ABB has entered into a strategic cooperation with the Austrian company Engineering Software Steyr GmbH (ESS). Together, the companies want to create powerful simulation tools. These are intended to transform the painting process in the automotive industry and reduce costs by up to 30 percent. As part of the cooperation, ABB is acquiring a minority stake in ESS.
Shortening development times by one month
"The solutions will reduce the time required for vehicle development by up to one month and enable cost savings of up to 30 percent," says Marc Segura, Head of ABB's Robotics division. The painting process in the automotive industry typically involves more than 20 steps, ranging from degreasing and cathodic dip coating to sealing, painting and drying. Each step is subject to different parameters such as material viscosity, adhesion and drying time, which must be tested and optimized before series production of a new model begins. Each of these activities can be time-consuming and costly in the conventional process.
Integration of ESS in RobotStudio
The partnership will also enable customers to benefit from ABB's Robotics division's experience in the field of automotive painting. ABB will integrate ESS technology into RobotStudio, ABB's offline programming and simulation software for robots. RobotStudio is available for desktop, cloud and augmented reality platforms.