Finessing Features: 3M and GM partner on robotic paint repair system for moving vehicle assembly line

Toronto, Ontario – 3M has announced a partnership with General Motors for the development and use of an automatic paint repair system for a moving vehicle assembly line.

According to a recent press release, GM is specifically using 3M’s Finesse-It Robotic Paint Repair System, which incorporates 3M robotics, stream motion software, process modeling and abrasive technology to fix imperfections in vehicle topcoats coming off the automaker’s assembly line.

GM has already installed 3M’s system at its Spring Hill, Tennessee plant, where the automaker currently manufactures Cadillac SUVs.

The system functions by using a high-tech vision system that checks the vehicle from all angles. From here, the system creates a paint repair plan using the collected data. The vehicle being scanned then moves to sanding and polishing where robots follow precise instructions to fix imperfections using 3M’s software.

"At GM, many of our processes are already automated and this is a very complicated area to think about automating,” said Ryan Odegaard, GM’s Director of Paint Polymers and Additive Manufacturing. “If you have a customer-facing product, you have to make sure that that paint finish is perfect because it's the first thing you see when you go into a dealership."

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