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News Release from: Meta Vision Systems
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 22 October 2002
Esab welders now track joints with Meta
Vision
For welding applications requiring automated seam tracking Esab now offers a standard solution based on an integrated, laser-based system manufactured in the UK by Meta Vision Systems.
For welding applications requiring automated seam tracking, leading welding automation supplier Esab offers its customers a new, standard solution based on an integrated, laser-based system manufactured in the UK by Meta Vision Systems This follows a partnership agreement reached between the two companies based on the development of a bespoke version of Meta's equipment, the Esab Laser Joint Tracker, for the Swedish-built welding machines
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 14 Jul 2000 at 8.00am (UK)
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Until now, Meta's products have been sold to the welding equipment supplier or system integrator as separate units for retrofitting.
The difference with the new approach is that the component parts of the Esab Laser Joint Tracker are supplied to Esab for factory fitting at the initial build stage.
The parts are designed specifically for integration within the welding machines and are even supplied with Esab's own part numbers.
This approach has allowed the removal of all unnecessary items, thereby reducing costs and simplifying installation.
Said Meta's European Sales and Operations Director, Dr Andrew Pryce, "This partnership is the culmination of a significant investment by Meta and ESAB, including product development, technical and product training, and application support in the field".
"The collaboration enables both Meta and Esab to leverage each other's strengths and make laser tracking available to a wider range of fabricators, from those with sophisticated welding lines to smaller users with a single welding machine." There are two fundamental reasons for the increasing adoption worldwide of automated laser seam tracking.
First, it allows productivity improvements by speeding up a traditional, manual process and at the same time increases accuracy and reduces scrap and rework.
Second, tighter weld tolerances may be achieved without expensive, dedicated fixtures that are time consuming to set and in any case are not consistent with today's short batch, just-in-time production.
The Esab Laser Joint Tracker was launched worldwide in the first half of this year (2002) during a series of 25 meetings within the Esab group across Europe, North and South America and the Far East.
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