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These Advantages Spoke in Favor of the Fronius Welding Solution

Before Trumpf decided on the robot-assisted laser hybrid welding system from Fronius, concepts from various providers were evaluated to ensure the best choice. Options to navigate around the parts, which weigh up to 18 tons and measure 4.5 × 3 × 2 meters (approx. 14.8 × 10 ×  7 ft) during welding, or to position them on rotating/tilting tables, were quickly dismissed, as Reiter recalls. This is because the preferred parallel setup during main process times would have been impossible or only partially feasible with these alternatives. As a result, the decision was made to go with a two-station gantry system featuring one laser hybrid welding robot and one MAG welding robot, along with two large tilt positioners that ensure horizontal part handling. While one machine frame is being welded, the next can be clamped onto the free positioner. This eliminates the risk of high tilting moments occurring with rotating/tilting tables when the center of gravity of the heavy parts is positioned too far from the rotation or tilting axis. To prevent such issues, these systems would need to be significantly larger and taller, which is impractical. Ultimately, the variant proposed by Fronius proved to be the best solution. Several factors were decisive. These included a sound safety concept, the elimination of a torch change station thanks to the use of two welding robots, seamless cable management enabled by the gantry design, the use of Wiresense for seam tracking, and the excellent accessibility of the slim MAG robot in corner areas, as Trumpf highlights. The system also guarantees parallel setup during main process times with the help of the two tilt positioners. Additional advantages include the long-standing, trustworthy business relationship, the ability to offline program welding jobs with Pathfinder, and the expertise of Fronius' specialists in system technology.

Not Trivial! Two Robots Weld on a Track

The use of two welding robots on the same rail presents a particular challenge, as Fronius emphasizes. The concept is that only one robot is actively welding the part at any given time, while the other remains in a parked position. For this, a specific program template was created for each robot, containing all movements and travel paths, which serves as the basis for programming the part-specific welding tasks. The welding sequences provided by Trumpf for the acceptance parts were simulated and assessed for feasibility using Fronius Pathfinder on the digital twin during the design phase, as revealed. This allowed welding specialists to identify potential production issues, such as accessibility problems, in advance. The Fronius experts enhanced the post-processor (parser) so that it could translate specific commands for the MAG welding robot, such as using the Wiresense seam tracking sensor. The parser transfers the created welding programs from the digital twin to the real system. These enhancements include program segments tailored specifically to Trumpf's system, which are not part of the standard Pathfinder version. This allows system operators to determine exactly which information and to what extent is transferred by the post-processor. The result is a welding program precisely meeting the robot's requirements. Additionally, users can define a collision sensor in Pathfinder to prevent the torch from striking the part during actual operation.