Welding robots help company expansion

Citation

(1998), "Welding robots help company expansion", Industrial Robot, Vol. 25 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.1998.04925faf.002

Welding robots help company expansion

Welding robots help company expansion

A series of five Motoman robotic welding cells installed over a four-year period has helped hydraulic cylinder manufacturer, Rosenboom Machine & Tool (RMT), to meet an upsurge in demand threatened by an internal welding bottleneck (see Plate 2).

Prior to installing the robot cells, all welding was undertaken manually. Although perfectly satisfactory, the approach was becoming labour intensive, and lacked the speed, flexibility and consistency offered by robotics. As the company had already invested heavily in computers and technologically advanced machine tools it was, in the view of Kraig Vos, RMT's plant manager, a logical step to automate certain welding operations as well.

Plate 2 A series of five Motoman robotic welding cells has boosted operational efficiency by 50 per cent for Rosenboom Machine & Tool

In the first instance, the modular configuration of the cell offered, with its six-axis Motoman K10 robot and two heavy-duty HT/ST (headstock/tailstock) welding positioners, would simplify integration into existing production processes. This was vital in order to minimise disruption in a production sequence already under strain. In the second, the user-friendly Motoman RISC (reduced instruction set computer) MRC 32-bit, multi-processor control with DSP (digital signal processors) for increased computational speed, plus menu-driven arc welding software, would simplify shopfloor programming. What was more, the system allowed different components to be welded at the same time and even compensated for slight imperfections and minor variations in alignment.

The first Motoman cell was therefore duly installed and proved highly successful. It featured a combined HS/TS positioner with a capacity of 1,000kg and was used to weld the largest cylinders produced. Improvements in throughput were such that it was decided to extend the techniques applied to embrace the welding of smaller cylinders. Four other cells were then progressively introduced.

These too employed Motoman K10 robots but utilised lighter capacity, 500kg HS/TS positioners. To meet specific needs, however, these were slightly modified by company engineers to include rotary tailstocks. One cell also had an additional fixed welding table added.

With all five cells now fully operational, the company has not only been able to meet product demand, but also it has been possible to improve weld quality and consistency and, most important, eliminate bottlenecks which hampered earlier productivity.

According to Vos, operational efficiency has risen by 50 percent.

For any additional information, please contact Robert Lewis, Sales and Projects Manager, Motoman Robotics (UK) Ltd. Tel: +44 (0)1295 272755.