FORMING AND FABRICATING AUTOMATION
Seven-Axis Cobots Shaping the Future of Welding Automation
Spartan Robotics’ SpartanWeldX system, featuring a Kassow Robots cobot and installed at Teo Fabrications, features a seventh axis that enables the elbow to rotate down like a human elbow, maximizing dexterity. Included in the weld cell is a Fronius 400-amp welding power source and a 4 by 4-ft. Siegmund tabletop.
Kassow Robots’ cobots into its pre-engineered and custom welding cells, Teo Fabrications now leverages its cobot arm to streamline the deposition of complex welds with previously unmatched speed, consistency and safety. As explained by Teo vice president Matt Hearn, while the firm had some previous experience with a conventional six- axis welding robot, it sought the type of additional support that Spartan Robotics offers, notably remote troubleshooting to keep production moving, and guidance on best practices for developing weld fixtures, and on setting weld-torch angles to optimize weld speed and quality. At the same time, Hearn and his operations team sought a more robust welding system that could match a human welder’s flexibility and could handle long shifts. They also believed that the seventh axis of the Kassow cobot would help drive produc- tivity. And they certainly were right, as Hearn reports that the new cobot has doubled welding speed compared to manual welding, and tripled overall productivity. One operator runs the cobot cell, replacing three manual welders who have been re- assigned to performing higher-value custom work.
www.metalformingmagazine.com A flexible seven-axis cobot arm
Teo Fabrications Inc. is a Vernon Township, NJ-based produc- tion fabrication shop and racecar manufacturer. Thanks to the efforts of automation integrator Spartan Robotics, a division of BlueBay Automation, Nashville, TN, which exclusively integrates
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streamlines the deposition of complex welds with previously unmatched speed, consistency and safety.
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