Reconditioned painting robots for motorcycle manufacturers

Painting robots have been in continuous use at a motorcycle manufacturer for years. They have now been replaced by reconditioned robots, which proved to be the most sustainable, efficient and economical solution.

Shimmering tanks, golden suspension struts, chrome and powder coatings: cool looks are a must for motorcycles. At a German motorcycle manufacturer, ABB painting robots provide the necessary shine. After more than eight years of continuous operation, they were replaced by reconditioned robots. In view of the high sustainability standards that both the manufacturer and ABB are committed to, "out with the old and in with the brand new" was not a priority: reconditioned robots proved to be the right choice for sustainable and efficient management and minimizing production downtimes.

Motorcycles create sound, emotions and dreams. The look of every single part contributes to this appearance - a reason for manufacturers to pay particular attention to the paintwork of fairings, sheet metal, suspension struts and load-bearing elements. The highest quality and craftsmanship are required here, even if no one is still wielding a spray gun in series production. A total of 20 ABB IRB 5400 robots are currently doing this at the ABB customer's plant in Berlin, painting body parts that are installed directly on site or shipped to Asia and America, for example. Following the success of the ABB robots in the paint shop, the company gradually introduced them in other departments, where they perform tasks such as powder coating and welding.

The manufacturer put the first ABB robots into operation in 2003. Between 2014 and 2016, the robots were replaced as refurbished robots. Except for short breaks between Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings, they are in continuous use in 3-shift operation. Service contracts with ABB ensure that the robots are thoroughly serviced every year. In the course of these support assignments, ABB replaces parts for which problem-free operation can no longer be guaranteed for another year. The high quality of the robots leads to a particularly long product life cycle and thus also contributes to the ABB customer's sustainability strategy.

Nevertheless, after many years of continuous use, the time had come when robots had to be replaced in order to ensure smooth 24/7 continuous operation. In such a situation, a company has several options: Replacing the old robot with a new unit of the same design, replacing the old robot with the latest model with greater functionality or replacing the old robot with a refurbished robot of the same design. The use of modern units would have a number of advantages in the long term, but would take considerably longer to commission. This is because technicians have to check, adapt and test all processes, programming and interfaces for a new unit and adapt the robot cell if necessary. This would lead to significantly longer production downtimes than when replacing with an identical model.

The fact is that the principle of sustainability plays a central role at the motorcycle manufacturer's plant and within the company as a whole. The economical use of precious resources such as water, energy and materials is of great importance for motorcycle production in the heart of the German capital. State-of-the-art production technologies, such as the use of water-based paints, set high standards.

Against this background, the robot replacement was also to meet the same high sustainability targets, which was easily achieved by using identical, reconditioned units. This was done in a kind of ring exchange: robots that were reconditioned in ABB Robotics' repair and overhaul center in Friedberg were set up, configured and programmed for the customer in advance using ^{RobotStudio®}. The specialists installed the latest RobotWare 6 software version and equipped the robots with new control technology. In the course of this maintenance work, ABB also streamlined and harmonized the configuration files and parameter libraries. Thanks to the comprehensive preparation, ABB reduced downtimes by around 40 percent compared to installing a new system.

The software update makes the robots future-proof and has the advantage that the robots can be equipped with the latest ABB applicators such as spray heads or rotary atomizers in the future, should these be required at a later date.

"The many years of close and trusting cooperation with our customer paid off for both sides in this project. Thanks to the know-how of how the robots are used in the plant and the comprehensive capabilities of ABB Robotics in Friedberg, we were able to implement dismantling, renewal, testing, assembly and commissioning quickly and with minimal use of resources on the part of our customer," says David Winter, Project Manager in System Service at ABB Robotics Germany, describing the successful procedure.

In order to be prepared for surprises, a team of ABB service technicians accompanied the restart with the replaced robots. The team could have intervened immediately at any time, but this was not necessary. As a result, the production downtime was limited to just three weeks. ABB is now continuing this sustainable approach to the circular economy at the motorcycle manufacturer's plant and replacing the IRB 5400 painting robot in a ring exchange process. When the painting line is closed in a few years, the robots can still be used as replacement units for another painting line.

ABB's remanufacturing approach is part of a sustainable materials recycling management system that specifically ensures that as much of the technology as possible is reused. As a rule, 60 to 80 percent of a robot can be reused, while the rest is sent to certified recycling partners. For example, almost all ABB robots used in the automotive industry are given a second life, and up to a fifth are even given a third life. In addition to saving costs, this also saves natural resources and energy for their manufacture. The remanufacturing of a robot generates around 75 percent less CO2 than the production of a new robot. Before a robot is labeled as an ABB-certified reconditioned robot, it undergoes rigorous testing, including a detailed inspection and a functional test. The remanufactured ABB robots and spare parts come with a minimum 12-month warranty. (OM-8/24)