Production cells combines welding/handling robots

Cloos has installed a production cell at SSI Schaefer comprising eight welding robots, two torch carriers and two handling robots.

The equipment is capable of welding 200 racking cross members of between 900mm and 4.5m an hour.

After the squared profiles have been transferred and positioned on the roll track of the production cell by a chain conveyor, the handling robots guide the left and right attachment plates (at the exact angle) to the profile, where they are welded synchronously by four robots.

Both inside torch carriers stabilise the profiles with support seams at several points, which vary depending on the length of the profiles.

The transport to the subsequently switched on welding stations of the robot line is done via a shuttle system, which inserts the profile cross members securely into a clamping device.

Since the cross-members can have a length tolerance of up to a maximum of 0.5mm, the plant is equipped with a measuring system to determine the air gap.

The relevant length difference is transmitted to all 10 robots, which then shift their programmed paths accordingly.

Should a profile be over size, it is pushed through unwelded.

The low-spatter weld result ensures the desired high-quality visual effect with a cycle time of significantly below 20sec per cross member.

On the platform above the production cell the control cabinets are lined up with the Profibus S7-SPS and the Rotrol robot controls above.

The drums with the wire feed are also placed here.

The Cloos-HD drives guide the wires safely to the torches over a distance of up to 13m.

12 output-programmed 350A pulsed-arc power sources, type GLC 353 MC3-R, ensure the correct weld flow.

The complete production cell is comfortably and clearly operated via a display with 10in touch screen.

The six-axis industrial robots, Romat 320, weld the racking profiles in the MAG process.

900 different profiles are stored and since the Cloos robots and peripheries of the plant are networked via Profibus, the data of the primary SPS control is directly processed.

Intervention and corrections as well as equipping times are reduced to a minimum.

Around 900 SSI Schaefer profile types are possible from a technical programming point of view.

The control has a communication interface for quick diagnosis with remote data transmission (rdt) by the Cloos technician in the Haiger factory.

During the automatic operation, correction values for splice plates and weld seams can easily be input.

The graphic representation of all final position switches and the status report of the components in all stations ensure high visibility and process safety during production.

A freely programmable lubrication control of the shuttle system increases operational safety.

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