Mahindra Employs ABB's Groundbreaking PixelPaint Technology for Enhanced Electric Vehicle Painting
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (M&M), India’s top SUV producer, has adopted ABB’s innovative PixelPaint technology for its new electric vehicle painting facility. Set for serial production in 2025, this technology features an award-winning paint head, akin to an inkjet printer.
Joerg Reger, Managing Director of ABB Robotics Automotive Business Line, highlights, “Our revolutionary PixelPaint technology accurately applies both extensive uniform colour areas and minute details swiftly, without halting the production line or requiring manual input.” He adds, “With PixelPaint-equipped robots in dedicated cells, Mahindra’s paint shop will seamlessly administer finishes like contrasting roof and pillar treatments on its new EV line, fully automated.”
PixelPaint incorporates a paint head hosting over 1,000 tiny, individually controlled nozzles, mounted on an ABB robot like the IRB 5500 paint series. Coupled with ABB’s 3D vision system and orchestrated by ABB’s RobotStudio® software, the technology meticulously tracks the vehicle body to ensure total paint application without overspray or airborne misting. This process obviates the need for laborious masking and repeated painting cycles, ensuring zero waste and exact reproduction of detailed designs.
Recently, demand for personalization in vehicles has surged, and PixelPaint exemplifies how ABB’s transformative technologies are positioning Mahindra’s products in the luxury segments.
This deployment, strengthening the existing partnership between ABB and Mahindra, also includes 42 robots from the IRB 5500 family, marking M&M as the first OEM in India to utilize PixelPaint technology for painting contrasting roofs and pillars.
Furthermore, operations such as interior painting and sealing are now fully autonomous, with ABB’s precision systems guaranteeing exact paint application only where necessary, bypassing manual masking and saving time and resources. Additionally, ABB’s RB1000i digitally-enabled paint atomizers boost transfer efficiency by 10 percent and cut waste by over 30 percent, significantly reducing paint loss to the air.
