Automation in Coatings Production E-Book

West Klaus-W.

• Herausgeber: Vincentz Network
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

While the automation of processes in many areas ensures higher efficiency and safety, the question arises how this affects the coatings industry. This eBook shows what is already automatable and how the coatings industry can learn from other branches of industry to help make the working days more efficient and future-ready. Peter van den Berg and his team have already embraced this aspect of automation by using not only a 3D printer to make disposable applicators but also a robotic interface to automate the inspection process in the paint production and so substantially reduce its carbon footprint. Klaus West examines whether digitization and simultaneous automation in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries jeopardize jobs, how these are changing and what skills we will need to acquire today to safeguard future careers. All in all, this eBook is a compilation of different, trend-setting articles regarding e. g. the important role of planning in the development of new paint-making systems, a consistent product quality in a fully automated, continous coating production or process adjustments in dispersing pigments and fillers.

Leseprobe

Klaus-W. West

Christoph Fleischer-Trebes

Natalie Schwerdtfeger et al.

Hans-Joachim Jacob

Peter van den Berg et al.

Automation in Coatings Production

Bibliographische Information der Deutschen Bibliothek

Die Deutsche Bibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliographie; detaillierte bibliographische Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.d-nb.de abrufbar.

K.-W. West, C. Fleischer-Trebes, N. Schwerdtfeger et al., H.-J. Jacob P. van den Berg et al.

Automation in Coatings Production

Hanover: Vincentz Network, 2020

European Coatings Library

ISBN 3-7486-0259-6

ISBN 978-3-7486-0259-0

© 2020 Vincentz Network GmbH & Co. KG, Hanover

Vincentz Network, Plathnerstr. 4c, 30175 Hanover, Germany

This work is copyrighted, including the individual contributions and figures.

Any usage outside the strict limits of copyright law without the consent of the publisher is prohibited and punishable by law. This especially pertains to reproduction, translation, microfilming and the storage and processing in electronic systems.

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Layout: Vincentz Network, Hanover, Germany

European Coatings Library

Klaus-W. West

Christoph Fleischer-Trebes

Natalie Schwerdtfeger et al.

Hans-Joachim Jacob

Peter van den Berg et al.

Automation in Coatings Production

Automation in Coatings Production

© Copyright 2020 by Vincentz Network, Hanover, Germany

Efficiency through automation

We tend to associate automation with machines or robots that take on programmable processes which enable us to accomplish tasks more efficiently and safely. Cars are already fitted out with automated features that assist with parking and keeping a clear distance from the vehicle in front. Meanwhile our houses are evolving more and more into “smart homes”.

But what about the coatings industry? What is already automatable and what can we learn from other branches of industry that will help make our working days both more efficient and future-ready? Peter van den Berg and his team have already embraced this aspect of automation by using not only a 3D printer to make disposable applicators but also a robotic interface to automate the inspection process in the paint production and so substantially reduce its carbon footprint.

In the opening chapter, Klaus West examines whether the digital transformation and simultaneous automation in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries are threatening jobs and how these are changing. He also examines the skills we need to acquire today to safeguard future careers.

The important role that planning plays in the development of new paint-making systems is addressed by Christoph Fleischer-Trebes, who explains innovative line concepts and how swappable, standardised functional units can be used in coatings production to respond quickly and flexibly to the latest market requirements. For her part, Natalie Schwerdtfeger focuses on more consistent product quality, highlighting the benefits of fully automated, continuous coatings production. The centre-piece of any paint production process is the dispersion of pigments and fillers – Hans-Joachim Jacob explains how these coatings raw materials can be dispersed more efficiently through process adjustments.

Happy reading!

Gisela Gehrenkemper

1Digital transformation and work – experiences from the chemical industry

2.1.1.1Klaus-W. West

1.1Disruptive processes or gradual adjustments?

Factories are being interconnected, production is being automated/streamlined.

Man/machine are working hand in hand.

Value-added chains are spreading around the globe and are being restructured.

“New forms of work” harbour risks such as “greater demands on performance”, “monitoring/performance measurement”, “poorly paid gainful employment with no social protection or worker codetermination”.

“Click-working and crowd-working”: Programmers can be booked online with just a few clicks. Tasks are no longer outsourced to individuals, but to crowds of people instead.

There is no consensus on just how disruptive the disruption will be. “Disruptive” is a buzzword. It suggests that change processes come suddenly and unexpectedly – through competition from areas which nobody had seriously expected before and through synergies in value-added chains that were previously non-existent. Disruptive processes are the opposite of gradual adjustments. They are the modern translation of Joseph Schumpeter’s “creative destruction” – however, they are taking place in a completely different, volatile, technological dynamic field.

How are companies preparing their organisations to avoid being overrun by (unknown) competitors? In Germany, the upcoming change processes tend to be seen as slow developments – possibly as being too slow?

2.2.1.1Provisional political mainstream

The response in Germany has been the emergence of a provisional political mainstream. As early as 2014, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, BDI and IG Metall launched the “Alliance for Industry” and declared that digitisation was the challenge of our times.