AGVs provide flexible capacity expansion

SOUTHFIELD, Mich, March 11, 2021 - Enovate is a high-end travel technology enterprise integrating R&D, production and the sales and service of electric vehicles. The new e-car factory, currently under construction by the Chinese manufacturer, is scheduled to start production this year. It includes a scalable paint shop built by Dürr, which can grow flexibly to meet demand. An important building block for the plant is the EcoProFleet of automated guided vehicles (AGV).

Enovate's brand concept focuses on design, quality and intelligent connectivity. The company aims to rethink smart design and green mobility and implement its ideas with innovative technology. The first ME7 model has been officially available since last fall. The new plant in Changsha, one of China's major cities, is designed for an initial annual capacity of 60,000 units. To enable Enovate to expand its production in response to rising demand, Enovate opted to use AGVs around its manual workstations. The AGVs are a flexible conveyor technology that is not restrained by cycle times and can be easily extended as production figures grow.

Investment as and when needed
Unlike conventional in-floor conveyor technology, more AGVs can be added as additional workstations are built. This is economically attractive, especially for newcomers to e-mobility; they can begin with small quantities and gradually expand as demand increases. Driverless transport vehicles offer the flexibility to postpone expansion until it becomes a requirement for the manufacturer.

Ready for use around the clock
Resistant to paint and solvents, equipped with an integrated laser scanner and a speed limit for the utmost safety, EcoProFleet by Dürr is the first AGV designed specifically for paint shops. Four of the autonomous transport vehicles will be used at Enovate on an area of 60 by 36 meters to convey bodies between the manual workstations and the intermediate storage area. AGVs do not require breaks for charging; therefore they are ready for use around the clock. The charging stations where the AGVs hand over or pick up bodies enable a consistent energy source without interrupting the manufacturing process. In just 90 seconds, they draw enough power to cover the next section. Dürr developed different adapter solutions for transporting the bodies to the AGVs and handing them off to other conveyor technology. For example, from a roller track to an AGV. With the right adapter solution, the AGVs can be used with skids, as at Enovate, and without skids.

Complete flexibility, even in the PT/EC area
Enovate's new paint shop is also the first in China to rely on the RoDip® E rotational dip process in pretreatment with a thin-film process and cathodic electrocoating. Unlike the RoDip® M product variant established in many plants in China, RoDip® E is electric. The electric power source allows Enovate to program each trolley to manage a specific car body's requirements. This allows the flexibility to define an optimized immersion curve in terms of turning and travel speeds for each body type, resulting in the best possible draining and minimal carryover. All RoDip® variants have a comparatively short immersion tank with a small tank volume to keep consumption of water, chemicals, and energy as low as possible.

Environmentally friendly overspray separation
Dürr's EcoDry X system is installed for the topcoat spray booth. It uses cardboard filter boxes as a separating agent for overspray and is more environmentally friendly than processes that use a mixture of water and chemicals. For greater energy efficiency, the process air is redirected to the air recirculation system. This process reduces a paint shop's total energy consumption by around 30 percent compared with a conventional wet scrubbing system operated without air recirculation. EcoDry X also excels since the disposable cardboard filters can be easily replaced, even while production is underway.

About Dürr
The Dürr Group has been established in the United States since 1970 and currently employs approximately 1,400 people. From the Campus with a state-of-art validation, testing, and training center in Southfield, MI, Dürr USA represents four of the five divisions. Paint and Final Assembly Systems offers equipment for painting and assembly processes, while Application Technology provides paint, sealants and adhesives application systems. Dürr's Clean Technology Systems division is leading in air pollution control, noise abatement systems, and battery electrode coating lines. Dürr has three locations in the US: Dürr Systems, Inc. in Southfield, MI, and De Pere, WI; Durr Universal, Inc. in Stoughton, WI. The subsidiary Schenck USA Corp., with headquarters in Deer Park, NY, and additional locations in Hudson, MA, and Southfield, MI, offers balancing machines, vibration and condition monitoring systems, spin testing and services for the aerospace, automotive and general industry. The customers of Dürr USA include automotive and commercial vehicle manufacturers, as well as their suppliers, and a diverse group of other industries like the chemical or wood industry. HOMAG Machinery North America operates the production facilities for HOMAG Group in Grand Rapids, MI, which is also the base for the sales and service company Stiles Machinery Inc. The HOMAG Group produces machinery and equipment for the woodworking industry.

The Dürr Group is one of the world's leading mechanical and plant engineering firms with extensive expertise in automation and digitalization/Industry 4.0. Its products, systems and services enable highly efficient and resource-saving manufacturing processes in different industries. The Dürr Group supplies sectors like the automotive industry, mechanical engineering, chemical, pharmaceutical, medical technology and woodworking industries. It generated sales of € 3.32 billion in 2020. The company has more than 17,000 employees and 120 business locations in 33 countries. Since February 2021, the majority-owned automation specialist Teamtechnik has also been part of the Group. The Dürr Group operates in the market with the brands Dürr, Schenck and HOMAG and with five divisions:
• Paint and Final Assembly Systems: paint shops as well as final assembly, testing and filling technology for the automotive industry, assembly and test systems for medical devices
• Application Technology: robot technologies for the automated application of paint, sealants and adhesives
• Clean Technology Systems: air pollution control, noise abatement systems and coating systems for battery electrodes
• Measuring and Process Systems: balancing equipment and diagnostic technology
• Woodworking Machinery and Systems: machinery and equipment for the woodworking industry

About Enovate
Adhering to the brand concept of global design, top quality and intelligent connectivity, Enovate automobile is committed to reconstructing the design, quality and intelligent experience of automobile with innovative technology, constantly subverting the imagination of automobile, exploring the infinite possibility of green travel in the future, and gradually becoming the explorer and leader of green intelligent travel.