Isolit Bravo is a purely Czech company with a history dating back to the 1920s. In Jablonné nad Orlicí, the Isolit bakelite moulding plant was founded, upon which Isolit-Bravo s.r.o. was established in the early 1990s. One of the projects that forms the backbone of Isolit Bravo’s production program is the production of motorised wheelbarrows and carts under the name ‘Mobarrow’. This project is the ‘child’ of owner and director Kvido Štěpánek, and it was created approximately 14 years ago with the intention of being a suitable addition to the diverse range of Isolit Bravo products.
“After the successful start of the project, we managed to develop further variations of these electrified tools for the garden, forest, orchard, and other environments that require transport of various materials, especially in rough and challenging terrain. We currently supply more than 90 models of these carts and wheelbarrows”, says Štěpánek.
Thanks to craftsmanship and an advanced concept based on the use of special DC motors and a specific planetary gearbox, Isolit Bravo has succeeded in expanding to markets outside the Czech Republic, virtually all over Europe. However, this has also led to increased demands on production capacity. At the moment, the number of Mobarrow branded products delivered is approaching 50,000 units of all models offered. It was therefore necessary to analyse the individual production steps and see where production could be streamlined and simplified.
Since the frames of all wheelbarrows and carts are made of steel for logical reasons, an essential part of production involves arc welding, which produces frames in all the necessary shapes and dimensions. Automation, or rather robotisation of this process, was thus one of the first steps towards more efficient production.
“Despite the high delivery numbers, we produce a relatively wide portfolio of wheelbarrow and cart models. Therefore, we need to weld individual parts in smaller series so that we can meet individual orders as they come in”, says Mr Mato, chief engineer of Isolit Bravo’s machinery, adding: “Because of this, we were looking for a partner who had the know-how for our type of production.”
Since robotic welding technology was new to Isolit Bravo, it was necessary to test the feasibility of the entire project. This helps the customer decide which path to take in this field. Tests were conducted at the Valk Welding technical centre in Paskov to weld the entire frames of the motorised wheelbarrows from the Mobarrow series. The use of Quick Touch technology proved to be an essential tool in the tests, which allows the elimination of minor inaccuracies in the production preparation and ensures a perfect result. During the tests, the welding design of the product was decided upon. This resulted in less deformation of the product while maintaining its strength.
After several discussions, a robot system with a FRAME-H concept was chosen as the optimal configuration for the intended production batches. The system includes two workstations, each equipped with a 500 kg positioner.
The chosen machine concept allows for full practical preparation at the supplier’s plant. Therefore, the installation at the customer’s final location was a matter of one day. And because the knowledge gained from the aforementioned tests was used, the start-up of the robotic welding of the first Mobarrow frames proceeded very quickly.
Director Štěpánek summarises it briefly: “The deployment of the welding robot has elevated our metal production to a higher level. Valk Welding has proven to be a reliable partner in this process of robotising our welding work. We are now able to efficiently manufacture and further expand the portfolio of one of our most successful in-house products.”
“Accelerating production has also freed us up for other projects. For example, we have developed and shipped several special Trailblazer ground drones to Ukraine, where they are helping the Ukrainian military rescue wounded soldiers near Bakhmut”, says Štěpánek.
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