ABB Teams with Engineering Software Steyr to Cut Costs and Emissions from Automotive Paint ShopsABB Teams with Engineering Software Steyr to Cut Costs and Emissions from Automotive Paint Shops

“The automotive painting operation is an energy- and materials-intensive operation and contributes most to the environmental emissions, compared to any other manufacturing process of a vehicle.” That’s the introduction to the paper Life Cycle Environmental Assessment of Paint Processes by Stella Papasavva, Sheila Kia, Joseph Claya, and Raymond Gunther of General Motors Co.

Industrial automation specialist ABB is aiming to slash energy consumption and air pollution from automotive paint shops through a collaboration with Engineering Software Steyr GmbH (ESS). The partners will develop simulation tools to transform automotive paint shop operations while reducing costs by up to 30 percent. This collaboration includes ABB taking a minority stake in ESS, but there are no further financial details of the investment.

ABB will integrate ESS’s technology into ABB’s RobotStudio, the world’s most popular offline programming and simulation tool for robotic applications. It is available on desktop, cloud-based, and augmented reality platforms.

The modeling will seek to optimize the complex processes employed in carmakers’ paint facilities. This includes more than 20 individual steps, from degreasing and electrocoating to sealing, spraying, and baking. Each of these steps is subject to a variety of parameters – such as material viscosity, adhesion, and drying time – that must be tested and optimized before series production of a new model can begin. Unsurprisingly, these tasks can be expensive and time-consuming.

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Additionally, this process releases air pollution and consumes energy, so those two factors stand to be minimized through effective modeling. “Delivering faster and more energy-efficient solutions for the paint process is the final piece of the puzzle in digitalizing the manufacturing transition in the automotive industry,” said Marc Segura, president of the ABB Robotics division.

“The innovative solutions we are developing with ESS will cut vehicle development time by up to a month and generate cost savings of up to 30 percent, making manufacturers more competitive, efficient, and resilient,” he predicted. “Using the solution, a manufacturer producing 300,000 vehicles has the potential to cut CO2 emissions by nearly 17,000 tons annually – equivalent to flying an airliner around the Earth 19 times.”

The companies plan for customers to benefit from ABB Robotics’ expertise in automotive paint shop operations and their smart automation solutions such as PixelPaint, an inkjet-style vision-controlled paint head that reproduces precise details, and the RB1000i-S digitally-enabled atomizer that achieves up to 99 percent transfer efficiency, meaning less paint and materials are required.

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ABB can simulate the flow of sprayed paint onto the bare car body panels. ABB

“We recognize how crucial it is for all players — large, medium, and small companies — to have access to the right digital tools for innovation, said Dr. Martin Schifko, CEO of ESS. “Currently, the complexity of such tools in the market makes it difficult for smaller companies to leverage the power of digital. We're committed to leveling the playing field by making the simulation tech accessible to all manufacturers. With our solutions, they can innovate faster, reduce environmental impact, and stay competitive in a demanding industry.”