Lufthansa Technik Intercoat, a subsidiary of Lufthansa Technik, has commissioned the world's first partly automated system for coating components with INTERFILL. As a result, the components can now be coated in a single working step. The entire new system concept was developed in-house at Lufthansa Technik Intercoat.
Lufthansa Technik Intercoat specializes in the repair of components using an advanced epoxy coating process. For this purpose, the company from Kaltenkirchen, Germany, developed a material called INTERFILL that is based on epoxy resin. The material gives components from the aviation, rail and automotive industries a new
life cycle and improves their operational characteristics.
Until recently, the advanced epoxy coating process was completely manual, but now a part of the coating process could be automated. The component is fastened to a rotating device in a working booth. Then a robot arm applies INTERFILL to the component surface through a fine nozzle.
A special applicator ensures that the ideal dose is applied with an even layer thickness. The improved application method prevents air pockets from forming, which reduces the amount of corrective work that can otherwise be necessary at times. The innovative system provides consistent, high-quality results and saves a considerable amount of time.
"Thanks to this partial automation, we were able to reduce the time it takes to coat the material to a third. That gives us the opportunity to react quickly and flexibly to customer needs, thus increasing our competitiveness," says Andreas Sauer, Managing
Director of Lufthansa Technik Intercoat.
The system is currently able to process components of up to 500 x 500 x 500 millimeters in size and 25 kilograms in weight. A robot system that eliminates these restrictions is already in the works. Once that system is operational, it will also be possible to coat components with more complex, non-rotation-symmetric coating areas.