Carnegie Mellon University

Paint Stripping

The Envirobot™ is the world's most technologically advanced system for removing paint and coatings from steel surfaces. Controlled via wireless joystick, it uses patented air gap magnets to glide effortlessly across the sides and bottoms of ship hulls, storage tanks and other steel structures, reaching speeds of up to 51 cm/sec (20 in/sec). Spinning high-pressure water jets remove paint without marring the underlying surface while a powerful vacuum and patented, EPA-approved filtration system recover wastewater and debris.

Among the traditional methods for removing paint from steel surfaces, abrasive blasting is the most commonly used. This requires the operator to wear a full-body chemical protecting suit. In many applications, such as in shipbuilding, the nearby area needs to be evacuated, which delays other maintenance or repair tasks and increases downtimeWith limited ability to recover the toxic paint residues, they drop in the water or are carried by air and harm the environment.   

 

The Envirobot™ robotic system uses ultra-high-pressure water jets (55,000 psi) to strip the hull down to bare metal. All the water used in the stripping is recovered by a powerful vacuum system and recycled. The only residue of the cleaning is the paint itself, which is automatically dumped into containers for proper disposal. 

 

The water-based stripping process produces a much cleaner metal surface, which greatly increases the life of the new paint applied to the ship. Compared to any form of sand- or grit-blasting, a hydroblasted surface is easily proven to rust less, and to allow paint to adhere better.

The Envirobot™ uses water jets to remove coatings at a rate of 500 to 3000 square feet per hour, depending on how many layers of the coating are being removed.
  
Using patented air gap magnets that hold it securely onto the surface, Envirobot can roll almost anywhere on steel surfaces, even over weld seams and bio growth  
Operators use a joystick controller to move the robot over the surface area at speeds of up to 51 cm/sec (20 in/sec).

Photos

Paint Stripping
Paint Stripping
Paint Stripping