Reducing downtime while boosting efficiency with refill station technology

In modern manufacturing environments, adhesive dispensing is a well-known process – whether in body shop, or other complex assembly applications. Yet in many production sites, the application system is mounted on a robot with material supply via heated hoses. These may restrict robot movement, increase maintenance effort and create unnecessary complexity.

Atlas Copco’s refill station technology was developed to address exactly these challenges – with one clear goal: simplifying complexity while boosting productivity.
 

Traditional dispensing setups often struggle with the same issues. Heated hoses limit accessibility when robots need to reach complex geometries. Long refill paths increase cycle times and mechanical wear leads to frequent maintenance and unplanned downtime. In highly automated environments, these seemingly small factors can significantly impact overall equipment efficiency. As manufacturing processes become more flexible and material requirements more demanding, these limitations become even more apparent.
 

With the Enso Refill Station from the SCA product line for dispensing, adhesive is no longer supplied via long hoses on the robot. Instead, material is refilled locally, close to the application point. The result: robots gain full freedom of movement, refill times are shortened, and wear‑intensive hose systems are eliminated. For body shop applications, this concept enables precise and reliable dispensing even in tight or complex areas – while significantly reducing maintenance effort and total cost of ownership.
 

The role of 2K materials is growing – not only in battery production, but increasingly also in Body Shop environments. These processes are particularly demanding: heated hoses, sensitive material behavior and tight cycle times make system design challenging.

To address this, Atlas Copco took on a challenge: How can 2K material be refilled efficiently without compromising application quality or robot flexibility?

Together with application experts, a 2K refill station was developed that removes heated hoses from the robot and replaces them with a stationary refill concept. Shorter material paths reduce thermal stress on the adhesive, improve refill efficiency and lower energy consumption – while enabling flexible setups such as robot tool changers.

This is a clear example of Atlas Copco acting as an innovation partner: Listening to real production challenges and translating them into practical, scalable solutions.