pedrobedro
Man at Matalan
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- Thread starter Robotstar5
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i like the idea of robot welding, i just see it as a extension of a welding setup, you still need somebody to maintain and operate these sets so we are not quite redundant yet!! but the amount of work a single person can get through is much higher than a manual set up. i hope some day to set up a kemppi or fronius high end machine with a robot arm and PC and get some serious output going.
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If you are doing a run of similar welds, you don't need an expensive welder, I've built a few using basic manual weldsets, the robot just "pulls the trigger" (using a relay), just set the welder like you would a hand weld then let the robot take over.
The biggest expense is in fixtures / tooling to hold the parts - remembering you have to be able to remove the finished component when it is welded
If you are doing a run of similar welds, you don't need an expensive welder, I've built a few using basic manual weldsets, the robot just "pulls the trigger" (using a relay), just set the welder like you would a hand weld then let the robot take over.
The biggest expense is in fixtures / tooling to hold the parts - remembering you have to be able to remove the finished component when it is welded
i would have no problems with sorting out a nice pneumatic jig, i could have it made up out of aluminium. as for the kemmpi or fronius high end inverter MiG i am going to get one within the next year (second hand) one way or the other i just want one.
the way i see it. my products need proper welding up so a good welder (person) is required, but per unit most of his/her time is manual labour, putting pieces into jigs, handling steel etc. so have a good semi skilled labourer feed the material and let the robot look after the welding.
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Better having steel fixtures as Aluminium would wear losing the accurate part presentation a robot needs and manual toggle clamps are cheaper & easier to use than pnuematics.
i have some toggle clamps in use in my shop. i was thinking of making the base of the jig out of solid aluminium 1500x600 50-60mm thick and moving parts from steel anti spatter could be used on these. i could mount the whole set up on a heavy purpose built table/frame. to be honest a jig would be well down my list of worries. i am interested in the robot arm aspect of the whole thing, i have looked online and they seem to start at about twenty grand!! i gather you seem to know of much cheaper options.
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Here you go (quite a few 2nd user suppliers about), the IRB 1500 at £3000 would work although I would recommend the IRB 1400 M94A as it is a newer model.
I can help with interfacing most ABB robots to welders - used to work for ABB
gav the welder
Member
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I done a short stint at keiper and it was a laugh , i was working on a. Robot in the corner with i think his name rob and i had to do the repairs from off the robot lol nearly every piece that came off had to be. Re welded but the best part was in the next bay there was an alcoholic called martin and jesus u should have seen his welding lol it was shocking , he used to bring to work 4 cans of kestrel super neck them in his bay then go to the pub at lunch time and also the off licence . Lol i wonder if hes still alive ?
Sparkey
Bouncing along!
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LOL yeah we have a similar case at work...if he comes in at night to get to work (he's doing the night shift) you'd better not get too close to him! You will faint with all the alcohol vapours that hang around him!
it happens a lot tho here in France....
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Update
Time for a bit of an update, due to the company getting the contract for a new model from Honda we have invested in some new robots.
New Fanuc Arcmate 100iC.
Torch harness now integral with the robot arm.
New more compact wire feed unit.
The clever bit
a coupling that allows the torch to be rotated through 360° without dragging a harness behind it, carries the weld current and collision sensor wiring in a neat package.
Looks nothing like the standard eurotorch harness you are familiar with. It has a time saving trick too, the liner can be changed from the torch end without disconnecting from the wire feed unit. Simply remove tip, unlock swan neck using knurled ring then pull out old liner and push in new one.
Time for a bit of an update, due to the company getting the contract for a new model from Honda we have invested in some new robots.
New Fanuc Arcmate 100iC.
Torch harness now integral with the robot arm.
New more compact wire feed unit.
The clever bit
a coupling that allows the torch to be rotated through 360° without dragging a harness behind it, carries the weld current and collision sensor wiring in a neat package.Looks nothing like the standard eurotorch harness you are familiar with. It has a time saving trick too, the liner can be changed from the torch end without disconnecting from the wire feed unit. Simply remove tip, unlock swan neck using knurled ring then pull out old liner and push in new one.
madkayaker
Pro sparkey Pro Welder
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All looks good and nice but there is a few £ there!
Wedg1e
They call me Mr. Bodge-angles
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We built a machine for testing artillery shells using one of Fanuc's waterproof robots; I think the robot alone was upwards of £18K. It's max. load is only something like 5Kg but it can wave a part around in the air all day and come back to the same point to within a ludicrous degree of accuracy every time. Shame the Japanese seem to have cornered that market.
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I saw a demo in the 80's of an ABB robot cable of carrying 90Kg stick a pin in an egg then exercise all axes it's limits followed by putting the pin back in the same hole!.
The Japs do have a lot of robots out there, but there are still a few other world players, ABB (Swedish) invented the first electric robot which the Japs copied, KUKA (German) and Staubli (American) who invented the very first industrial robot as part of Westinghouse.
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Working on one of the cells last week when the robot tried to escape
Sparkey
Bouncing along!
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Well i locked one of my mates in the robotic welding cell to show you peeps our latest new ABB toy...(with Esab welder) Just to revive Robotstar's thread...oh and don't mind the joking and chattering in the vid....i wasn't swearing at all....
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Well i locked one of my mates in the robotic welding cell to show you peeps our latest new ABB toy...(with Esab welder) Just to revive Robotstar's thread...oh and don't mind the joking and chattering in the vid....i wasn't swearing at all....
Making good use of the manipulator there
have you managed to get training for the programming yet Sparkey? 