ABB 'very close' to first orders for high-tech paint robot

Friedberg, GERMANY -- Robotics specialist ABB says orders for its inkjet PixelPaint robot are imminent.

ABB in 2020 first revealed the painting system, which it says cuts energy cost, speeds up paint application and allows easy personalization.

"We are very, very close," Joerg Reger, head of ABB's automotive robotics division, told Automotive News Europe during a visit to the company's R&D facility here. "We have a pre-assignment with one customer, and we are in final negotiations with two to three others."

ABB's solution replaces the traditional paint shop robot's atomizer head with 1,000 individual nozzles.

The nozzles sit millimeters above the car body, eliminating overspray, which allows automakers to offer customized paint jobs without significantly slowing down the production line.

Both volume and premium automakers have expressed interest in the system, Reger said.

The system allows volume automakers to offer contrasting roof colors without having to run the car through the paint shop a second time.

The elimination of overspray also cuts out the need to mask the body prior to painting the roof, which saves time.

Reger said energy costs for the PixelPaint process are a third less than a traditional atomizer, which runs at high speed to push the air.

"We do not have this with PixelPaint, so energy consumption for the head itself is down," he said.

ABB says the robots can be installed at the end of a traditional paint line without the need for a complete overhaul of the paint shop, traditionally one of the most expensive parts of an automotive assembly plant to refit.

Reger foresees PixelPaint first being used on roofs.

"Next will be the big surfaces, such as the hoods, the doors. And the third step is hopefully to paint 80 to 90 percent of the car body," Reger said, adding that the technology won't replace all paint robots. "You may still need one cell with an atomizer for painting the difficult edges, like the inside of the door."

ABB is also working on a "high-transfer efficiency atomizer" for trickier surfaces. The aim is to reduce overspray to the point that, when combined with PixelPaint, automakers will be able to dramatically cut down on the ventilation and washer system that filters the paint waste.

The ability to apply customized artwork on the car body has appealed to luxury manufacturers.

"When we presented to customers such as Porsche, they were excited because now they can offer a totally different story to the market. Customers can have their face painted on the hood, or whatever they want," Joerg Rommelfanger, head of ABB's robotics division in Germany, said. The cost of customized artwork can be much reduced with PixelPaint robots installed on the line.

"The importance of personalization is becoming stronger and stronger," former Jaguar design chief Ian Callum told ABB last year in a statement. "So, this paint offering -- with all sorts of new levels of individual design for a motor car -- is incredible."

Ultraluxury automakers are generating an increasing amount of their revenue from bespoke options.

Bentley said that on average its customers spend 30,000 pounds (about $35,000) on factory options and another 30,000 pounds via its Mulliner division, which provides bespoke, personalized options.

Rolls-Royce meanwhile says the average selling price of a car with bespoke options has risen to 500,000 pounds from 250,000 pounds in the last 10 years.

ABB's PixelPaint robots are built in Shanghai, China, with the heads coming from Japan. The software was created in Norway while the overall system was developed in Friedberg.