In automated painting processes, numerous process parameters such as material pressure, air pressure, flow rate and robot motion are monitored. However, these variables primarily describe the condition of the plant. They do not directly show whether the atomizer is actually producing the desired spray.
What matters for coating quality is which droplets leave the atomizer. Changes to the atomizer, the material supply or the paint system can alter droplet size, droplet velocity and spray structure – even when the conventional plant parameters remain within their permissible ranges.
Direct spray monitoring therefore adds a further process level: in addition to the plant, the actual result of the atomization process is controlled as well.
The Solution with SprayQuantAI®
SprayQuantAI® analyzes the spray in real time during painting, without interrupting the process. Individual droplets are detected and evaluated as they pass through the optical measurement zone.
The measurement signals provide information on, among other things:
- droplet size,
- droplet velocity,
- droplet count,
- optical properties of the spray and
- relative changes in material flow.
When a painting process is set up, a reference state is defined first. It describes the spray of a stable, approved process.
During ongoing production, SprayQuantAI® continuously compares the current measured values with this reference state. The result is a permanent target/actual comparison of the actual spray.
Changes are displayed directly in the Spray Monitor or passed to the higher-level plant control system via interfaces.
Measurement Directly at the Atomizer
For continuous monitoring, the compact LSS1 measurement probe is typically mounted directly on the pneumatic atomizer.
Its small form factor allows integration in close proximity to the spray jet without significantly affecting the painting process. For series production lines, the measurement probe and mounting bracket can be mechanically adapted to the specific atomizer.
The measurement probe moves together with the atomizer and observes the spray regardless of the current robot position.
From Measured Value to Process Monitoring
The primary goal is not a high-precision laboratory determination of the droplet size distribution. For industrial monitoring, what matters most is detecting changes in the spray quickly and reproducibly.
This makes it possible, for example, to determine whether, due to
- changes in the paint system,
- contamination,
- modified atomizer parameters,
- pressure fluctuations,
- changes in the air supply or
- changes to the atomizer
the spray is drifting away from the approved reference state.
At the same time, the measurement system detects when spraying is actually taking place. This allows active spraying times to be documented in addition to spray stability.
SprayQuantAI® extends conventional plant monitoring with a direct measurement of the spray produced.