FANUC > Casos de clientes > Axzion
Obter navegação

Task:
Axzion is a manufacturer of load receptacles. It distributes and produces trusses, coil hooks and grippers and pliers. In the segment of the crossmembers, Axzion also offers the so-called H-cross beam, spreader cross beam, cross beam and different beam crossbars.

Solution:
Portal system for welding components up to 10 m in length and for weights up to 5,000 kg. It was important that the robot should work with both a single wire and a tandem torch. The package should also have the possibility of offline programming.

Result:
The ARC Mate robot pulls the weld seams of the gripping elements in an efficient manner, so that the saving effect is clearly within the double-digit percentage range compared to manual welding. The delivery times have been improved through the robot implementation. With the tandem torch, the robot can produce up to 11 kg per hour at wire feed speeds between 11 and 13 m / s. Very good welders are able to achieve 15kg per layer.

Download PDF

Automating the welding process with FANUC 

The central focus of the production in Neustrelitz is lifting equipment and transport cradles with larger dimensions. Such cradles are required, for example, to safely transport rotor blades for onshore and offshore wind turbines. Grippers are one of the most spectacular pieces of lifting equipment, and they are used to lift pipes, for the foundation of offshore wind turbines, from transport ships and position them on the “construction site”. Such pipes can have a diameter of six metres and a length of 30, 40 or even 60 metres. Such lifting equipment can often be a one-off, for which Axzion has gained a good reputation for quality in the industry. Approximately 40 percent of production is accounted for by such special structures and one-off items. Development, design and the complete production at Axzion are all contained in-house - not least due the required certification in accordance with EN 1090-2 EXC 3 and DIN EN ISO 3834-2. Approximately 60 percent of the production is based on classical beams and repeat orders. Ray Baumann: “These are standard products for us.”

The availability of such beams within a short lead time - just two and a half weeks according to Baumann - is also down to the use of robots in production.



Ray Baumann: “The package should also have the option of off-line programming included in it. And we also got that from Euen.”

Why FANUC?


It was the system integrator that chose the FANUC ARC Mate 120iC/12L. A successor to this robot, the ARC Mate 100iD, was already on the market at the time of the selection, but only available in the basic and not the long-arm version. The “ARC Tool” software option used is the latest version. 

The robot hangs on a traverse with a ten metre traverse distance.

The positioner on which the clamped workpieces can also be rotated is correspondingly large. Traverse and rotation axes are integrated as servo axes directly into the robot controller and can be controlled by the R-30iB. Ray Baumann classifies the control of the workpiece axis of rotation as “very tricky”. Even with the centre of gravity lying outside the axis of rotation, the axis rotates entirely evenly so that the welding robot can also perform its work evenly. Baumann: “That is where Euen did a good job.”
The rack-mounted ARC Mate operates from above for a space-saving design.

Ray Baumann: “Increasingly we are going in the direction of thermomechanical rolled steels.” The advantage of such sheets is that plate thicknesses of up to 60 mm do not have to be preheated. “This is very important for automated welding.”

Quick fact

The melting rate with a single-wire torch is about 5 kg of wire per hour. With a tandem torch, the robot can run at up to 11 kg per hour with wire feed speeds between 11 and 13 m/s. Very good welders achieve 15 kg per shift. This is also an advantage of the robot.

While the robot is working on one part of the system, the other part of the system can be fitted with components that are not too large or the next workpiece can be tacked.
Sometimes, the ARC Mate robot from FANUC still needs a bit of support and oversight from Ronny Hahn. By observing the process through the welding goggles, he can improve the torch angle here and there, or help the seam tracking sensor via the iPendant programming hand tool.
The question remains as to whether a system with this size of traverse could not have been equipped with two robots, as a dual arm system, from the start? For large components, the entire processing time could be significantly shortened by the parallel welding with two robots.
Ray Baumann confirmed that this option had been discussed in advance: “A lot can be added on to our system. But now we want to build up further experience and gain process reliability. Then we will take the next step.” Last but not least, the budget should also be adhered to. The rest of the production as well as fabrication must also be able to keep up with additional capacity. But expansion is not excluded, according to Baumann. Unlike straightforward robot handling, you also need qualified personnel who understand something - both about programming and about welding.
Ray Baumann, welding engineer at Axzion in Neustrelitz 

About Axzion

Secure and safe welded seams are required everywhere, also at Axzion in Neustrelitz, Switzerland, a manufacturer for the lifting of equipment. Loads of more than 1,000 tonnes are handled with their grippers and lifting beams.