Robotized welding system for «Schneider Electric»
We are currently acomplishing a project for the French company Schneider Electric. We have designed and manufactured for them a robotic welding system for welding RM-6 tanks (medium voltage circuit breaker). The parts are made of stainless steel with thickness of 2 mm. Weight of the products is ranging from 175 to 450 kgs. The inert gas is injected into the tank for blowing-out the electric arc that is generated in the process of functioning of the device. The strict quality requirements are imposed on this kind of products - the weld seams pass radiographic inspection. The length of the weld seams is up to 6 meters.
The robotized system includes two welding robots Arc Mate 100iC/6L of Fanuc company. The unique driving unit of the wrist of this robot arm has allowed to create the most delicate manipulator in the world. With a 6kg load-lifting capacity, the area of operation of the robot is 1 632 mm. The control cabinet R-30IA has ergonomic appearance and carries a cutting-edge technologies that can perform various complex tasks. The controller can operate 40 axes simultaneously, using Fanuc motors. The two-processor system ensures safety and timely deactuation of the robot servos. R-30IA has a built-in Ethernet (100 BaseTX). All components of the control cabinet are of IP 54 class.
We have used for this project the welding sources of the Lincoln Electric Company. The Power Wave I400 (5 - 420А) welding machine is connected via Ethernet to the R-30IA control cabinet and does not require expensive interface modules. This unit has more than 100 built-in programs for Mig/Mag welding. In addition to welding sources, the equipment includes: wire feeder AutoDrive 4R90 and the device for cooling the welding torch - Cool Arc 40. 
The water flow sensor (to protect the welding torch) and the end-of-wire detector are used in conjunction with these devices. The welding torches Abicor Binzel, with water cooling, are designed for 500 amperes.
The productivity of the welding system is 7 tanks per hour. The welding speed is 90 cm/min. The welding seam is monitored through the arc, without using expensive laser scanners. The service life of the system is 10 years, with operational mode of 70 hours a week. To ensure the continuity of operation of the robots, the welding system includes the turntable, on which there are situated two conductors for fixing the tank. In the welding zone they tilt the product to the angle of 45 °. At the bottom part of the conductor is situated a roller conveyor for loading and unloading of the products. This technology eliminates the use of lifting equipment (telpher, crane). Thus, the welding system represents a continuation of an assembly line.
The welding system includes the ventilation unit manufactured by the Lincoln Electric Company. The cleaning efficiency is 99%. The unit is equipped with a self-cleaning filter and a fan. The productivity rate of the ventilation unit is 1 100 cubic meters of air per hour.
