JP2011173030A - Method and apparatus for paint preparation and paint color change - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a paint blending color changing device capable of reducing the cost and stabilizing the viscosity of paint by reducing labor and shortening the work time by automation, reducing the amount of waste paint and solvent used for cleaning. .
A paint tank 3 for containing paint and a solvent tank for containing a solvent, a blend tank 4 disposed below the paint tank 3 and the solvent tank, and a paint and a solvent charged in the blend tank 4 A load cell (weight sensor) 7 for measuring the amount of the castle, a stirring unit 6 for moving the stirring plate 5 accommodated in the mixing tank 4 up and down to stir the paint and solvent, and a coating stirred in the mixing tank 4 A pumping tank 5 that contains a solvent mixture and supplies it to the coating gun, a pressurizing means that pressurizes the pumping tank 5 and the blending tank 4 by air pressure, and the paint tank 3 and the solvent tank and the blending tank 4 are connected. The paint blending color changing device 1 is configured including a valve unit (switching means) 10 provided in the middle of the line.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  In the present invention, a paint and an amount of solvent corresponding to the weight of the paint are mixed and stirred and mixed, and the paint mixed with the solvent is supplied to a welding gun for coating, and the paint used so far is washed away with the solvent. The present invention relates to a paint blending color changing method and apparatus for changing paint colors.

  For example, paints of various colors are used to paint vehicle lamps such as headlamps. In painting, paints and solvents (diluents and curing agents) are pre-determined as shown in FIG. Each of them is weighed so as to have a ratio, put into the container 20, and the propeller 21 is rotated to stir the paint and solvent in the container 20 and mix them uniformly. Then, a mixture of the paint and solvent (hereinafter referred to as “mixed paint”), which is stirred and mixed, is pumped from the paint can 23 to the paint gun 31 of the painting robot 30 by the pump 22, and mixed with the product W by the paint gun 31. The surface was sprayed to paint.

  By the way, when changing the color of the paint, it is necessary to prepare another color paint by a similar method, but before that, the paint adhered to the container 20, the propeller 21, the pump 22, the paint can 23, etc. It is necessary to remove (previously used paint) by washing with a solvent.

JP-A-10-151413

  However, in the conventional method shown in FIG. 5, since the mixing and stirring of the paint and the solvent are performed manually by the operator, a lot of work time (for example, 15 minutes / time) is required and each time Because the amount of paint solvent and preparation is relatively large (for example, 4 kg), the amount of paint remaining in the equipment increases every time the color of the paint is changed (for example, 7.2 kg / day), which is uneconomical. There was a problem.

  In addition, when changing colors, the amount of solvent used for washing the paint used last time is large (for example, 8 kg / day), and the stirring of the paint and solvent was performed by the propeller 21 with the container 20 opened, so that the solvent was volatilized. As a result, the viscosity of the mixed paint is not stable.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems. The purpose of the present invention is to save labor and shorten work time by automation, to reduce costs by reducing the amount of solvent used for waste paint and cleaning, and the viscosity of the paint. An object of the present invention is to provide a paint blending color changing method and apparatus capable of stabilizing the above.

In order to achieve the above object, the paint blending color changing method according to claim 1,
A blending step in which paint is introduced into the blending tank by the head difference and its weight is measured, and a solvent having a weight corresponding to the measured paint weight is thrown into the blending tank by the head difference and both are blended,
A stirring step of stirring the paint and solvent by a stirring plate that moves up and down in the mixing tank;
A pumping process in which the mixture of the stirred paint and solvent is pumped to a pumping tank, and the mixture of the paint and solvent is pumped from the pumping tank to a coating gun for coating;
A washing step of washing the paint supply line by stopping the blending process, the stirring process, and the pressure feeding process at the time of color change and flowing the solvent to the paint supply line;
The composition and color change of the paint are performed by the above.

  The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 1, when the remaining amount of the mixture of the paint and the solvent in the pressure feeding tank becomes less than a predetermined value, the preparation step, the stirring step and the pressure feeding step are performed. And

The paint blending color changing device according to claim 3,
A paint tank containing paint and a solvent tank containing solvent;
A blending tank arranged below these paint tank and solvent tank;
A weight sensor for measuring the amount of paint and solvent introduced into the mixing tank;
A stirring unit that stirs the paint and solvent by moving the stirring plate contained in the preparation tank up and down;
A pumping tank that contains a mixture of paint and solvent stirred in the blending tank and supplies it to the coating gun;
Pressurizing means for pressurizing the pumping tank and the preparation tank by air pressure;
Switching means provided in the middle of the line connecting the paint tank and the solvent tank and the preparation tank;
It is characterized by providing.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claim 3, wherein the weight sensor is configured by a load cell.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, the stirring unit includes a metal stirring plate in which a plurality of holes are formed, and a magnet disposed along an outer periphery of the mixing tank. And an air cylinder for moving the magnet up and down.

  A sixth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the third aspect of the invention, the pressurizing means comprises an air compressor for supplying air pressure to the pressure feeding tank and the blending tank.

  A seventh aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect of the invention, the switching means comprises a plurality of switching valves.

  According to the present invention, the steps of blending, stirring, pumping, and washing can be performed fully automatically, so that labor saving and work time can be reduced. In addition, blending, stirring, and pumping can be repeated as one cycle, and can be performed even during the painting process, so the amount of paint blended per cycle can be kept small, miniaturization of equipment and color The amount of waste paint at the time of replacement and the amount of solvent used for cleaning can be minimized, and waste of paint and solvent can be eliminated to reduce costs.

  Furthermore, in the stirring process, the paint and the solvent are sealed in a sealed preparation tank, and since the paint and the solvent are not released to the atmosphere in all the processes, the solvent is prevented from volatilizing. The viscosity of the mixed paint mixed with the solvent is stabilized and the desired coating is stably performed.

It is a front view of the paint blending color changing device according to the present invention. (A), (b) is a fracture | rupture front view which shows the stirring unit structure and effect | action of the coating material mixing color changing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a top view of the stirring board of the paint mixing color changing device according to the present invention. It is a fracture | rupture front view of the mixing tank and pumping tank part of the coating material mixing color changing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the conventional painting procedure.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a front view of a paint blending color changing device according to the present invention, FIGS. 2A and 2B are broken front views showing the configuration and operation of the stirring unit of the paint blending color changing device, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a cutaway front view of the blending tank and the pressure feed tank portion of the paint blending color changing device.

  In the paint blending color changing device 1 shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of paint tanks 3 containing paints of different colors and a plurality of solvent tanks (not shown) containing solvents at the upper end of a base 2 configured as a frame. In the lower part of the base 2 below the paint tank 3 and the solvent tank, a preparation tank 4 and a pressure feed tank 5 are provided side by side. In the vicinity of the mixing tank 4, a stirring unit 6 is fixed and installed on the horizontal frame 2 a of the base 2. In addition, load cells 7 and 8 as weight sensors are respectively installed in the lower portions of the blending tank 4 and the pressure feeding tank 5. These load cells 7 and 8 are electrically connected to a control unit (not shown) which is a control means.

  The blending tank 4 and the pressure feeding tank 5 are hermetically sealed hollow cylindrical containers, and at the top of the blending tank 4 are hoses extending downward from the paint tanks 3 and hoses (not shown) extending from the solvent tank. The end portions are connected, and the blending tank 4 is connected to each paint tank 3 through a plurality of hoses 9 and is connected to each solvent tank through a plurality of unillustrated hoses. A valve unit 10 that constitutes a switching unit is interposed in the middle of a hose 9 that connects the paint tank 3 and the mixing tank 4 and a hose (not shown) that connects the solvent tank and the mixing tank. In the present embodiment, the valve unit 10 is provided with a plurality of switching valves (air operated valves) 10a, and opening / closing control of these switching valves 10a is a control signal transmitted from the control unit (not shown). Made by.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a pipe 11 extending from the bottom of the mixing tank 4 is connected to an upper portion of the pressure feeding tank 5, and the mixing tank 4 and the pressure feeding tank 5 communicate with each other through this pipe 11. . A hose 12 extending from the bottom of the pressure feeding tank 5 is connected to a painting gun (not shown) of a painting robot. Air pipes 13 and 14 extending from an air compressor (not shown) are connected to the blending tank 4 and the pressure feeding tank 5, respectively. Although not shown, a valve unit (not shown) is provided in the middle of the air pipes 13 and 14. It is connected.

  Next, the structure of the stirring unit 6 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The stirring unit 6 includes a disk-shaped stirring plate 15 housed in the mixing tank 4, a ring-shaped base 16 disposed on the outer periphery of the mixing tank 4 so as to be movable up and down, and fixed on the base 16. A plurality of magnets 17 and an air cylinder 18 for moving the base 16 up and down are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the stirring plate 15 is configured by forming a plurality of arc-shaped holes 15a in a metal disk that is a magnetic body. A plurality of magnets 17 fixed on the base 16 are arranged along the outer periphery of the mixing tank 4 so as to surround the mixing tank 4 from the outside, as shown in FIG.

  The air cylinder 18 is vertically attached to the frame 2 a of the base 2, and the lower end of the rod 18 a extending vertically downward is connected to the end of the base 16. Although not shown, the air cylinder 18 operates using compressed air supplied from an air compressor as a drive source, and the rod 18a moves up and down.

  Thus, the paint blending color changing method according to the present invention is carried out using the paint blending color changing apparatus 1 described above, and this method includes each step of the blending process, stirring process, pumping process and cleaning process. Is included. Hereinafter, each process will be described sequentially.

1) Preparation process:
In painting, first, a paint of a desired color and a solvent are prepared at a predetermined blending ratio. That is, the switching valve 10a of the valve unit 10 is controlled to open and close by the control unit, and a predetermined amount of paint from the high paint tank 3 containing paint of a desired color is lowered from the hose 9 by the head difference (self-weight). It is put into the mixing tank 4. Then, the weight of the paint put into the preparation tank 4 is measured by the load cell 7, and the measurement result (detection signal) is transmitted to a control unit (not shown). Then, the control unit mixes the amount of solvent corresponding to the measured paint weight from the solvent tank (not shown) by the head difference (self-weight) from the solvent tank (not shown) by controlling the switching valve of the control unit. Put into the tank 4.

2) Stirring step:
The agitation step is a step of agitating the paint and solvent charged in the mixing tank 4 and mixing them uniformly as described above. The air cylinder 18 is driven by the supply of compressed air from the air compressor. When the rods 18a are alternately moved up and down, the base 16 connected to the rods 18a moves up and down along the outer periphery of the mixing tank 4 together with the plurality of magnets 17. When the magnet 17 moves up and down along the outer periphery of the mixing tank 4 in this way, the stirring plate 15 housed inside the mixing tank 4 moves up and down together with the magnet 17 by the magnetic force of the magnet 17. The paint and solvent flow through the plurality of holes 15 a of the stirring plate 15, and the paint and solvent are stirred and uniformly mixed in the preparation tank 4 by this flow.

3) Pressure feeding process:
When the paint and solvent mixture (mixed paint) uniformly mixed is formed by stirring the paint and solvent in the blending tank 4 in the stirring step, compressed air is supplied from the air pipe 13 into the blending tank 4. Since the mixed paint in the preparation tank 4 is pressurized, the mixed paint is pressure-fed through the pipe 11 to the pressure-feed tank 5 and stored.

  Next, when compressed air is supplied from the air pipe 14 into the pressure feed tank 5 and the mixed paint stored in the pressure feed tank 5 is pressurized, the mixed paint passes through the hose 12 and is not shown in the drawing robot. Is supplied to a painting gun and used for painting products.

  When the mixed paint is consumed by painting, the remaining amount of the mixed paint in the pressure tank 5 is detected by weight measurement by the load cell 8, and the detection result is transmitted to a control unit (not shown) as needed. Then, when the remaining amount of the mixed paint in the pressure feeding tank 5 becomes less than a predetermined value, the control unit controls the opening and closing of each switching valve 10a of the valve unit 10 and repeats the blending step, the stirring step, and the pressure feeding step. In this case, if the internal pressure of the blending tank 4 is set higher than the internal pressure of the pumping tank 5, coating can be continuously performed while pumping the mixed paint to the pumping tank 5.

  Therefore, if the cycle of the blending step, the stirring step, and the pressure feeding step is repeated each time the remaining amount of the mixed paint in the pressure feeding tank 5 decreases due to painting, the coating can be performed continuously without interruption.

4) Cleaning process:
When a specific color is applied and another color is applied, the blending process, the agitation process, and the pumping process are suspended, and the solvent is passed through the paint supply line to clean the paint supply line. There is a need to. In this case, the solvent is allowed to flow from the solvent tank to the blending tank 4, and in the blending tank 4, the agitation unit 6 is driven and the paint adhering to the inner wall of the blending tank 4 and the agitation plate 15 (the paint used in the previous painting) ) Is removed by washing, and the solvent used for washing is pumped to the pumping tank 5 to remove paint adhering to the pipe 11 and the inner wall of the pumping tank 5 by washing. Then, the solvent is flowed from the pressure feed tank 5 through the hose 12 to the paint gun of the painting robot, and the paint adhering to the paint supply line from the pressure feed tank 5 to the paint gun is washed and removed.

  When the paint used last time is completely washed and removed as described above, coating with a different color paint is performed by repeating the cycle of the blending process, the stirring process, and the pressure feeding process for the next paint. Can be done similarly.

  As described above, according to the paint blending color changing method according to the present invention implemented using the paint blending color changing device 1 according to the present invention, the steps of blending, stirring, pumping, and washing are performed fully automatically. Therefore, labor saving and shortening of working time can be achieved. Specifically, the conventional manual color change required 60 minutes / time, but the time required for color change according to the present invention could be reduced to 12 minutes / time.

  In addition, the blending, stirring, and pumping steps can be repeated as one cycle, and can be performed even during the painting operation, so the amount of paint blended per cycle can be kept small, and the equipment can be downsized. The amount of waste paint at the time of color change and the amount of solvent used for cleaning can be minimized, and waste of paint and solvent can be eliminated to reduce costs. Specifically, the blending amount of the paint for each cycle could be reduced to 1/14 of 0.28 kg. In addition, according to the present invention, it has been possible to significantly reduce the amount of solvent discarded from 3600 kg / year to 200 kg / year.

  Furthermore, in the agitation process, the paint and the solvent are sealed in the compounding tank 4 which is sealed, and the paint and the solvent are not released to the atmosphere in all the processes. The effect that the viscosity of (the mixed paint in which the solvent is mixed) is stabilized and desired coating is stably performed is obtained.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Paint preparation color change apparatus 2 Base 2a Base frame 3 Paint tank 4 Preparation tank 5 Pressure feed tank 6 Stirring unit 7,8 Load cell (weight sensor)
9 Hose 10 Valve unit (switching means)
10a Switching valve 11 Pipe 12 Hose 13, 14 Air pipe 15 Stirring plate 15a Stirring plate hole 16 Base 17 Magnet 18 Air cylinder 18a Air cylinder rod

Claims (7)

A blending step in which paint is introduced into the blending tank by the head difference and its weight is measured, and a solvent having a weight corresponding to the measured paint weight is thrown into the blending tank by the head difference and both are blended,
A stirring step of stirring the paint and solvent by a stirring plate that moves up and down in the mixing tank;
A pumping process in which the mixture of the stirred paint and solvent is pumped to a pumping tank, and the mixture of the paint and solvent is pumped from the pumping tank to a coating gun for coating;
A washing step of washing the paint supply line by stopping the blending process, the stirring process, and the pressure feeding process at the time of color change and flowing the solvent to the paint supply line;
A paint blending color changing method characterized in that the paint blending and color changing are performed by the above method.   The paint blending color changing method according to claim 1, wherein the blending step, the stirring step, and the pumping step are performed when the remaining amount of the mixture of the paint and the solvent in the pumping tank becomes less than a predetermined value. A paint tank containing paint and a solvent tank containing solvent;
A blending tank arranged below these paint tank and solvent tank;
A weight sensor for measuring the amount of paint and solvent introduced into the mixing tank;
A stirring unit that stirs the paint and solvent by moving the stirring plate contained in the preparation tank up and down;
A pumping tank that contains a mixture of paint and solvent stirred in the blending tank and supplies it to the coating gun;
Pressurizing means for pressurizing the pumping tank and the preparation tank by air pressure;
Switching means provided in the middle of the line connecting the paint tank and the solvent tank and the preparation tank;
A paint blending color changing device comprising:   4. The paint blending color changing device according to claim 3, wherein the weight sensor is a load cell.   The stirring unit includes the metal stirring plate in which a plurality of holes are formed, a magnet disposed along an outer periphery of the preparation tank, and an air cylinder that moves the magnet up and down. The paint blending color changing device according to claim 3.   4. The paint blending color changing device according to claim 3, wherein the pressurizing means is composed of an air compressor for supplying air pressure to the pressure feeding tank and the blending tank. 4. The paint blending color changing device according to claim 3, wherein the switching means is composed of a plurality of switching valves.

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