At the core of any water tank, is a cylinder with 2 domes welded on the ends, as well as sockets welded in specific positions along the cylinder. The conventional way to perform this operation is to have operators loading domes and cylinders in presses and welders, which carries high risks of injury.
In a recent project for a leading manufacturer of hot water tanks, Apex Automation and Robotics designed, supplied, installed and commissioned a robotic cell to assemble and weld the domes and sockets to the cylinders. The cell includes:
- 5 industrial robots
- 3 presses
- 3 welding machines
Cylinders and domes are loaded on conveyors at the entry of the cell. At the end of the conveyors a cylinder and a dome are separated and presented to the robots. One robot handles the domes and places them into 2 presses, whilst the other 4 robots work in harmony to move the cylinder between the presses and the welders before delivering the finished product on a conveyor at the exit of the cell.
The end-of-arm tools are custom-built mechanical grippers capable of handling 50 different products of various lengths and diameters without any mechanical adjustments.
A key feature of this system is a 3D vision system used to determine the exact location of the holes on the cylinders, so that the sockets are welded in perfect alignment with the holes.
The line is controlled by a main PLC with a user-friendly HMI interfacing with the robot controllers and the 3D vision system via Ethernet/IP network. Safeguarding includes perimeter fencing, light curtains and access doors with solenoid locking safety switches and a key exchange system. Upon an entry request, the robots finish their tasks and return to their respective rest positions before unlocking the access keys. The operator unlocks the door and holds on to the key whilst they are inside the cell, ensuring that the safety circuit is tripped and access is safe.
With a capacity to produce more than 100 tanks/hr, this robotic system is another complete automation solution supplied by Apex Automation and Robotics to the metal manufacturing industry to streamline their production lines, increase their efficiencies and throughputs and reduce the risk of injuries.
