Production volume doubled and employees relieved

Those who are lucky enough to have qualified welders in their company should nevertheless think about automating welding processes, because it is always a question of relieving the workload and the targeted use of welders, where robots have their limits. An increase in volume that simply cannot be handled by the existing team of manual welders could be another starting point. This is what happened at Sächsische Bewehrungsstahl (SBS), one of the largest manufacturers of structural steel in Germany.

Here, manual welders in three-shift operation welded support and transport anchors, which are now manufactured by a robot welding system. Robolution GmbH, a system integrator and expert for robot welding systems, has developed a welding robot concept for SBS, which is based, among other things, on robot torches from ABICOR BINZEL. The course of the automation project with all concerns and challenges, especially in tolerances, is vividly presented in the video interview by Pierre Langer, Plant Manager of Sächsische Bewehrungsstahl, and Patrick Haber, Managing Director of Robolution.

Tolerances and handling as concrete challenges

The step into automation needs to be well considered and planned. Questions arise such as: Can our components be welded automatically? What options are there for easily integrating a robot welding system into the running processes? Do we need our own robot programmer? How does service work and what about programming and operation of such a robot system by our own team? This is where a system integrator like Robolution provides the necessary answers in close cooperation with the respective customer. And, of course, Robolution can count on the support of ABICOR BINZEL for the realisation of automation projects with robot torches, robot power sources and cleaning stations – to name just a few examples.

In the specific case of Sächsische Bewehrungsstahl, where a transport anchor was to be welded automatically, it quickly became clear: clamping devices are essential and the entire handling must be considered. From the feeding of the individual parts to the output of the finished product. Also the cutting edges of the pressure bar, which has to be welded into the metal hanger, are a small challenge in terms of tolerances.

Autonomous robot welding system with robot torches from ABICOR BINZEL

SBS already has many years of experience with manual welding torches from ABICOR BINZEL. For this reason, it was clear for Robolution to integrate a robot welding torch from ABICOR BINZEL with the corresponding specifications for performance and duty cycle into the concept. The high productivity of the entire automation solution is based on the fact that the system operates in autonomous mode. Whereas in the past several manual welders produced the components, today only one employee merely places the individual parts in the simply designed material feed system. Furthermore, the robot assembly eliminates the physically demanding task of precisely aligning the component for the operator.

The path to automation of arc welding processes and handling via welding robots and handling robots with clamping and conveyor technology has paid off for Sächsische Bewehrungsstahl. The video interview provides many more interesting details about this automation project.