JP2007029838A - Low exhaust automatic coating system and feeder for material to be coated - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a coating system using a coating chamber capable of solving problems of preventing soiling due to the deposition of a coating material and the like with low exhaust and low energy loss and a feeder(transportation apparatus) for a material to be coated which is used for the coating system. <P>SOLUTION: In the coating of the material to be coated which is arranged in the coating chamber with a spray gun mounted on a coating robot and operated by the robot, the coating of the material to be coated which is mounted on a holder of the transportation apparatus is carried out by controlling with a means for the back and forth movement, the rotary movement or the incline movement of the holder in stead of the movement of the spray gun. The operation signal of the spray gun and the drive of the holder of the transportation apparatus are linked with each other at an optional set position by a controller of the coating robot to concentrate the spraying of the spray gun toward an exhaust apparatus to carry out the coating in the small coating chamber with low exhaust. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a coating system that enables a small amount of exhaust in a coating chamber that collects scattered paint mist by spraying when coating is automatically performed by a coating robot or the like.

The painting room, especially the spray painting room, sucks and collects the paint mist that has not adhered to the object to be painted due to spraying, avoids unnecessary reattachment to the object to be painted, and the surroundings including the paint mist. It is an indispensable facility to reduce exhaust of harmful substances that adversely affect the environment. Many of these painting rooms are in communication with the factory building, and the air in the room is always sucked and exhausted. Therefore, even the air-conditioned air in the working chamber connected to the painting chamber for exhausting is exhausted, resulting in a huge energy loss.

Normally, the air current in the painting area is flown at a speed of 20 cm to 1 m per second, and if there is a frontage of 10 square meters, air conditioning air of several hundred cubic meters per minute will be discharged to the outside, which is a major problem. Yes. As a countermeasure for this, a method of circulating and introducing air after mist processing to reduce substantial exhaust, fresh air separate from air-conditioned indoor air, mainly external air, is filtered into the painting chamber A method of forcibly supplying air purified by the above to reduce loss of conditioned air is mainly used.

Air conditioning in the painting room is an unavoidable problem in terms of maintaining a healthy environment as well as with workers. It is almost always set under close conditions, but rather it is clear that it is always necessary to maintain a constant temperature and humidity environment in order to stabilize the coating quality and not cause defective coating. In particular, in the painting of precision equipment represented by recent electronic information equipment, stabilization of the painting conditions is an absolute condition, and the basic condition can be said to be indoor air conditioning.

The above-mentioned method by circulating and reusing exhaust gas requires that exhaust air be sufficiently processed to supply air, and requires a very large facility. In other words, what is acceptable for normal exhaust must be treated to a level below a lean odor level, and must be cleaned so that it does not affect the human body or painting even if it is returned to the painting room again. The current situation is that it is a heavy burden and is not a sufficient measure. Needless to say, fresh air supply from outside air varies greatly in temperature and humidity, etc., and taking into account the management of the above-mentioned coating conditions, it is difficult to apply it to the coating and stable coating industries with stable coating quality.

On the other hand, the simplest way to reduce the amount of exhausted air is to reduce the entrance of the painting room, and there is also a technology that tries to cope with partial exhaust if necessary by installing a local exhaust device in part. It has been proposed (for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 54-22461). However, in these cases, the spray gun operation area in the painting operation is limited, and sufficient painting cannot be performed. In other words, when precise and complex painting is required, especially when complicated coating, uniform painting is required to the inside, back or corner, spraying must be performed from various directions. Therefore, it is not possible to cope with a local frontage because a wide range of spraying toward the painting room is required.

In addition, when painting with an automatic painting device such as a painting robot, the object to be painted is supplied into the painting chamber together with the front opening associated with the spray operation, and after the painting is carried out, a new object to be painted is supplied to the painting position. In general, a feeder (conveying device) is driven and controlled in conjunction with a painting robot. In this case, in order to increase the productivity by reducing the conveyance time, a feeder of a system that feeds the next object to be coated at the same time as unloading by a rotary type or “C” shaped conveyor (for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-15974) is provided. It is used. Therefore, a wide opening is used which is larger than the original coating area and does not hinder the operation of the feeder.

In general, when painting an object to be coated in a painting room with an open front, it is natural for an operator to spray from the front toward the exhaust port installed at the rear of the painting room. . Therefore, when the side surface or the rear surface of the object to be coated is to be painted, the object to be coated is rotated toward the front side, and if there is an uneven surface, it is sprayed from an oblique direction. The same applies to the upper and lower surfaces, and these spraying operations are necessary in order to apply a uniform coating film as the complex shape has a groove or the like.

For reasons such as the environment, workability, and productivity of workers, painting has been widely performed using automatic painting equipment such as robots. However, the basic operations described above are the same, and The direction and position of the spray gun is determined with respect to the painted surface of the paint. For this reason, when the object to be coated is sprayed from an oblique direction, so-called overspray that did not adhere to the object to be coated results in adhesion toward the wall surface of the painting chamber. Therefore, it is desirable that the painting chamber is sufficiently large and the distance between the object to be painted and the wall surface is long so that it is sucked by the exhaust flow before reaching the wall surface. As a result, the amount of exhaust air accompanying the sucked air increases.

When the coating chamber is narrow and there is little space between the wall surface and the object to be coated, the adhering paint gradually accumulates on the wall surface and becomes dirty, which adversely affects the surroundings and the object to be coated. In particular, paint that adheres to the ceiling surface will cause poor painting of the object to be coated due to dropping, etc., so regular cleaning work is unavoidable, and there is room to afford to reduce productivity and burden the operator. Had the potential problem of configuring the room.
Japanese Patent Publication No.54-22461 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-15974

As the object to be coated becomes more complex in the painting operation, the spray gun needs to be sprayed from many directions. In this case, the painting chamber itself is required to be sufficiently large. Therefore, there is a problem that not only energy is lost due to exhaust of air that has been appropriately air-conditioned, but efficiency also decreases and difficulty increases in mist processing of mist-containing air diluted by a large amount of exhaust. The present invention provides a coating system using a coating chamber that can solve the above-mentioned problems such as energy loss and prevention of contamination caused by paint adhesion with a smaller displacement and a feeder (conveying device) for the object to be used. There is.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention enables a small displacement by reducing the size of the painting chamber by reducing the size of the painting chamber entrance, that is, the opening, and supplementing the operation of the painting robot with the feeder of the object to be painted. The required painting was made possible. In other words, the feeder for the object to be transported to the painting chamber is characterized in that the holder for placing the object to be coated is provided with means that can move by rotating the coating position and controlling the set position back and forth at the painting position. . Therefore, the painting surface of the object to be painted can be directed so that the object to be painted in the painting chamber can be painted with a smaller operating range of the spray gun, and the painting chamber with a narrow opening due to the concentrated spray direction. But it can be linked to efficient collection of scattered mist without polluting the surroundings.

The feeder for an object to be driven that is driven in conjunction with the painting robot apparatus is provided with a conveying means for sequentially transferring the object to be painted into the painting chamber, and causes the holder to be brought into the painting position. The holder is equipped with a device that rotates at the painting position and a device that moves the holder back and forth at the painting position. These rotating means and back-and-forth moving means are driven by a servo actuator such as a servo motor and interlock with the operation of the spray gun. Drive control. For this reason, the drive device is connected to the control device.

If necessary, the holder can tilt the rotation axis at least in the front-rear direction so that the painted surface of the object to be coated can be directed toward the spray gun, and the spray gun operation is further reduced and mist processing is performed. Can be fixed in a direction that facilitates. As these moving means, various existing driving methods such as a servo actuator and an air cylinder are adopted.

By implementing the present invention, a spray gun mounted on a painting robot or the like can be applied with a minimum movement and selection of spray direction regardless of the size and shape of the object to be coated. In other words, since the feeder and its holder can be used to direct the position and surface of the object to be painted to the spray gun spray position, the painting robot side needs to operate flexibly and in a wide range as before. Instead, it is possible to concentrate the spray limited to a certain area of the painting room.

As a result, the painting chamber can be remarkably reduced in size compared to the conventional one, and as described above, the spray mist can be prevented from re-adhering and adhering, and the amount of processing air, that is, the amount of exhaust required for the mist collecting process can be reduced. This makes it possible to minimize the discharge of conditioned air in the working room, and it is possible to reduce the energy required for this, that is, drastically reduce the operating cost. As a result, not only the painting cost but also environmental resources can be saved. The effect that leads to is obtained. When the exhaust amount is substantially reduced, the efficiency of the paint mist collecting process is improved, which leads to prevention of environmental pollution.

By controlling the operation of the holder in conjunction with the control of the painting robot, in addition to the effects described above, the relative position of the painting surface of the object to be painted and the spray gun can be handled by both movements. It is possible to save useless time as compared with the case where it is made to do. It is well known that the productivity of the painting robot is important to reduce the loss time even by 1 second, and this can be achieved by using the present invention.
These movements can also be controlled by several steps, but by using moving means such as a servo motor, it is possible to use the various movements of the object to make optimum movement at all times. Synergistic effects can be achieved as a feeder for high-painting robots.

Furthermore, in the present invention, by adding a moving means for tilting the holder in the front-rear direction, the spray gun spray direction can be applied to a narrower concentrated area compared to the prior art even if the shape is complicated, It is possible to limit the direction of overspray to the coating room. In other words, in the past, the spray direction could be limited by rotating the object to be coated in the horizontal direction, but in the vertical direction, the spray gun had to be sprayed at a large angle. By tilting the object, it is possible to spray at a small angle and always paint in the exhaust direction. Therefore, the exhaust flow for performing the mist process can be concentrated in a narrower region, and unnecessary paint adhesion and dirt in the coating chamber for performing the overspray mist process can be improved. Further, by concentrating the air flow, it is possible to obtain an effect such that the paint mist sucked by the exhaust device can be efficiently collected in a high concentration state.

Details of the case of carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration in the case where the coating is performed in the painting chamber showing the first embodiment. The spray gun 1 is an automatic spray gun and is automatically sprayed with compressed air. Normally, the spray gun 1 is controlled by compressed air from an electromagnetic valve operated by a signal from a control device. The spray gun 1 is mounted on a painting robot 2 that is an automatic painting machine, and controls the position and direction of spraying to coat the object 3 to be coated. In general, the painting robot 2 can move the spray gun 1 freely by changing the angle of the spray gun 1 mounting portion and rotating operation in addition to the vertical, horizontal, and forward / backward movement by the arm 4, and is illustrated by the program taught. Repetitive operation is performed by a signal from a control device that is not connected.

The painting chamber 5 is placed so that an object to be coated is placed therein, the size of the painting chamber 5 is sufficiently large, and an exhaust device is provided at the rear. The exhaust device includes means for sucking the overspray mist of the paint sprayed on the object 3 to be coated in the coating chamber 5 and processing it to exhaust it as clean air. Although there are many examples of these techniques, the present invention is not particularly limited, and may be selected depending on the installation location, the object to be coated, and the coating conditions.

The conveying device 6 for placing the article 3 at the painting position is a rotary arm type and alternately moves between the loading position A and the painting position B. At the painting position, a holder 7 for holding the article to be coated is attached to the spray gun 1. A movable means is provided so that the front-rear position can be adjusted. The holder 7 is configured to be able to rotate and tilt. That is, the holder 7 is configured to rotate about the vertical axis 7a, and is set so that the vertical axis 7a is inclined like a chain line so that the coating surface on the plane side of the object 3 is directed toward the spray gun 1. Has been. As for the rotation of the holder 7, a normal rotation can be intermittently rotated by 90 degrees or a continuous rotation, and a drive means is provided in which the inclination is set to a necessary inclination angle toward the spray gun.

The conveying device 6 may be of a type that moves between the coating position B and the loading position A using a conveyor that reciprocates on the rail instead of the rotary type, and can be used within the scope of the existing technology. Each rotating or reciprocating means can adopt a configuration using various existing driving mechanisms such as a servo motor and an air cylinder.

Usually, these controls are performed by signals sent by the control device, and can be repeated repeatedly by being programmed. In this embodiment, the control device for the painting robot that operates the spray gun is configured to be controlled at a necessary speed and at a necessary position in accordance with the movement of the spray gun 1 in conjunction with the painting robot. Therefore, even if the movement of the arm 4 of the painting robot equipped with the spray gun 1 is kept to a minimum, the front of the painting room is limited because the object to be painted is controlled to maintain the painting distance and direction with the spray gun. It will suffice in the specified range.

In the painting operation, based on the data stored and taught in the control device in advance, the article 3 loaded on the transport device at the position A is sent to the painting position B, and at the same time, the painting robot 2 applies the spray gun 1 to the painting position. Start spraying towards. The object to be coated 3 is subjected to a painting process according to various conditions such as shape and size. Generally, when one painting surface is painted by the spray gun 1, the holder 7 is rotated and the next painting surface is directed. In this way, the movement is controlled in conjunction with the painting robot 2. Thus, the side surface of the article 3 can be sprayed toward the exhaust device 8 disposed at the rear of the coating chamber 5. However, in the case of the upper surface of the object to be coated, it is necessary to paint from above.

For this reason, in the case of a deep object to be coated, the arm 4 of the painting robot 2 is thrust into the painting chamber, and the operation is restricted depending on the opening of the painting chamber. Therefore, if the holder 7 on which the object 3 is placed is moved forward, the inner part of the object 3 can be painted with the spray gun 1 in the same position. According to this method, when painting with a large depth such as painting a large number of objects 3 arranged in a mesh frame 9 as shown in FIG. 2, instead of painting by moving the spray gun 1 in the front-rear direction, If the object to be painted is moved to the required coating position (the position indicated by the dotted line in the direction of the arrow in the figure), the innermost object to be painted can be painted at the same spray gun position as the object placed in front. Show.

By controlling the movement in this way, it is possible to perform the same painting as before, and the spray gun can maintain the position at the opening, so that spray mist scattering can be concentrated and suppressed in the minimum range. it can. Further, since it is not necessary to rush into the interior of the paint chamber, the spray gun 1 and the tip of the arm 4 are less likely to get dirty with paint mist, the frequency of maintenance is improved, and productivity can be improved.

The holder 7 is moved back and forth by the necessary distance by a moving servo motor or the like according to the arrangement of the object to be painted, and the painting robot is operated in conjunction with this, so that the arrangement is not affected. Optimal painting is possible.

Furthermore, in the present invention, the holder 7 is inclined and the upper surface of the article 3 is directed forward, so that the spray angle of the spray gun 1 can be made smaller and sprayed toward the rear of the painting chamber. The mist is efficiently sucked into the exhaust device 8. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the more flexible the shape of the object to be coated, such as the shape of the recess, is, the more flexible the spray angle is. In the example, when the object is placed horizontally, spraying in the direction indicated by the solid line However, the spray gun 1 can be sprayed at a small angle from the X direction indicated by the dotted line by inclining the object to be coated as shown by the dotted line.

Conventionally, the installation control of the object to be painted has been limited to the minimum range based on the function and operation range of the painting robot, and has been supported by the ability of the painting robot. In the present invention, however, the object to be painted should be compatible with the spray gun. This allows the spray gun movement to be concentrated on spraying from the front, that is, from the front of the painting chamber to the exhaust system behind. For this reason, in order to suck and exhaust paint mist that scatters in all directions, a coating room that required a wide airflow around the object to be coated is used as an airflow only in the area around the object to be coated, that is, the area where spraying is actually performed. Therefore, the required function can be satisfied, and the exhaust amount of the painting chamber can be greatly reduced. Therefore, as described above, a large amount of conditioned air in the workplace connected to the painting chamber is released to the outside, and the painting work can be performed without wasting energy.

Similarly, by adding an inclination, the direction of the spray gun can be limited even for an object having a complicated shape on the upper surface, and the scattered mist can be more concentrated, and the same effect as described above can be further enhanced.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the aspect of the installation in the case of implementing this invention by a main structure. It is explanatory drawing which shows the spray position of the spray gun when a to-be-painted object is mounted on the net frame. It is explanatory drawing which shows the difference in the spraying direction of the spray gun by the inclination of to-be-coated object.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Spray gun 2 Coating robot 3 Object to be coated 4 Robot arm 5 Coating chamber 6 Transfer device 7 Holder 8 Exhaust device 9 Net A A Loading position B Painting position X Spraying direction

Claims (4)

A painting chamber having a front opening limited with respect to the cross-sectional area of the painting chamber and having an exhaust port at the rear, a feeder for a coating object having a holder that is transported into the coating chamber and places the coating object, and a spray gun Equipped with a painting robot device that repeats the operation based on pre-taught data and paints the object to be painted. The holder has means that can rotate and move back and forth, and is linked to the operation control of the painting robot. The automatic painting system is characterized in that it is installed and painted at an arbitrary position by an output signal sent from the control device. The object to be coated is placed in the object feeder to be installed in the painting position, which is driven in conjunction with the painting robot device that paints the object by repeating the operation based on previously taught data. A transfer means for sequentially carrying the holder to be applied into the painting chamber, a means for rotating the holder at the painting position, and a means for moving the holder back and forth at the painting position. A workpiece feeder that is driven and controlled in conjunction with the machine. The article feeder according to claim 2, wherein the holder includes a moving unit that tilts the axis of rotation at least in the front-rear direction. 3. The article feeder according to claim 2, wherein the means for rotating the holder and the means for moving back and forth can be controlled to an arbitrary position and speed by a servo actuator such as a servo motor.

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