Industry Application of Rhopoint Aesthetix for Automotive Exteriors

The Rhopoint Aesthetix is an advanced tool designed to meet the rigorous demands of the automotive exterior market. With its ability to measure critical surface attributes such as gloss, texture, sparkle, graininess, and scratch resistance, it ensures consistent quality and aesthetic appeal. Its capability to measure small or curved parts and integrate with collaborative robots (cobots) enables automated quality assurance across production lines.

Key Applications

Painted Body Panels and Coatings

• Gloss and Appearance Control: Measures gloss levels to ensure uniformity across high-gloss, satin, or matte automotive coatings.
• Sparkle and Graininess Analysis: Quantifies sparkle density and graininess to ensure consistent metallic or pearlescent finishes on body panels.
• Orange Peel and Waviness Detection: Evaluates waviness and orange peel effects to optimize painting processes and achieve premium-quality finishes.

Anodized Aluminum Components

• Finish Quality Characterization: Measures gloss, sparkle density, graininess, and waviness on anodized aluminum trims, emblems, or accents to ensure uniform finish quality.
• Tactile Feel Optimization: Analyzes roughness and cell amplitude to ensure consistent tactile feedback for high-touch areas like door handles or decorative trims.

Curved Parts and Small Components

• Precision on Complex Shapes: Accurately measures small or curved parts such as side mirrors, trim pieces, or badges with advanced adaptors for non-contact evaluation.
• Consistency in Appearance: Ensures uniformity in gloss, texture, and sparkle across intricate components that complement larger body panels.

Scratch Resistance Testing for Glass and Plastic Surfaces

• Durability Evaluation: Quantifies micro-scratches and abrasions on glass or plastic surfaces using haze and sharpness metrics to ensure long-lasting clarity and durability.
• Polishing Process Optimization: Evaluates the effectiveness of polishing processes for headlights, windshields, or display screens to maintain premium surface quality.

Cobot Integration for Automated Quality Control

• Multipoint Analysis: Cobots enable systematic measurements at multiple points on large components like doors or bumpers to ensure uniform appearance across entire panels.
• High-Speed Inspection: Automates repetitive quality control tasks, increasing throughput while maintaining precision.
• Batch Uniformity Assurance: Ensures consistent quality across production batches by linking measurements to specific parts or assemblies.

Relevant Modules and Measurements

1. Sparkle Graininess Module: Measures sparkle density and graininess to evaluate metallic finishes on body panels and trims.
2. Texture Module: Analyzes roughness (Sa), cell amplitude (Ca), and surface topography for tactile feel optimization on aluminum components or textured coatings.
3. Surface Brilliance Module: Provides complete glossiness evaluation while predicting visual gloss under real-world lighting conditions for enhanced consumer appeal. Includes waviness values to measure and control orange peel.
4. Polishing Quality Module: Detects micro-scratches and abrasions using haze (LogH C) and sharpness (SU) metrics for durability testing of coatings, glass and plastic surfaces.

Advantages of Cobot Integration

• Consistent Positioning: Cobots ensure identical measurement positions across large panels or small parts, eliminating variability caused by manual handling.
• High-Throughput Inspection: Automates hundreds of measurements per shift, enabling 100% inspection of critical components in high-volume production lines.
• Enhanced Traceability: Links measurement data to individual panels or batches for regulatory compliance and process optimization.
• Adaptability to Complex Geometries: Cobots follow predefined paths to measure curved surfaces or intricate shapes with precision.

Implementation Benefits

• Precision on Challenging Surfaces: Delivers accurate results on small parts, curved surfaces, or large body panels with complex geometries.
• Batch-to-Batch Consistency: Identifies subtle variations in gloss, texture, sparkle, or waviness before they become visible issues.
• Efficiency Gains: Reduces manual inspection time while improving accuracy and repeatability in quality control processes.

The Rhopoint Aesthetix is a transformative solution for the automotive exterior market, offering advanced measurement capabilities combined with cobot-driven automation to ensure consistent quality across all exterior components while enhancing efficiency in production workflows.