Case Study: Energy-Storage Enclosure Painting Line for a Global Battery Maker
Summary
An enclosure-scale painting line for the energy-storage enclosures of one of the world's largest makers of batteries, electric vehicles and energy-storage systems, at its plant in China. The line provides surface preparation, a row of paint booths for primer and topcoat, drying and forced cooling, a transfer system between stations and exhaust treatment, laid out so each enclosure follows the same sequence and receives the same film build. The reference configuration on this page is a current 20-ft box line design; MUSI's fastest energy-storage box lines release one finished box per minute. The line is in production in 2026.
Project Background
The client is one of the world’s largest makers of batteries, electric vehicles and energy-storage systems. MUSI supplied a painting line for its energy-storage enclosures in China.
The Challenge
Energy-storage enclosures stand outdoors for the whole service life of the batteries inside them. The paint has to protect the steel against sun, rain and corrosion for years, and at the client’s volumes the line has to run fast without letting finish quality slip.
MUSI's Solution
MUSI supplied an enclosure-scale painting line with surface preparation, a row of paint booths for primer and topcoat, drying and forced cooling, and exhaust treatment, laid out so each enclosure follows the same sequence and receives the same film build.
Equipment Scope
- Surface preparation
- Paint booths for primer and topcoat
- Drying and forced cooling
- Transfer system between stations
- Exhaust and VOC treatment
Reference Configuration: 20-ft Energy-Storage Box Line
The figures below come from a current 20-ft energy-storage box line design. They show how a line of this type is typically configured; each plant’s line is sized to its own product mix and output.
| Workpiece | 20-ft box, 6,058 × 2,438 × 2,591 mm, up to 2,500 kg |
|---|---|
| Conveyor | Box-pulling chain (32A roller chain), approx. 280 m |
| Surface preparation | Automatic shot blasting room (10 × 6.6 × 5 m) with servo reciprocators on both sides and top; cleaning room with automatic blow-off; abrasive recovery and cartridge dust collector |
| Liquid paint booths | Primer, intermediate and topcoat booths, 10 × 6.6 × 5.2 m, reciprocators on both sides, top and bottom; interior-cavity primer applied by robot |
| Robots | Yaskawa 7-axis explosion-proof, 15 kg payload, 2,700 mm reach, on travel rails |
| Paint supply | Graco high-pressure airless automatic guns; 2K automatic mixing for primer, intermediate and topcoat |
| Powder booth | Automatic, 9.8 × 4.9 × 4.2 m; cyclone and cartridge recovery; explosion isolation valves and flameless venting |
| Ovens | Paint drying 80–120 °C; powder curing 200–220 °C; direct natural-gas heating (280,000 and 440,000 kcal/h burners); forced cooling after each oven |
| Quality check | Rain test chamber, 10 × 6 × 5 m |
| VOC treatment | 160,000 m³/h dry filtration + activated carbon adsorption + catalytic combustion |
| Output | Reference layout: 20 boxes per 12 hours. MUSI’s fastest energy-storage box lines release one finished box per minute. |
Results
The line paints the client’s energy-storage enclosures. At their fastest, MUSI’s energy-storage box lines release one finished box per minute.
Selection logic: why this configuration
Separate booths for primer and topcoat in a row, rather than one booth used twice, were chosen because the client's volume requires enclosures to move forward on every cycle. A transfer system between fixed stations keeps each enclosure on the same sequence, which is how film build stays constant at rate, and exhaust treatment was sized for the full row.
Scope of supply and key components
| Item | Specification | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Surface preparation | ||
| Paint booths | Primer and topcoat, in a row | |
| Drying | Drying and forced cooling | |
| Transfer system | Between stations | |
| Exhaust and VOC treatment |
Key components
Key components are available from international brands, configurable per customer specification, so that spare parts can be sourced locally over the life of the line. Brand names below are the usual options for this type of equipment; the brands actually fitted are fixed in the contract specification.
| Component | Brands available on request |
|---|---|
| Automatic liquid guns, pumps and 2K proportioners | Graco ProMix 2KS, Sames Airmix, WAGNER AirCoat, Nordson, Binks (Carlisle Fluid Technologies) |
| Painting robots | ABB IRB 5500, FANUC P-350iA, Yaskawa MOTOMAN MPX series, KUKA, Kawasaki |
| Oven and dryer gas burners | Riello RS series, Weishaupt monarch WM-G, Baltur TBG, Honeywell Maxon OVENPAK, Eclipse |
| PLC and HMI | Siemens SIMATIC S7-1500, Mitsubishi Electric MELSEC iQ-R, Schneider Electric Modicon, OMRON NX, Rockwell Automation Allen-Bradley |
| Variable-frequency drives | ABB ACS580, Siemens SINAMICS G120, Danfoss VLT, Schneider Electric Altivar, Yaskawa, Mitsubishi Electric |
| Booth ceiling and intake filter media | Freudenberg Viledon, AAF SureStop, Camfil, MANN+HUMMEL |
| RTO ceramic media and burners | Lantec MLM, Honeywell Maxon line burners, Riello RS, Eclipse |
| Steel shot and grit | Ervin AMASTEEL, Winoa W Abrasives, Pometon |
Not included in the scope of supply
- Civil works, foundations and pits
- Building services up to the battery limit: power supply, gas, compressed air, water and drainage
- Local permits, emission approvals and third-party inspections
- Paint or powder supply, unless stated in the contract
Services included with every line: engineering design, manufacturing, shipping documentation, installation supervision, commissioning, operator training, warranty and spare parts.
Typical programme
The durations below are typical for equipment of this class and are given for planning; they are not the recorded schedule of this project. A complete line usually runs 90–180 days from contract to acceptance, a single unit 30–60 days.
| Stage | Typical duration | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Site survey and workpiece review | 5–10 days | Remote review of drawings and photos, or an engineer visit |
| Layout and detail design | 15–30 days | Layout drawing, utilities list and specification sign-off |
| Manufacturing | 45–90 days | Booths, ovens, conveyor, pretreatment and controls built and pre-assembled at the works |
| Shipping | 20–45 days | Sea freight; equipment shipped in sections for on-site assembly |
| Installation | 15–40 days | MUSI supervision with the client's installation crew or MUSI crew |
| Commissioning, training and acceptance | 7–15 days | Trial runs on the client's parts, operator training, acceptance record |
Applicability and limits
The reference configuration is a design for 20-ft boxes and its output is a design value; the client's line is sized to its own enclosure range and takt. The one-box-per-minute figure is MUSI's fastest energy-storage box line rate, not a figure from this installation.
Results shown in this case study reflect the stated operating conditions and should not be interpreted as guaranteed performance under different feed, production, environmental, or site conditions.
After-sales and spare parts
Warranty on a MUSI coating line runs from acceptance: 12 months on the complete line excluding consumables, 36 months on critical components such as motors, drives and the PLC, and 60 months on structural parts such as steel structure, ducting and oven bodies. Failures within warranty, excluding misuse, are repaired free of charge.
Support starts remotely: the service line is staffed around the clock, a preliminary diagnosis with recommendations is given within 2 hours, and where a site visit is needed an engineer reaches any major city within 72 hours. A spare-parts inventory is held at the Changzhou headquarters with same-day shipping, and customers can keep a dedicated parts stock at MUSI for emergencies. Details are on the after-sales service page.
FAQ
How does a high-volume enclosure line keep film build constant? Fixed stations in sequence with a transfer system, so every enclosure follows the same route and dwell; recipes are stored per enclosure type.
Why separate primer and topcoat booths? So enclosures move forward on every cycle instead of waiting for a shared booth; at high volume this sets the line rate.
What surface preparation do enclosures get? Blasting or chemical pretreatment as in the reference configuration, followed by primer, intermediate and topcoat as the specification requires.
What throughput is possible? The reference layout is designed for 20 boxes per 12 hours; MUSI's fastest energy-storage box lines release one finished box per minute.
Is the line in production? Yes, painting the client's energy-storage enclosures in China.
Next step: a configuration proposal for a similar line
If your parts, volumes or plant conditions are close to this project, MUSI can return a line configuration and layout proposal. To prepare it we need four things:
- Photos and dimensions of the workpieces, with weight and material
- Required output (pieces per hour or per day, and shifts)
- Number of colours and how often colour changes are needed
- Available floor space and ceiling height, with the utilities on site
Message us on WhatsApp with these details, or use the quotation form.
Published 2026-09-26 · Updated 2026-09-30 · Last technical review: 2026-09-30
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Provided by Lin Cong, Technical Director, MUSI Technology