Perfectly welding a joint is a skill that takes years of training by professional welders to perfect. Automating this function is possible, but you’ll need to evaluate the different approaches, methodologies, and associated technologies before committing to a solution. To help you grapple with the latest capabilities, here’s everything you need to know about welding seam tracking.
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Seam tracking or weld joint tracking uses an automated system that provides real-time sensing and adaptive control while executing a robotic welding operation. Different solutions are available on the market that enable automated welding operations to track the welding seam in real-time and control the process using 3D lasers, cameras, slides, controllers, and teach pendants.
Choosing the right technology depends on your current welding workflow requirements, as these systems can control the voltage, travel speed, wire feed, and weld bead formation.
Seam tracking systems vary between suppliers and integrators but use the same base technologies to achieve the required control function. Vision and sensing solutions provide high-quality, industrially proven seam tracking, welding inspection, and precise process control in a single operation.
(source: Binzel Abicor)
The different welding seam tracking technologies are:
Automating the tracking of weld seam in a robotic process isn’t easy. Each workpiece, fixture, and welding system needs to operate in conjunction to maintain the integrity of every joint. In addition, adopting these solutions adds complexity to the operation, requiring extensive engineering to perfect.
Implementing these solutions will require:
For those reasons, you should look at automating your welding operations without weld seam tracking systems. With a good fixture design or repeatable jigs, you can remove the need for adding complex technologies to your weld cells.
Welding cobots are redefining the capabilities available to SMEs that deal with high-mix, low-volume orders. It provides consistent, repeatable results by combining easy programming, accurate execution, and proven reliability.
Welding cobots let you set up the weld operation, oversee the process, and interact with the work cell. Cobot welding systems do not need weld seam tracking to weld your part repeatably and provide great ROI. In fact, not needing through arc seam tracking with your cobot helps to reduce complexity and decrease the cost of ownership of the welding cell.
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Welding cobots are generally easier to program than traditional welding robots, allowing you to get into production quickly without relying on complex programming skills. These welding cobot tools will enable you to empower your welders to operate them without previous robotics knowledge. They are great solutions to fill your need for welders.
So deciding to add complexity to the system would then defeat the goal of automating with simple-to-use solutions.
When looking to add automation to welding operations, collaborative welding robots do not need expensive, complex weld seam tracking solutions to produce quality welds.
Here are a few reasons why welding cobots don’t need seam tracking technologies:
A welding cobot is already providing a simple solution to automate your welding operations and solve your need for extra welders. They only require the operator, which can be your welder, to set up the weld workflow once and only intervene if something goes wrong. To conclude, you don’t need to add complex seam tracking technologies to get productivity and ROI from those cobots.
Welding seam tracking systems require complex technology and diligent maintenance. On the contrary, a welding cobot reduces the complexity of automation and keeps operators in control of each weld workflow. So, you won’t need expensive programmers. Instead, you’ll be able to start production quickly and empower your current welders to operate the robots. Then, with automated and repeatable results, you can increase your throughput, reduce your cycle times, and ensure consistent quality welds for each high-mix, low-volume job you accept.
The bottom line for companies manufacturing welded products is to achieve the highest quality at the lowest cost. The best measure of how well this is being achieved is the metric called Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). SERVO-ROBOT has just released their newest AUTO-TRAC/PWP laser vision seam tracking system that dramatically improves weld productivity, quality and up-time which are the three factors influencing the OEE metric.
AUTO-TRAC/PWP shown in the Figure has achieved new levels of welding performance while being the simplest laser vision seam tracker ever to use. If you can operate an iPad® you can run the AUTO-TRAC/PWP. One can install this system on your new equipment or it is setup to easily retrofit to existing welders which are manually operated or utilize mechanical probe for guidance. The heart of the system is the digital high speed laser camera head which is the most powerful for its size on the market today. It has a large field of view combined with high resolution that allows this system to handle products ranging from thin sheet metal to 50mm thick steel. In the past, either a camera had to be optimized for small or large weld joints but could not do both. This is no longer a limitation.
As great as the hardware performs, the intuitive software and friendly user interface are really what sets the SERVO-ROBOT AUTO-TRAC/PWP system apart from anything else on the market. While one can get caught up with numbers like the system’s camera speed in thousands of profiles/second or the resolution in microns, what are really important is what one can do with all this power and how easy the system is to use. Features from SERVO-ROBOT’s AUTO-TRAC/PWP that have not previously been available from anyone include those shown in Table below. These features directly improve performance when welding products ranging from storage tanks to ships to bridges.
What is the feature How this benefit improves productivity and quality Weld joint validation Validates that the joint fit-up meets the weld procedure requirement before welding is allowed to start, thus greatly reducing rework and scrap Real time adaptation to part Compensates within process capability for joint variability, including excessive gap , to make an acceptable weld Real time weld inspection Can inspect in real time with a camera located behind the welding torch or by using a second pass scan Automatic joint location If the joint is outside of the camera FOV, the system automatically searches till the weld joint is found Controller can run 2 cameras One can simultaneously track the joint and inspect the weld to insure optimized welding takes placeBesides doing its main task of seam tracking, the ability to monitor the overall welding process provides useful data to facilitate Six Sigma continuous improvement efforts. Useful information includes part fit-up variability, system up-time and productivity metrics.
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