Welding robot in steel construction

Large YZ system

Valk Welding supplied a welding robot on a hanging YZ construction, which moves together with the support for the welding wire and robotcontrol on a 15 m long track. Because sufficient hoisting facilities are present, the workpieces can be turned without manipulator. A rail system anchored to the floor is sufficient for positioning and clamping. The liquid
containers, which used to be welded manually in 60 hours, are now welded in 25 hours on the welding robot installation. “Not only a substantial time saving of over 40%, but also a saving of 60 man hours that we can now devote to our core business.”

Composite beams on the welding robot

In addition to the liquid containers, Verdo also welds other products with large welding lengths on the welding robot installation. A 15-metrelong SFB composite corner beam is a regularly recurring product, the welding of which can easily take a full day. Moreover, monotonous work for a manual welder,” Gerard Verdoold explains. “The welding robot now does the job in three hours, using Touch Sensing to locate the weld every meter on either side, and the robot then applies the weld in a weaving pattern. The same quality in a weaving pattern is hardly achievable by a manual welder.”

Learning period of 1 year

All products that have been welded with the robot so far have been programmed offline with the DTPS software of Valk Welding. “That goes many times faster than with a teach pendant on the product itself. We have been working with
the welding robot and offline programming for a year now. You need this period to learn how to work with the system properly, before we start acquiring other products on a large scale. All in all, we see the investment as a broadening of our possibilities and an investment in the future of the company,” concludes Gerard Verdoold.

www.verdo.nl