Dürr paints 90 car bodies per hour at Volkswagen Puebla

German automation and digitalization giant Dürr has released details of how the paint shop designed for the Volkswagen plant in Puebla drastically reduces CO2 emissions.

The facility, inaugurated at the beginning of the year, complements one of the automotive company's largest manufacturing complexes worldwide. The project includes two identical paint lines that are particularly environmentally friendly thanks to their electrified equipment, especially the drying system.

Dürr also implemented key components of its new “Paint Shop of the Future” concept, with a high-bay warehouse and driverless transport systems. Using this logistics system, it has been processing 90 vehicle bodies per hour of different models since last January.

Adaptable configuration

The complex is designed to adapt to new models and new technologies thanks to a high-bay warehouse and the EcoProFleet driverless transport system.

The DXQ software controls the AGV (automated guided vehicle), developed specifically for paint shops, which sorts the car bodies predictively, in combination with the high-bay warehouse, and transports them to the appropriate work platform or picks them up with millimeter precision.

The division of rigid production lines is a fundamental principle of Dürr's concept and shortens the overall process by precisely adapting the process time to each vehicle. This alone significantly reduces total CO2 emissions.

The two identical paint lines feature 170 sealing and painting robots, with the corresponding application technology to seal and coat the various Volkswagen models in the future.

This process incorporates an EcoRS Clean F system, which combines the thorough and gentle cleaning capability of a feather roller system with the great flexibility inherent in a robotic configuration.

Its design makes it perfect for lines that paint various body variants with complex contours.

The scope of the contract also includes the complete supply of paint and PVC, as well as software solutions with AI applications from the DXQ product family, owned by Dürr.

Electrification of Drying

A key factor in reducing CO2 emissions is the drying of the car body, as this is the most energy-intensive part of the painting process.

Operating ovens with regenerative energy, such as green electricity, reduces CO2 emissions from the overall system by approximately 40% compared to a paint shop that uses natural gas.

“This was one of the reasons why Volkswagen opted for the EcoInCure electric drying system,” explained Bruno Welsch, Director of Automotive Operations at Dürr.

Another reason, according to the specialist, is the special air duct system that heats the car bodies from the inside out.

This technology provides more uniform heating and cooling and reaches the solid components of the car body, such as the lower panels, more directly than conventional systems, reducing car body heating times by 30%.

Another key factor in minimizing CO2 emissions is the connection of the electric oven to an electrical air pollution control system.

Dürr is the only supplier on the market with a comprehensive concept of this type, combining an electrical exhaust air aftertreatment system that purifies polluted air using the principle of regenerative thermal oxidation (RTO) without an open flame.

Unlike conventional combustion processes, this system does not produce additional CO2.

In addition, the system is extremely energy-efficient and achieves autothermal operation even with small amounts of solvent, i.e., it maintains its operating temperature on its own.

This distinction allows it to use the considerable energy produced during the oxidation of solvents to keep the process running.

Efficient Purification

Finally, Dürr also installed an energy-saving and environmentally friendly system for separating excess spray.

The EcoDryScrubber uses limestone powder as a natural binding agent to separate excess paint. High-efficiency HEPA12 filters remove all particles from the air during the process.

The saturated limestone powder is removed fully automatically via a pipe system, without any interruptions.

The dry separation system at Volkswagen Puebla minimizes the required fresh air supply to 5%, maximizing the proportion of recirculated air.

This reduces the energy consumption of the paint booth by more than 60% compared to wet scrubbing.