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EG then developed a new outer-panel coating system based on the water-based coating material in 1992, introducing a water-based electrostatic coating machine with high coating efficiency-known as the EVB, or EG voltage block-to the coating line at Honda of the UK Manufacturing (HUM). This new system not only achieved greater efficiency of coating than the water-based system earlier introduced at HAM, but it reversed the common notion about water-based coating materials by attaining a level of coating efficiency equal to that of organic coating materials. The EVB was an electrostatic coating system in which a tank was filled with water-based coating material prior to each application and the material in the tank was electrically charged. This dramatically enhanced the efficiency of the material as it was sprayed from the EG bell spraygun.
In 1998, EG created the EVB metallic bell spraygun line, which was capable of coating two or more vehicles using an amount of coating material that formerly would have been considered enough to cover just one car. The new system led to a significant integration of the coating process, and was eventually introduced in the factory at Honda of Canada Manufacturing (HCM).
The coating process had traditionally been seen as one in which the body was painted in a foggy workstation. However, the new line created a cleaner work environment without causing the air to become stagnant. During the process of restructuring the coating line, the wisdom and ideas of many people were combined in order to achieve higher quality in the painting of car bodies.
Currently, water-based materials have become mainstream among the world's automakers. Amid growing concerns over the global environment, manufacturers are endeavoring to minimize the use of VOCs. In response, EG is working to establish new core technologies in the area of coating. With the 21st century fast approaching, preservation of the global environment is bound to grow in importance. Thus the engineers at EG are taking on new challenges in order to develop technologies which will enable mankind to prosper in harmony with the planet. |
