Fanuc Shaves Paint Booth Size, Cost

The equipment and robots necessary for a quality car-body paint job don't come cheap. It's generally assumed the paint shop is the most expensive component of a vehicle assembly plant.

Fanuc Robotics America Inc. in Rochester Hills, MI, says it can ease some of that pain. Its P-500 painting system reduces the number of spray applicators and promises better paint transfer efficiency, while taking up 40% less floor space than a conventional booth dedicated to painting vehicle exteriors.

The P-500 requires only four or six spray applicators and does away completely with conventional “bell zones,” which require as many as 10 spray applicators. The system applies paint about 15% more efficiently than a traditional paint booth. And with the number of sprayers cut in half, up to 50% less paint is wasted during color change.

The P-500 is flexible enough to be used for big SUVs and small cars. Nissan Motor Mfg. Corp.'s plant in Smyrna, TN, will be the first North American assembly plant to use P-500, in July.