Current activities - Paint Application Processes

BSSI's current activities focus on eliminating physical prototypes during the processes of painting new vehicles and components:

• a) Electrocoating   Parts are dipped into a paint bath where direct current is applied between the parts and an anode. Paint is attracted to the part by the electric field and is deposited to the part.

• b) Post Rinsing   The coated parts are removed from the bath and any undeposited paint solids are reclaimed by rinsing. These excess paint solids are called "drag out".

• c) Bake Oven   Baking melts and cross-links the resin polymer present in the paint mixture, which ultimately provides the required corrosion protection.

VPO

BSSI's Virtual Paint Operations™ System (VPO) uses computers to simulate painting processes in order to improve the work flow and quality of the end result. BSSI's VPO software is especially for processes where it is important to know what happens in time. Typical processes of this type and corresponding questions addressed by VPO are:

• How much of the truck has been completely baked after 30 minutes in the paint oven?
• How much paint has accumulated on the bottom surface of the door frame after it has been 90 seconds in the paint tank?
• How can we be assured that minimum coating requirements are satisfied everywhere in the vehicle after immersion in the tank for 120 seconds?

To determine the answers to these and similar questions, without involving computer simulation, would require physical prototypes to be constructed and then a series of experiments would have to be conducted where the processes are applied to the prototypes and the results analyzed.

A prototype for an automobile manufacturer can cost up to $500,000 and as many as 60 prototypes have been used to develop new models (Detroit News, January 31, 2005).

There is no guarantee of success with this procedure because the number of experiments is limited by the costs and time needed for constructing prototypes, which in these examples of trucks and cars is prohibitively high.

Employing computers for simulating painting processes, instead of using prototypes or actual vehicles, reduces costs at every stage of the design and manufacture of vehicles.

VPO Predictors (Simulators)

• Electrocoat deposition
• Bake oven modeling
• Drainage modeling for tanks

Benefits

• Reduce trial and error at the manufacturing plants
• Reduce design time - concept to customer
• Minimize prototypes
• Reduce material usage in electrocoating
• Reduce energy usage (bake oven model)
• Increased customer satisfaction - less corrosion
• Improve first time through and or in plant repairs (drainage predictors)