DFO Automotive Conference: Important perspectives for the industry

The European Automotive & Plastic Coating Conference took place from 19 to 20 September in the Fanuc event rooms. A tight programme of 22 lectures on many current topics in the automotive sector was presented.

The two-day conference programme in September included 22 exciting lectures on the subject of automobiles. One lecture dealt with the automated determination of the position of large-area components in the paint booth, for example aircraft components. It was explained how a LiDAR sensor can cover a spherical measuring volume of 30 metres in diameter.Andreas Hilse from VW and Dr. Pawel Svejda from Dürr presented a new, flexible application solution for seam sealing. Carlo Bouwmeester from Chemetall dealt with the topic of circularity, also in the context of the upcoming EU regulations. Another presentation also dealt with sustainability and circularity. Of the 300 million tonnes of plastic produced worldwide, 260 million are disposed of as waste. This poses immense challenges in terms of recycling. With regard to paints and varnishes, there are first coating systems that meet all EU requirements in terms of durability, chemical resistance, weathering and application, and still have a high proportion of recycled materials.

At the end of the event, Stefan Thiel from Rippert presented some applications of the Smart-Compact-Painting-Line, an interesting, very flexible painting system concept in which a robot takes over the component handling and cycles them through the corresponding stations from pre-treatment to painting and drying. Overall, this year's event offered an interesting mix of directly practice-relevant topics and research results. The event rooms at Fanuc, where automation topics were exhibited, provided a very fitting and interesting backdrop for the event.