2024 AIChE Annual Meeting
Utilizing a Robotic System to Produce Polymer Coatings for Coating Characterization
Polymer coatings are ubiquitous in the world today, and as a result, the necessity for creating and testing new coatings is ever-growing. Formulation and drawdowns are an integral part of this testing process, though doing these steps by hand is time consuming and tedious. I explored the capabilities of a robotic system on the automation of the formulation, drawdown, and curing steps of the testing process. I used a UV curable coating system as a model for formulations. Formulations included commercial resins Ebecryl 150, 450, 8301, and 8402, reactive diluent 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA), and UV photoinitiator Irgacure 1173. Within this robotic system, I tested parameters that influenced the accuracy of the formulations. These parameters included fine dosing amounts, fine dosing steps, and error margins. I additionally tested parameters that influenced the quality of the output polymer coatings, including initiator concentrations, drawdown mechanics, cure intensities, and cure times. Through coatings characterization, I was able to determine the ideal parameters for optimal operation. My findings indicate that with further testing and the integration of AI learning models, this robotic system can be used in the creation of polymer coatings without the need for human intervention, streamlining the process significantly.