Hughes Aircraft Company

Fanuc Robotics North America, Inc.

Gmfanuc Robotics Corporation

Alexander H Joyce

Hadi A Akeel

David B Chang

James E Drummond

A system is provided for the productive utilization of paint in a paint supply line, changing paint colors and cleaning paint lines by inserting and propelling a termination piston or slug having an outer diameter which forms a sliding fit within the supply line to wipe paint off the interior walls of the supply line. Preferably, the supply line is elastic and the termination piston squeegees the paint off the interior walls. A manifold is fitted with various valves to selectively supply pressurized air, solvent and two or more paint colors to the supply line. A process controller controls the timing of the valves of the manifold. The system can also be used to retrofit existing color changers in an economical yet environmentally sound fashion

System for the productive utilization of paint in a paint supply line,

A time-efficient method for smoothing a surface 20 of an applied coating composition 22 is disclosed herein. In particular, the present invention sets forth a technique for expediting the subsidence of coating surface nonmetallic vertical irregularities R1, R2. The technique of the present invention is applied subsequent to the application of the coating composition 22 to an electrically conductive object 24, which results in the formation of a coating surface 20. The technique of the present invention includes the step of generating electrically charged particles 40 in a volume of space adjacent to the coating surface 20. The charged particles 40 cause an electric field to develop across the coating composition 22, which induces the charged particles 40 to exert pressure on the coating surface 20.

Reduction of nonmetallic coating surface vertical irregularities by

Method and system are provided for the productive utilization of paint in a paint supply line, changing paint colors and cleaning paint lines by inserting and propelling a termination piston or slug having an outer diameter which forms a sliding fit within the supply line to wipe pair off the interior walls of the supply line. Preferably, the supply line is elastic and the termination piston squeegees the paint off the interior walls. A manifold is fitted with various valves to selectively supply pressurized air, solvent and two or more paint colors to the supply line. A process controller controls the timing of the valves of the manifold. The method and system can also be used to retrofit existing color changers in an economical yet environmentally sound fashion.

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Livonia, MI, United States of America

Alexander H Joyce