First time right

Welding robot with seam-tracking system solution

So, Duotank started looking for a different system with a camera that tracks the weld seam exactly and in real-time, that is user-friendly in operation and requires minimum setting time. An investigation of the market produced three potential suppliers where Duotank had tests performed. Mark Cox continued “We had a good feeling about the results achieved by Valk Welding with the Arc-Eye seam-tracking system. That system has been developed much further than the other systems that are available in the market. It gave us confidence in the success of the entire project.”

Real-time weld-seam tracking with ARC-EYE

The Arc-Eye weld-seam tracking system consists of software and a rotating scanning laser sensor camera that is fitted in front of the welding torch. Laser sensors are the only systems that can track the weld seams in real time during the welding process, without adverse effects of reflections on stainless steel, aluminium or copper. This laser sensor scans the weld seam at a high frequency and the software corrects every deviation in the position of the weld seam. The Arc-Eye laser sensor produces an exact offset and that makes it the most accurate weld-tracking system, whilst facilitating greater accuracy and higher welding quality.

Internal tank next phase

The external tanks are now welded by the Panasonic TL-1800WGIII welding robot in quantities of 60 tanks per week. Those quantities are also achieved, because the system is fitted with 2 workstations on a torsion-free H-frame, to ensure the welding robot is not idle when the workpiece is changed over. Now welding the external tank has been fully automated successfully with the new welding-robot system, the first tests for welding the internal tank with the welding robot are now being realised.

First time right

The speed at which the tank rotates during welding is crucial to the quality. “Where the semi-automatic welds with high Amperes and speed, the welding robot welds at 80% of the Amperes and about half the speed. This greatly reduces the risk of errors, so it is better to have a slower process and good quality than the other way around. With the new welding-robot system the products are first time right, and final processing is no longer required,” concluded Mark Cox.

Ensure proper welding preparation

Mark Cox commented “The robotised welding process requires accurate preparation. Bottoms and lids need to be of the same height anyway. Furthermore, the tack welds need to be kept as small as possible. The stainless steel external tanks are TIG welded without wire. It is essential to change the TIG electrode on time.”
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