New automated system addresses footprint, fixture concerns

One change with AMADA’s updated M1 Plus laser welding system is this incorporation of a standard Siegmund welding table rather than a custom-built one. Images: AMADA

Automated laser welding systems using robotics and equipped with built-in safety parameters are the ideal configuration for the technology in terms of productivity and employee comfort. One challenge with such systems has been the footprint required to handle a wide enough variety of customer parts without being too big to fit in many shops. Another challenge has been the cost of custom fixturing. With its M1 Plus system, AMADA feels it has found the sweet spot for shop needs in all respects.

Laser welding for general fabrication has proven effective for both OEMs and job shops with the right product and material mix. The speed of the process, coupled with the elimination of any post-processing on parts, has encouraged uptake of the technology. With the introduction of less expensive technology options, such as hand-held systems, market awareness has grown also.

With the seemingly never-ending skilled labour shortage, a technology like this will be key for some shops’ success. And once a user understands the technology, doors to larger savings open up. Dan Belz, FLW product manager for AMADA AMERICA, Buena Park, Calif., noted that sometimes it takes quite a while to convert a customer, but once they find the job or jobs that suit the technology, it clicks into place quickly.

“We worked with a company that needed to spot-weld supports onto a ceiling air diffuser,” he said. “This meant there couldn’t be any bleed-through of the weld on the presentation side. Previously, the company would require three people to assemble this product, using extra material to avoid bleed-through in the weld. Winning that battle alone saved them close to $1 million dollars in extra material and labour costs in one year. It went from a three-person operation to requiring just one. They almost doubled their daily output with that one machine and tripled it with a second machine. It paid for itself in less than a year.”

The challenge with earlier versions of laser welding booths was the footprint size.

“The footprint for our first system was 20 ft. by 28 ft.,” noted Belz. “We shrunk that to a version that was 12 ft. by 24 ft., but that was still a lot of real estate for a lot of shops. It was very good for some applications, but it was still very large.”

The M1 Plus, meanwhile, has a footprint of 12 ft. by 12 ft., is equipped with a Yaskawa robot for weld processing, and includes a shutter table that can turn 180 degrees so that parts can be fixtured on one table while the other is being processed inside the machine.

The table allows an operator to weld a 48- by 20- by 6-in. box in one cycle.

“We reviewed all of the parts that our customers have asked us to consider for laser welding, and this size covers about 98 per cent of those requested parts,” said Belz.

Another change with this model is a move to using a standard Siegmund welding table rather than a custom-built one. What this means is if a shop has tooling for this type of table already, it may be able to save on fixturing costs.

The table allows an operator to weld a 48- by 20- by 6-in. box in one cycle.

“I believe that many of our customers will continue to buy custom fixtures for certain jobs, but for some simpler setups, it will be easy for them to use standard clamps for this table,” said Belz. “The main thing is that it gives them options.”

Aiding this ability to use standard clamping tools is enhanced software for the system.

AMADA JAPAN worked in conjunction with the University of Tokyo to develop Artificial Intelligence – Teaching Assist System (AI-TAS), which takes the finished off-line program, looks at how the assembly is set on the table in real time, and automatically adjusts parameters so that it will properly follow each weld seam.

“I don’t believe you are ever going to develop a perfect seam tracking system with the smoke and sparks involved in welding,” said Belz. “This system avoids that concern by running preweld; it makes the adjustments and the program fires, so it may take you a minute longer to weld, but you don’t have to invest in lots of fixturing to make sure the robot can follow the weld seam. It can see it’s half a millimetre off and adjust. It’s a game-changer. With the minimal heat-affected zone, you’re able to do that because the part isn’t going to move substantially, even without a lot of fixturing.”

Belz thinks this new system will push adoption of the technology further.

“We’ve hit the three main pieces our customers have been concerned about: footprint, fixturing, and price,” he said. “The fixturing is a big one. We have one customer that is saving 30 minutes per part using it.”

Belz has a very simple equation for when a fabricator should consider a laser welding system: “If between 40 and 80 per cent of your work is being touched by a welder, you need to take a serious look at laser welding technology,” he said.

Editor Robert Colman can be reached at [email protected].

AMADA AMERICA, www.amada.com/america

The new system has a 12- by 12-ft. footprint.