Automated brake-disc coating system developed

Italian companies Prima Additive and Comau recently joined forces to develop a high-speed, fully automated brake-disc coating system for Stellantis. The first in a series of robotic-driven ‘Rapid Coating Process’ cells was shown at Stellantis’s Factory Booster Day, held in Turin on 18 September.

By hard coating the raw brake discs with resilient steel and composite materials, Stellantis will be able to significantly increase brake disc durability and reduce emissions pollution by up to 80%. This will allow the automotive manufacturer to fully comply with the Euro 7 standard, which requires a 27% reduction in particle emissions from brake discs by the end of 2026.

The Comau and Prima Additive cell uses a combination of advanced laser systems, high-speed robotic arms, additive manufacturing processes and safe powder management. Furthermore, the full integration of Comau’s robotic arms with Siemens’ Sinumerik Run MyRobot allows the industry-standard software platform to directly control the robotic arm without the need for external or embedded robot controllers.

Maximum flexibility and productivity
The modular system also allows maximum flexibility and productivity, the cells being equipped with adjustable grippers that can handle different sizes of discs — from cars to trucks — and thereby address evolving production mix scenarios. Moreover, in addition to being highly versatile and energy efficient, the system has a compact overall footprint.

Paolo Calefati, Prima Additive’s CEO, said: “At Prima Additive, we believe that collaboration and innovation are the driving forces shaping the future of manufacturing. Our collaboration with Comau joins two companies with deep expertise in their respective fields to develop a truly cutting-edge industrial solution in automation and advanced laser systems for material processing. More importantly, the laser system developed for the brake disc coating application is one of the most profitable and sustainable cases of laser additive manufacturing/laser cladding technology applied in mass production for automotive.”

The jointly developed Rapid Coating system is scheduled to be deployed at the Stellantis’s Septfonds plant in France by the end of 2024, making the company one of the first automotive manufacturers to introduce a fully automated line for the hard coating of brake discs in compliance with Euro 7 policy standards.