Duerr : Dürr to build another Eco+Paintshop in China

08/21/2014

Bietigheim-Bissingen, 21 August 2014 - The plant engineering company Dürr builds a particularly resource-saving Eco+Paintshop for BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd. (BBA) in Dadong in China. This paint shop will feature a wide range of the technological innovations Dürr offers for economically friendly, sustainable automotive painting.

Pretreatment and electrocoating are implemented by means of the rotary dip painting system called Ecopaint RoDip M. Making use of the rotation movement of the car bodies, this technology allows for designing a dip tank without inlet or outlet slopes. This results in a significantly smaller footprint and a reduced consumption of energy, water and chemicals by reason of the smaller bath volume.

The fully automated IPP (Integrated Paint Process) is another technical feature which proves that the plant has earned the name "Eco+". The IPP eliminates the need for both a primer and a drying phase. The spray booths are equipped with Dürr's innovative EcoDryScrubber. This technology binds the overspray without water and chemicals. Using large-scale air recirculation, energy savings of up to 60% are possible. Currently, the EcoDryScrubber is in use or under installation in more than 70 painting lines on four continents. 

The car bodies in Dadong will be painted by 36 Dürr paint robots of the types EcoRP E033 and EcoRP L133. They are equipped with the EcoBell3, an atomizer of the new generation characterized by a significantly higher atomizer performance. Thanks to their compact design, the atomizers of the EcoBell3 family are suited for exterior and interior painting. Combined with the linear color changer EcoLCC, the EcoBell3 is an extremely efficient and compact, yet easy to operate application system for all types of use. It reduces the paint loss during color change to a minimum and greatly accelerates the color change process.

Eight robots of type EcoRS are used for automatic seam sealing with 3D applicators. Four of them are equipped with highly precise tandem piston dosing units for sealing the seams from above.

The use of heat wheels for recovering heat from supply and exhaust air is another feature which protects the environment. The waste heat from the ovens is also recovered via waste heat boilers. The exhaust air flow from the clear coat booth is purified before exiting the system. Membrane technology in pretreatment, electrocoating, and a waste water treatment plant help to reduce the water consumption and thus the volume of waste water.

Dürr's layout philosophy, aimed at reducing the space requirement, is part of the Eco+Paintshop. It proceeds on the basis of a simple, low-cost factory building without intermediate levels. This concept is supported by multi-functional body stores in the form of high bay storage systems for optimal material flow.

The specific energy consumption which BMW will be able to realize at Dadong site sets high standards all over the world: Per painted car body, less than 500 kilowatt hours of energy are used. This is a mere third of what used to be the standard only ten years ago. At the same time, much emphasis is placed on turning the shop floor into a worker-friendly environment: Ergonomic working conditions as well as ease of communication and maintenance are ensured as standards. The Eco+Paintshop in Dadong is the third major painting project for BMW Brilliance in China. Previously, Dürr already implemented a sustainable paint shop in the Shenyang factory and its expansion stage for the joint venture.

Dürr is a mechanical and plant engineering group that holds leading positions in the world market in its areas of operation. Well over 80% of sales come from the business with the automotive industry. It furthermore supplies the aircraft, machinery, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries with innovative production and environmental technologies. The Dürr Group operates in the market with four divisions. The Paint and Assembly Systems division designs and builds complete paint shops and final assembly facilities for the automotive industry. The Application Technology division provides robot technologies for automated paint application. Machinery and systems from the Measuring and Process Systems division are used in engine and transmission manufacturing and in final vehicle assembly, among other areas. The fourth division, Clean Technology Systems, is focused on processes to improve energy efficiency and on exhaust air purification. Dürr has 54 sites in 26 countries and has approximately 8,250 employees. In 2013, Dürr achieved revenues of € 2.4 billion.