Panasonic supplies integrated custom welding cell to Coventry-based RSM Industries

Citation

(1999), "Panasonic supplies integrated custom welding cell to Coventry-based RSM Industries", Industrial Robot, Vol. 26 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.1999.04926faf.008

Panasonic supplies integrated custom welding cell to Coventry-based RSM Industries

Panasonic supplies integrated custom welding cell to Coventry-based RSM Industries

Keyword: Welding

Coventry-based metal component and welded sub-assembly specialist RSM Industries has taken delivery of a Panasonic CE-marked automated manufacturing cell to weld the steel brackets that it produces for a major supplier of seat frames to the automotive industry. Custom-built for RSM's specific requirements, the cell was fully pre-configured and tested off-site, allowing it to go into live production on the day of delivery (see Plate 8).

Plate 8 Custom-built welding cell

The new cell is a fully integrated two-station, modular design incorporating the latest high-speed PanaRobo VR008AE robot with weld control and wire touch sensor facilities and a PanaStar RF350 high-performance inverter welding source with air cooled 350A torch and collision mount. The cell is built onto a single steel plinth with minimum distance between workstations and has been optimised to reduce re-tooling times for new fixtures to a matter of minutes. A range of program/job selection switches allows the operator to accurately control production requirements without the need to re-edit robot programs.

All aspects of cell design, building, testing, installation and commissioning were performed off-site by Panasonic. In addition to the robot and welding source, the cell incorporates a complete guard system with interlocked access door and rise and fall operator doors that offer automatic opening for ease of loading. A built-in torch clean station allows the robot torch to clean while the operator is working at either station. As part of the integration service, Panasonic fitted all of the cell's systems and components including the courtesy lighting and the fume extraction canopy.

Commenting on the new manufacturing cell, Greg Williams, RSM's Plant Manager, states: "Panasonic was chosen to supply this system as they have proved that they can provide a cost-effective single source for robots, welding equipment, tooling, systems design, configuration and testing. By providing easy tooling change facilities and pre-select welding job switches, this new cell can handle high volume production and small batch production of low-volume components."

He adds: "The system was delivered only weeks after order placement and was installed and welding in hours. Since installation RSM has benefited from dramatically reduced welding times per component and improved, more repeatable weld quality than would be possible using manual welding techniques."

Contact John Hopper, Panasonic Industrial Europe Ltd. Tel/Fax: +44 (0)1785 213048; E-mail: john.hopper@piel.co.uk; Website: http://www.panasonicfa.com