{"id":7230,"date":"2024-07-15T04:17:21","date_gmt":"2024-07-15T08:17:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/robodk.com\/blog\/?p=7230"},"modified":"2024-09-24T05:53:53","modified_gmt":"2024-09-24T09:53:53","slug":"robpathrecs-robodk-solution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robodk.com\/blog\/robpathrecs-robodk-solution\/","title":{"rendered":"Powder Coating Made Effortless: Discover RobPathRec’s RoboDK-based Solution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Powder coating is a useful process for manufacturers looking to create products with durable surface finishing. This new solution from RobPathRec<\/a> uses RoboDK to simplify the creation of powder coating processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Designed for both novice and experienced robot users, the solution can coat workpieces from both sides simultaneously. It significantly saves on employee work time and helps to multiply the capabilities of the existing team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s how the team at RobPathRec used RoboDK to create their new solution for Riedel & Soelch<\/a>, a N\u00fcrnberg-based company specialized in powder coating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Powder Coating?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Powder Coating<\/a> is a dry finishing process that has steadily gained popularity since its introduction in the 1960s. Over 15% of the industrial finishing market is powder coating, according to the Powder Coating Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Powder coatings are both highly durable and decorative. They are available in a wide variety of colors and textures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This type of coating works by electrostatic spray deposition. First, a polymer resin system is mixed with pigments and other additives to create a powder. A spray gun applies an electrostatic charge to this powder, which attracts them to the surface of the object. The parts are then cured in an oven to create durable molecular chains on the surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Powder coatings are known for being easy to use, environmentally friendly, cost-effective, and highly durable. They are tougher than liquid paints and offer reliable protection against impact, moisture, chemicals, ultraviolet light, and extreme weather conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From an automation perspective, most small to medium manufacturers still apply powder coating using manual tools. They are less likely to be skilled in robotic integration, but could benefit from robots if they had the right solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introducing… RobPathRec<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

RobPathRec<\/a> is a company that includes a small group of industry professionals who are dedicated to helping people overcome the everyday challenges of automation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team offers customized hardware and software solutions for industrial and collaborative robot users. They aim to provide painless robot programming that can save up to 90% of the teaching time compared to conventional methods of industrial robot programming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their programming solution includes a virtual reality programming environment for path creation, path recording using a trace device, and robot code generation for a wide range of robotic systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RobPathRec works in partnership with RoboDK, which operates as a core software component for their robotic solutions. They sell this solution integrated with RoboDK using RobPathRec’s MakeItEasy addin<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Project: Riedel & Soelch’s Collaboration with RobPathRec<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The goal of RobPathRec’s powder coating project was to enable workpieces to be coated from both sides at the same time by a cobot-human collaborative team. The team began the project following requirements by one of their customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On one side of the workpiece, a collaborative robot applies the powder coating. The other side, which involves more complex coating steps, is coated by an employee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aim of this approach is to save the employee work time. The human’s dexterity is only required for the most complex operations, which makes the best use of their skills. This is particularly important right now as the company was finding it very tough to hire workers with a high enough manual skill to perform these complex powder coating operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The System: RobPathRec and RoboDK<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The system involved combining of off-the-shelf hardware and software components with customized elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The core hardware and software components were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n