Product category:
Automatic and robotic welding systems
News Release from: Carl Cloos Schweisstechnik | Subject: Robotic welding systems at Automatica
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 02 June 2008
Robotic arc welding developments
exhibited
A turnkey, easily transportable Z6 robot welding cell for universal applications will be shown at Automatica as well as the latest synergy-controlled pulsed arc welding machines.
Carl Cloos Schweisstechnik will be showing a turnkey, easily transportable Z6 robot welding cell, its latest developments in application software and Quineo Pulse synergy-controlled pulsed arc welding machines at the Automatica show in Munich, Germany * Robotic welding system - a turnkey, easily transportable Z6 robot welding cell provides efficient welding for universal applications, said Cloos
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 14 Jan 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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All system components, including robot, robot controller, positioner and welding equipment, are mounted on a 4200 x 2200mm base frame.
A 6-axis digital drive, industrial Romat robot offers higher acceleration, travel speed and path accuracy, said Cloos.
To demonstrate the high load capacity (up to 7.5t) of Cloos' freely programmable WPEK angular positioner theZ6 robot welding cell will be mounted on the turn/tilt faceplate during the show.
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* Robotically welding large components - for welding large fabrications, Cloos has mounted its compact Romat 350 in an overhead position on a 6m linear track.
Cloos told manufacturingtalk that there are additional programmable vertical and horizontal strokes to provide optimum part accessibility.
Cloos can supply an automatic welding torch changing system allowing the system to deploy the automatic MAG single wire process or the Tandem twin-wire high-capacity process.
Cloos told manufacturingtalk that the Tandem process guarantees an enormous increase in productivity owing to its high deposition rate and the high welding speed.
Welding power is provided by a 600A Qinto High End power source and a synergy-controlled, Qinto Pulse 450A pulsed arc welding machine.
* Laser + arc welding process - Cloos will also show a robotic welding system using its MIG/MAG laser hybrid high-capacity process.
It uses a combination of laser beam and arc welding.
The laser hybrid welding head with an integrated 7th robot axis provides optimum torch orientation, said Cloos.
It ensures easy tracking of the weld seam even when changing welding direction.
The head also ensures that the laser beam is in the required MIG/MAG torch position.
Cloos added that the head arrangement prevents welding interruptions and ensures shorter cycle times for robotic welding.
The integrated process monitoring sensors can cope with a wide variety of seam types in universal application.
The high laser capacity of up to 20kW is an advantage particularly when welding thick metal sections.
An example is the welding of a thick section, pre-formed Archimedes screw impeller to a thick-walled tube or solid shaft.
* Steplessly adjustable pulsed-arc welding machines - Cloos will show its lates Qineo Pulse series of 350-600A steplessly adjustable pulsed arc welding machines.
Designed for automated welding, the machines are available as compact units or with a separate wire drive.
All the Qinto machines can be customised as regards cooling, operator interface and the equipment scope.
Using the latest transistors results in pulsed-arc power sources with a very fast switching power unit.
The digital welding current control ensures a high repeatability of the welding results, said Cloos.
The parameters for all standard gas/base metal combinations and wire diameters are stored as synergic characteristic curves in a data base of the power source.
An optimisation of these settings with the Qineo Pulse is made possible by two fine adjustments as follows.
1 - The 'Arc Length' function finely adjusts arc length and the light arc dynamics can be fine-tuned with 2 - The 'Arc Dynamic' function fine-tunes light arc dynamics.
Turning a rotary knob sets the power output.
A memory faciulity stores 999 individual jobs.
The machines dispose of operation modes 2-cycle, 4-cycle, super-4-cycle, spot/interval and external for automated (PLC) or robot operation.
Communication between the power source and the robot controller can be set up via an 'Open Machine Interface' or a standardised bus system such as Profibus DP, Profi Net or Interbus S.
The Qineo Pulse welding machines also offer perfect ignition, a constant, stable arc and an outstanding seam quality claimed Cloos.
* Robot controller - the proven Rotrol II robot controller has a new operating surface of the teach pendant (PHG) to give even more comfortable presentation, testing and optimisation of robot programs at the user's fingertips.
The big touch-sensitive display provides all necessary information for the arc welding process: from a clearly structured program text with parallel status displays of the inputs and outputs up to the extended possibilities to display welding parameters and to be able to optimise them in rela time during robot pathing.
* Software developments - as regards robot-specific application software, the systems RoboPlan NT, PDM (Process Data Monitoring) and a new remote diagnostic system RSM will be demonstrated by Cloos at Automatica.
The RoboPlan NT programming system offers offline programming of Romat industrial robots on a Windows PC.
In a simulation, robotic welding programs are generated offline and subsequently tested for operational capability, workpiece accessibility and collision control before being transferred directly to the Rotrol robot controller.
The PDM software package documents all available welding parameters and production data of a robot system on a separate PC.
Data from the robot controller and the power source are brought together in one program.
A regular evaluation of the production data sustainably increases the efficiency of the system.
The analysis of the welding parameters permits the optimisation of the weld quality and guarantees the perfect interaction of power source, industrial robot and robot controller.
In total the data of up to 32 robot systems, each with up to two welding power sources can be documented, said Cloos.
Remote diagnostic software RSM (Remote Service Manager) can remotely maintain up to 32 Cloos Rotrol controllers through a PC connected to the Internet.
Through a network connection, the Romat industrial robots are linked with the PC.
Also, complete welding programs can be transferred from and to the robot.
Cloos said that a large quantity of general information on the system configuration and status as well as the fault memory can be extracted by the user.
Inputs/outputs can be monitored and all parameters of the digital drive controls can be verified.
By means of protected mechanisms, data in the drive control can also be changed for optimisation.
It is also possible to completely update the system software remotely.
* Seam tracking - the Cloos Seam Explorer - CSE - laser sensor systems and Cloos Seam Tracker - CST - from Cloos' range of highly efficient sensors will also be demonstrated at Automatica.
These sensors are non-tactile, optical measuring systems for seam tracking and the determination of weld position/geometry during robotic welding.
They operate on the basis of a distance measurement using a low-capacity laser beam (up to maximum 50mW).
With the CSE sensor the search process is effected offline, that is, before the actual welding starts.
The workpiece is scanned, the return signal is electronically evaluated and significant positions are recognised.
During welding the weld parameters are adapted iaccording to determined seam geometry.
The CST 60/90 series of laser sensors determine the start of the seam offline but measure the weld geometry online, that is, synchronously with the welding process.
The infinitely variable adjustment of all welding parameters permits a precise compensation of component tolerances such as during thermal distortion.
* Carl Cloos Schweisstechnik at AUTOMATICA Show, Munich (Muenchen), Germany, June 10-13, 2008), Hall B2, Stand 329.
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