E'Track is best practice for vehicle welding lines

Citation

(1999), "E'Track is best practice for vehicle welding lines", Industrial Robot, Vol. 26 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.1999.04926eaf.001

E'Track is best practice for vehicle welding lines

E'Track® is best practice for vehicle welding lines

Keywords Robots, Automotive, Welding

The E'Track® (Egemin tracking system for car bodies) has been awarded "best practice" status by Ford. The system moves car or van bodies down a welding line with much greater precision, less power usage and much greater flexibility than traditional "walking beam" systems (see Plate 1).

Plate 1 The E'TrackR system from Egemin moves vehicles down a welding line with much greater precision than traditional methods

E'Track® combines extremely precise positioning at welding stations with complete control over the speed of the platform between two welding points.

The principle is simple. There are very few moving parts. A rotating tube is positioned centrally along the entire length of the welding line (see photograph). The welding platform is fitted with a number of friction wheels that rub against the tube. When the wheels run with the direction of rotation, the platform remains stationary; when they are set at an angle, the platform moves along the track. The speed of movement is controlled precisely by small adjustments to the speed of rotation and the angle of the wheels.

Vans of up to 2.5 tonnes can be assembled by using a sturdier platform and adding more friction wheels.

At the next welding point the positioning can be precisely adjusted to within one-tenth of a millimetre, before the platform locks into place. This accurate positioning is vital to avoid tolerance build-up which would be detrimental to operations such as robotic spot welding.

The traditional alternative to the E'Track® is a "walking beam". Here, a lifting system moves the assembly vehicle to the next station. Walking beams are much less precise than E'Track® and they require more power to drive them. More importantly, E'Track® is much faster, safer and more reliable than Walking Beam systems.

For these reasons, more and more automotive manufacturers prefer E'Track®. One such system was recently put into operation by Ford in Saarlouis, Germany, and one is now being installed at Ford Genk for the Ford Transit delivery van. Here the system must move a 3-tonne load, much more than could be handled with a Walking Beam.

Neil Geeson, of the American engineering firm Pico, is Ford Genk's project manager. "We always recommend installing E'Track®", he confirms, "simply because it's one of the best practices today. It also offers total flexibility. If another model is going to be assembled, the E'Track® can stay in place, whereas other systems have to be converted or replaced."

Automotive welding is just one application for E'Track®. According to Damien De Soete, Egemin's director of Research and Development, the system has uses throughout industry. "It's ideal in other types of plants that use conveyor welding. These can include such products as household appliances or telecommunications equipment", he commented.

E'Track® is just one of a range of handling products from Egemin that have been developed through innovative design and clear understanding of the needs of industry. Products include: the E'GV® (Egemin Guided Vehicle), the E'Tow® in-floor chain conveyor and E'Sort® (Egemin Sorting Systems Controls).

All business enquiries to: Geoff Bryant, Egemin UK Ltd, Burlington House, 369 Wellingborough Rd, Northampton NN1 4EU. Tel: +44(0) 1604 234994; Fax: +44(0) 1604 234483; E-mail: egemin/ltd@egemin.be