How to further optimize the painting effect of the space frame structure

Pre-preparation

1.Surface treatment optimization

Cleanliness:

     Ensuring the cleanliness of the surface of the space frame structure parts is the basis for optimizing the spraying effect. Before spraying paint, the surface of the parts should be thoroughly cleaned of oil, dust, rust and other impurities. More advanced cleaning equipment can be used, such as laser cleaner, which utilizes a high energy density laser beam to irradiate the surface of the components, and can precisely remove oil and rust stains. Compared with the traditional chemical cleaning and manual polishing, it can clean the gaps of complex shaped space frame rods and nodes in a more in-depth way, and will not produce secondary pollution.

     For some stubborn stains, it can be inspected using an electron microscope after cleaning to make sure there are no residual impurities. It’s like doing a “microscopic checkup” of the component surface, leaving no small stains that could affect paint adhesion.

Roughness adjustment:

     Properly adjusting the roughness of the part surface can enhance the adhesion of the paint layer. In addition to traditional sandblasting, micro-arc oxidizing technology can be used to increase surface roughness. This technique works by generating a ceramic oxide film on the surface of the part, which has a uniform microscopic roughness. In the micro-arc oxidation treatment, and then spray paint, the paint layer can better “grab” the surface of the parts, as if the paint layer provides countless small “anchor points”, so that the spray paint effect is more durable.

2.Optimization of paint selection

   Adapt the paint to the environment:

     Consider the environment where the structure is to be used to select the paint. If the space frame structure is used in coastal areas, due to the high salt content in the air, it is easy to corrode the parts, so the fluorocarbon coating with excellent corrosion resistance should be selected. The fluorocarbon bond in this kind of coating can resist the erosion of seawater and sea breeze, just like putting on a layer of strong “anticorrosive armor” to the space frame.

     For the space frame used in high-temperature environment, such as the space frame structure in the factory floor, you can choose high-temperature-resistant silicone coatings. Silicone coatings can maintain good stability at high temperatures, there will be no discoloration, peeling and other problems, to ensure that the structure of the space frame in the “hot” working environment is still beautiful.

   Coating quality control:

     When purchasing coatings, we should strictly check the quality of coatings. In addition to checking the product specification and inspection report, you can also test a small sample of paint. The paint will be sprayed on a small piece of test piece of the same material as the space frame structure, simulating the actual painting conditions, and observe the drying speed, gloss, adhesion and other properties of the paint layer. It is just like a “mini talent show” for the paint, and only the excellent performance of the paint can be selected for the spraying of the space frame structure.

Painting process

1.Paint spraying equipment upgrading

   Spray gun improvement:

     The use of high-precision automatic spray guns can optimize the spraying effect. These guns can precisely control the spraying angle, flow and atomization of the paint mist. For example, the electrostatic spray gun can make the paint particles with an electric charge, under the action of the electric field, the paint particles can be more uniformly adsorbed on the surface of the space frame components, especially for the nodes of complex shapes, to reduce the waste of paint, improve the uniformity of spraying, like installing a “navigation system” for the paint particles, so that they can accurately find their “home”. It is like installing a “navigation system” for paint particles, allowing them to accurately find their “home”.

     A multi-axis gun arm is also a good option. The arm can flexibly spray the parts according to the three-dimensional shape of the space frame, and can spray precisely at different angles and positions. For large-scale space structures, it can act like a skillful painter, spraying on a huge “canvas” with ease, ensuring that every corner can be painted evenly.

   Paint booth environmental control:

    Optimizing the environmental conditions in the spray booth is critical to the painting results. Maintaining stable temperature and humidity in the spray booth ensures that the paint dries quickly and with high quality. Installation of an intelligent temperature and humidity control system enables the system to automatically adjust when the temperature is too high or too low and the humidity is too high. For example, in high humidity weather, turn on the dehumidification equipment to prevent the paint layer from appearing “white” phenomenon, just like creating a comfortable “microclimate” for the painting process, so that the paint in the most suitable environment to play the best performance.

    The ventilation system of the spray booth also needs to be further optimized. Good ventilation allows the paint mist to be discharged in a timely manner and prevents it from accumulating on the surfaces of the parts and causing hang-ups. Adopting multi-stage filtration ventilation equipment can effectively filter the impurities in the paint mist, and at the same time recycle the unattached paint to improve the utilization rate of the paint, just like installing a “clean guard” and “resource recycler” for the paint spray booth.

2.Paint spraying process optimization

   Paint spraying parameter adjustment:

     According to the characteristics of the paint and the requirements of the space frame components, fine adjustment of the spraying parameters. For example, for multi-layer painting of the space frame structure, the thickness and drying time of each layer of paint should be reasonably controlled. The optimum spraying interval can be determined through experimentation. Generally speaking, it is better to spray the next layer of paint after the first layer has reached surface dryness. It’s like giving each layer of paint an “exclusive break” so that they can blend together better and form a high quality layer.

     Adjusting the pressure and speed at which you spray is also key. Too much pressure may cause the paint mist to bounce back, resulting in wasted paint and uneven spraying; too much speed may make the paint layer too thin. Finding the optimal combination of pressure and speed for the structural components and the paint through repeated trials is like finding the optimal “cooking heat” to optimize the paint spraying effect.

   Paint path planning:

    Advanced software is utilized to plan the paint path. For complex space frame structures, the components are modeled by 3D modeling software, and the optimal paint paths are generated based on the model. The painting process can be simulated to avoid dead spots and repetitive painting. It is like drawing a precise “treasure map” for the spray gun, so that it can follow the most reasonable route and evenly spray paint on every corner of the treasure of the space frame structure.