the conveyor device beneath the booth floor. This is particularly due to the fact that “traditional” conveyors for the suspended transport of workpieces through the coating chamber can facilitate the falling of dirt particles or powder residues from the conveyor device, which can lead to irregularities in the coating. On the other hand, particularly with respect to powder coating, booths or systems for the intermittent transport of workpieces in manual coating procedures are also known, whereby this type of booth differs from flow-type booths designed for the continuous transport of workpieces in manual and/or automatic coating processes. Which of these basic types is used essentially depends on the scope of the respective coating task, thus the task to be performed by the coater, wherein a distinction can essentially be made here between the following categories: large batches in only one or a few shades (e.g. coating area of 1000 m2 and larger);medium batches in multiple shades (e.g. coating area of 200 to 1000 m2);application of many different colors in small batches (e.g. coating area in the 100 m2 range);single-item production, coating of small batches, for example producing samples in a wide variety of shades; andperforming cleaning activities on individual parts/workpieces and equipment. This categorization already shows how different the requirements are for the respective system/booth used and that finding the most favorable balance between work/setup time, material costs and environmental impact is what matters in each respective case. It is easy to see that the focus is on very different key requirements when satisfying the five above-cited functional categories. Thus, with large batches, efforts are made to automate the work as much as possible; automatic coating systems are usually employed to that end. With medium-sized batches, because of the rapid changes in color required, the main focus is on reducing the set-up times and particularly the cleaning times. SUMMARY The present disclosure is based on the task of specifying a booth concept which allows the coating booth or coating system respectively to be used as flexibly and automatically as possible and yet still deliver optimum productivity and economy. In particular, the booth concept should be suited to factoring in the particularities arising in the course of ongoing automation of the coating process, particularly the fact that coating robots are increasingly being used for automatic coating processes. Moreover, the booth concept should be suited to being able to react as flex