EXEL industries

Paint application via printing: with PRiNTEC, SAMES KREMLIN makes unlimited customization available to industry

Press release

Paint application via printing: with PRiNTEC, SAMES KREMLIN makes unlimited customization available to industry

SAMES KREMLIN announces the development of PRiNTEC, a range of products and services based on a patented printhead technology for paint application. This technology makes unlimited customization possible for the high-speed printing of stripes (horizontal or vertical) and patterns of all kinds on 2D or 3D surfaces. It can also be used to print adhesives and sealants.

PRiNTEC is targeted at the automotive, railway, aeronautics, furniture, and ceramics markets, among others. Customers benefit from productivity gains and make a significant contribution to preserving the environment. Commercial launch is planned for 2022, with 2021 devoted to product industrialization and validation.

Patterns positioned to within one tenth of a millimeter

The EPJet printhead is what sets PRiNTEC products and services apart. This electro-pneumatic mechanism releases drops of paint through the movement of a micro membrane controlled by a high-frequency piezoelectric micro-air valve, for applications as fast as 1 m/s. Its compact size and nozzle density make very high resolution and pattern positioning possible to within one tenth of a millimeter. The size of the outlet ports ranges from 100 to 500 microns, perfect for the application of all types of single- or double-component paints.

The proprietary EPJet technology was acquired from the German company Epainters and its founder, Dr. Burkhard Büstgens, inventor of the Bosch ESP sensor’s micro-mechanical design. Epainters began as a start-up at IMTEK, the microtechnology department of the University of Freiburg. SAMES KREMLIN will receive support from Dr. Büstgens for industrialization and deployment.

Unlimited customization and high productivity

While the few printing technologies already available are limited to the application of stripes on horizontal surfaces, PRiNTEC can draw vertical stripes, checkered patterns, circles, and much more. It just needs the right printhead to do the job. SAMES KREMLIN responds to the growing need for delayed differentiation and customization of industrial products with a high-productivity solution that makes masking obsolete.

Printing adhesives and sealants

The PRiNTEC range can also be used to apply viscous products such as adhesives and sealants with precision and no retouching or waste. Its ease of use and flexibility allow for new manufacturing processes that are difficult or even impossible to imagine with traditional technologies, such as adhesive beads whose width varies according to the geometry of the parts to be assembled.