Bumper Manufacturer Uses DELMIA's Ultra-Paint to Ensure Best Processes and Cycle Speeds.

Business Editors/Automotive Writers

AUBURN HILLS, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 18, 2003

Delmia Corporation announced that Flex-N-Gate -- a world leader in the manufacture of quality bumper systems -- has used DELMIA's Ultra-Paint robotic simulation and off-line programming package to optimize the paint cells at its Peterborough, Ontario factory. The entire line consists of twenty ABB robots located in five paint booths. In the first booth, the robots spray an adhesion promoter on the plastic parts. In booths two and three, base coats are applied. Booths four and five are final color coats.

Before committing fully to the process, the company decided to prove out the software on an existing program. The company uploaded a program into Ultra-Paint and then played it back to make sure it looked the same as it did in real life. The program was then downloaded back to the controller to make sure it was accepted and didn't crash the robot.

"Then," said Flex-N-Gate's Murray Fulmer, corporate paint/simulation specialist, "we took the same program, uploaded it and modified it with very visible changes to see if the real life translation matched the simulation. The results were picture perfect, giving us the confidence to simulate the entire line.

"We originally purchased Ultra-Paint to perform off-line programming to avoid overtime and weekends needed to manually teach the robots," said Fulmer. "But, it also provides the ability to use CAD data created in the design phase to help us develop the necessary paint fixtures and robot programs months in advance, rather than having to bring actual parts to the booth. Without Ultra-Paint, we would have to wait for physical parts in order to begin the process of developing a proper paint process.

"And," Fulmer added, "you often spend months tweaking the program and trying to make it efficient. Ultra-Paint lets you go right to the floor knowing that the line is going to perform properly."

Flex-N-Gate has also discovered that the 3D visual of the simulation serves as a sales tool. "It gives customer's added confidence, said Fulmer. "We can now show our customers their part being processed in our paint lines within the required parameters, all before the parts are finished in the final design phase."

The next step for Flex-N-Gate is corporate-wide integration of Ultra-Paint at the organization's six paint facilities. "We're only in the infancy in terms of benefits gained by the DELMIA Ultra-Paint simulation," says Fulmer. "But, we're already saving time, increasing the accuracy of our programs and gaining the customer's confidence in the process ... it's a win-win situation for everyone involved."

Delmia Corp. is the leading provider of lean digital manufacturing solutions, focused mainly on software that can be used to streamline manufacturing processes. DELMIA serves industries where the optimization of manufacturing processes is critical, including automotive, aerospace, fabrication and assembly, electrical and electronics, consumer goods, plant, and shipbuilding sectors. Information about Delmia Corp. is available at http://www.delmia.com