Stuttgart Surface Technology Award 2022: Three companies honored

The Stuttgart Surface Technology Award "Die Oberfläche" was presented as part of the Surface Technology Germany trade fair. Three companies were honored for innovative applications and technologies in surface technology.

On the second day of Surface Technology Germany 2022, the time had come again: At the trade fair's technical forum, three companies were awarded the Stuttgart Surface Technology Prize "The Surface". Surface technology is often significantly involved in the degree of innovation and progress of numerous industries, without the general public being aware of this. "The Stuttgart Surface Technology Award "The Surface" therefore aims to honor this ubiquitous yet often overlooked cross-sectional and pacemaker technology and to promote novel applications from this field," says Dr.-Ing Martin Metzner. He heads the Electroplating Department at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA and established the award in 2012. To date, he is a member of the interdisciplinary jury that awards the prize every two years. The other members of the jury were Michael Hilt from the Forschungsgesellschaft für Pigmente und Lacke e.V. (Research Association for Pigments and Coatings) and Dr. Martin Riester from the VDMA Surface Technology Association. The winners and nominees also included four VDMA member companies, Dürr, Molecular Plasma and BMF, as well as Dörken's collaboration with VDMA member Walther.

With the invention of the spray gun more than 100 years ago, painting efficiency was significantly increased. However, its biggest disadvantage is the so-called overspray, a mist of paint that is not deposited on the object to be painted. For a century, engineers and technicians have repeatedly tried to eliminate the overspray. Dürr Systems AG of Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany, has now succeeded with "EcoPaintJet Pro." "With great staying power and together with partners from the paint and automotive industries, the company has brought the idea of completely overspray-free wet painting to fruition, potentially creating a disruptive innovation," praised juror Michael Hilt, managing director of the Forschungsgesellschaft für Pigmente und Lacke e.V. (Research Association for Pigments and Paints).

Up to now, the paint shop has been one of the biggest energy consumers in automotive production. The high consumption is largely due to paint drying and overspray. But if there is no more paint mist at all, this leads to energy savings of around 30 percent for the entire paint line. In addition, EcoPaintJet Pro makes it possible for the first time to combine customized product design and automated production in an efficient and environmentally friendly way.

"In times when more attention than ever is being paid to energy consumption and CO2 emissions, EcoPaintJet Pro offers much more potential than contrasting colors or visual elements on car bodies - namely the entry into a low-emission and thus energy-optimized paint shop. The EcoPaintJet Pro process from Dürr Systems AG is thus the worthy winner of "Surface 2022," said Hilt in his laudatory speech.

Due to the inclusion of particles, visible defects repeatedly occur during painting. Until now, the affected areas have had to be touched up by hand in an energy- and labor-intensive process - with varying results depending on the skill and daily form of the personnel. But now ASIS GmbH from Landshut has developed a precise and repeatable solution for the inspection and removal of defects with the automatic finish. Industrial robots evaluate each defect individually and finish it exactly as required. This fully automated finishing process saves time and material and ensures consistent quality.

"The system has proven its industrial readiness through its use at an original equipment manufacturer and will now be rolled out to other industries. We are pleased to be able to award ASIS GmbH the silver "Die Oberfläche" for this development," said Katja Feige of Fraunhofer IPA in her laudatory speech. Although Feige herself is not a member of the jury, she represented juror Martin Metzner at the award ceremony.

Molecular Plasma Group S.A., based in the Luxembourg village of Fötz, has developed a technology that enables surface functionalization by the covalent bonding of organic substances using a cold atmospheric plasma on any substrate. The nanocoating created by the one-step, dry and solvent-free process imparts a well-defined and permanent function to the surface - ranging from adhesion enhancement of inert materials, to bioactive surfaces, to hydrophobic, hydrophilic or even non-stick properties.

"This innovative application of plasma surface technology significantly expands the possibilities of surface functionalization," praised juror Martin Riester, officer of the Surface Technology Department at the German Engineering Federation (VDMA). "This innovative strength, coupled with the wide-ranging application possibilities across many target industries, was the deciding factor for the jury in awarding the company the 2022 Bronze "The Surface" prize."

Also nominated for the Stuttgart Surface Technology Award "The Surface" were BMF GmbH from Chemnitz and Dörken Coatings GmbH & Co. KG from Herdecke. BMF has created an automatic blasting process that produces reproducible, homogeneous and predefinable surfaces. Rework and scrap are thus avoided. Dörken, in collaboration with equipment manufacturer Walther Spritz- und Lackiersysteme GmbH, has developed an automatic spray gun that, in conjunction with a robot, can partially coat components with virtually no spray mist. Costly and time-consuming masking is no longer necessary for this. (OM-06/22)