Robotically welding families of parts

Flextool positioners, says Fanuc Robotics, will significantly change the way in which the flexible batch welding of assemblies is carried out.

Flextool positioners, says Fanuc Robotics, will significantly change the way in which the flexible batch welding of assemblies is carried out Families of similar fabrications can be welded in a Flextool positioner.

It consists of a load-bearing horizontal 250mm square faceplate.

The faceplate can be positioned anywhere inside a cubic envelope 500mm2 by 220mm high.

The hardware uses proven robotic technology, while the software is based on an intuitive graphic interface that uses shopfloor terminology and eliminates the need for specialised programming knowledge.

The faceplate caries fixture locations, clamps, and so on, and is manipulated by six servo-drive units providing six degrees of freedom (three linear, three angular) inside the working envelope.

Fanuc Robotics estimates that in comparison with conventional fixed fixturing, Flextool would show a cost benefit once two types of workpieces are allocated.

If weldments for five vehicles are allocated to Flextool, then the user will see a capital investment reduction of 50% compared with conventional robotic weld fixturing.

In the way shims are used in conventional fixturing, so Fanuc Robotics1 Shim software makes adjustments for off-sets in seconds and not hours.

Corrections can be made in directions aligned with the body or assembly co-ordinates.

The system would maintain a complete set of off-sets for each vehicle assembly type.

Included are an Oundo1 sequence and a log of previous shim adjustments.

It all adds up to a 90% reduction in set-up time, said the company.

A Flextool unit can accept loads of 140kg vertically and 75kg horizontally.

One standard Fanuc robot control can manage two Flextool positioners.

The Flextool has also been tested as a robot in its own right, say for accessing difficult weld locations inside a body shell.

For dynamic usage, load capacity is 36kg.

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