Robotic arc welding cell halves production cycles

A robotic arc welding cell has dramatically boosted output at a Hull engineering company by more than halving production cycle times.

A Kuka robotic arc welding cell has dramatically boosted output at a Hull engineering company by more than halving production cycle times.

The versatile FlexWeld Twin cell was purchased by J and CR Wood, a long-established family business based in Clough Road and best-known for its Metalcraft range of hand-powered ornamental metalworking tools, in order to keep the 50-year-old business one step ahead of tough overseas competition.

"Like most British manufacturers, we're feeling the effect of cheap competition from Eastern Europe and the Far East.

The pressure is on to reduce or keep retail prices static when raw materials, energy costs and wages continue to increase well above the perceived rate of inflation and the only way to compete is to invest in equipment which dramatically reduces production times," explained partner Ian Wood.

"Kuka offered an excellent specification of robot together with an impressive control system that was all housed in a very neat two-station enclosure.

Kuka demonstrated an exceptionally professional approach to our needs and a visit to their premises highlighted the magnitude of their expertise.

Space within our already full factory was hardly compromised and I'm delighted that we're now finding that floor-to-floor cycle times are being reduced by between 50 and 75%," he added.

Kuka produces the FlexWeld cell in two versions with the choice of either two fixed work stations or rotary table, specifically to offer both easy integration and fast production set-up times It adapted its standard FlexWeld Twin welding cell for the Wood's installation so that one of the work stations could accommodate a relatively large point-of-display assembly.

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