Take away robot welders hit at FABTECH Show

Citation

(1999), "Take away robot welders hit at FABTECH Show", Industrial Robot, Vol. 26 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.1999.04926bab.002

Take away robot welders hit at FABTECH Show

Take away robot welders hit at FABTECH Show

FABTECH Show ­ Cleveland, OHPre-packaged, ready to run arc welding robot systems were the hit of the show. Two robot companies introduced skid mounted completely integrated systems. The user no longer must "finish" development of an arc welding station on his shop floor. The robot company ships a ready to weld unit. The approach is both cost effective and speeds placing the equipment into production.

Motorman (a unit of Yaskawa Electric) introduced a $40,000 (USD) arc welding system. The Factory integrated system has a footprint of only 55 × 66 inches. The unit comes completely ready to MIG weld with a stationary work piece fixture, menu-driven weld parameter programming and a full safety environment.

The work station can accommodate work pieces to 18 inches square and weights to 2,000 pounds. The only user setup required is connection of the electric mains, loading of work piece and programming of the robot and weld parameters.

Panasonic (a unit of Matsushita Electric) introduced the PerformArc 52, a two station robot arc welder with automatic safety doors, inverter welding power supply, protective cage wired and integrated ready to weld. The $60,000 (USD) price includes a PLC controller for the automated safety doors which interlock with the welding system.

The system requires no setup when it arrives at the customer. The user need only attach the electric mains and program the robot for the welding assignment. Most customers can be producing parts in just a few hours after delivery. Operating cost is estimated at about $5 (USD) per hour on a two-shift basis. Using CO₂ shielding gas can further reduce operating costs.

The two station Panasonic system approach allows the operator to load and unload one work station while the robot welds behind safety screens on the second station. The arc can not be struck until the safety door is closed and interlocked.

Panasonic also introduced a new software package for arc welding. The "Flying Start" package anticipates the start of welding and activates the welding power supply 0.2 seconds before the robot reaches weld position. On applications where there are many short welding requirements, the "Flying Start" can reduce cycle times as much as 20 per cent.

The Panasonic "VR" family of robots has been enhanced by new robotic welding packages. Maximum axis speeds have been improved by 25-40 per cent over previous AW series robots. A 32-bit RISC process permits faster acceleration, maximum speed and less air cut time. Some models have had the maximum reach extended to 1,360 mm. Integrated robot and welding power supply and smaller footprints are also offered.

At the other end of the scale, Kawasaki introduced the largest reach, most articulated standard arc welding robot ever. The robot features 12 axes of motion and a workpiece envelope of 14 feet by 22 feet.

Kawasaki designed the new giant around its new UX-300 six axis robot, the first standard 300 kilogram load capacity unit. At the end of the UX-300 robot arm, a standard JS-6 robot is attached to provide full 12 axes of articulation. The extremely long reach is ideal for arc welding on truck bodies, off-road vehicle frames and other oversize structures. The arc welding head can reach inside frames, around corners and across large structures without repositioning the work piece.

Cybo Robots, a robot systems integrator exhibited a new co-ordinated arc welding robot and work piece positioner. The ability to move the work piece and the robot at the same time speeds cycle times when welding complex parts. The approach uses a single start/stop point which produces more reliable welds, better for high-pressure and water-proof requirements. Cybo Robots is a leading robot integrator and adapts robots from various makers into fully integrated robotic workstations for users. For unique requirements, Cybo Robots can design and construct specialised large robots used in heavy equipment fabrication or small portable robots for construction and shipbuilding applications.