Thesis worker - Sustainable surface treatment - Digitalized paint application development

Sustainable surface treatment - Digitalized paint application development
30 hp - Product Development, Materials, Manufacturing and Evaluation

Introduction
Thesis project is an excellent opportunity to get to know Traton and build relationships for the future. Many of today’s employees began their Traton careers with a degree project.

Traton develops transport solutions for a changing world. Within Traton R&D we work with the development of materials and components for future vehicles together with our production units in order to optimize the sustainability both during production and the life time of the vehicles.

A sustainable surface treatment includes optimization of the paint material as well as the application process. With digital support systems the total development from paint material to finished truck can be simulated and optimized, eliminating waste and reducing the introduction time for new products.  

Background
Traton truck brands offer more than thousand colours for the customer to choose from, and each colour must be developed to fit the process it will be applied in, with the aim to give the least environmental impact as possible.

Industrial painting processes are energy intense due to e.g. tight tolerances for climate control in the paint shop and ovens required for curing the coatings. New coating technologies offer the possibility to reduce the energy use, but may require adopted application methods. In order to reduce the introduction time of new paint technologies, Traton are looking at new methods for developing the application process. These methods include the use of simulation tools not only for the robot programming, but also for the paint materials and the spray brush.   

Objective

The objective is to assess the potential of the simulation tools and the new coating systems to be used in our cabin production.   

Job description

We are looking for students who would like to contribute to this work. The ambition is to have two students working in pair covering the whole scope from defining the paint material and developing the simulation methodology, to correlate simulated results with real application and verifying the final properties on a painted cabin.

The scope can be shaped around the students’ education, interests and skills.

Education/program/focus

Master’s student in product development, mechanical engineering, materials engineering, chemical engineering, manufacturing engineering, industrial engineering, or a related field.

We are interested in students with different academic backgrounds. A strong interest in product and process development, materials, manufacturing and testing is important. Good collaboration skills are required, as the thesis projects are expected to work together and share relevant findings.

Start date for the thesis work: January 2027

Diploma work will be done at R&D in Södertälje and in Scania cabin production in Oskarshamn

Contact persons and supervisors
Daniel Ståhlberg, Expert Engineer Surface Treatment, daniel.stahlberg@se.traton.com
Viktor Wåhlin, Manager viktor.wahlin@se.traton.com
Niclas Nilsson, Production Technician, niclas.nilsson@scania.com   

Application:
Your application must include a CV, personal letter and transcript of grades

A background check might be conducted for this position. We are conducting interviews continuously and may close the recruitment earlier than the date specified.