Page 76 - MetalForming October 2012

Hybrid Robotic-Welding Gun
Robotic Welding a Competitive Advantage
In addition to cus- tom-forming, laser-
cutting and CNC
press-brake equip-
ment, K-zell Metals
also operates a pair of
robotic arc-welding
cells that allow the
company to create
precise assemblies and
maintain a competi-
tive edge, compared to
the days when it relied
solely on semiautomatic arc welding.
According to Kammerzell, the robot- ic-welding cells have allowed the com- pany to significantly increase through- put. It can produce as many as 5000 parts in a single run, while main- taining the same overhead.
K-zell outfitted each robotic- welding system with a hybrid air- and water-cooled robotic gas-metal- arc-welding (GMAW ) gun, the Tre- gaskiss Tough Gun I.C.E (Integrated Cooling Enhancer). The hybrid design allows water circulation to the nozzle, keeping the front-end consumables running cooler and lasting longer. The design, says Kammerzell, allows K-zell Metals to easily switch from welding thick and thin parts without the hassle or downtime of changing out the entire gun.
Choosing the Right GMAW Gun
Given that K-zell welds on such a variety of parts, materials and thick- nesses, Kammerzell, along with the company’s robotic-welding supervisor and quality-assurance manager Jim Benjamin, sought one robotic GMAW gun that could accommodate it all—the Tough Gun I.C.E. The hybrid gun fea- tures stainless-steel water lines that run along the outside of the gun’s gooseneck down to the nozzle, rather than through the gooseneck like tradi- tional water-cooled guns. The design provides water circulation that keeps the consumables running cool, and it
The hybrid gas-metal-arc-welding gun combines the durability of an air-cooled gun with the cooling features of a water-cooled one. The external water lines circulate coolant to the front-end consumables, helping them run cooler and last longer when welding heavier gauge work.
74 MetalForming/October 2012
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simplifies maintenance.
When welding thicker parts (1⁄4 in. or so), Benjamin explains, the weld-cell operator connects the I.C.E. gooseneck to an external water cooler within the cell. The addition of the water cooling allows the company to weld at the higher amperages required when welding thicker parts, or when welding for prolonged periods of time. When welding thinner parts (16 to 10 gauge typically), the operator changes
over to an air-cooled gooseneck.
“I like the interchangeability of the air- and water-cooled necks,” says Ben- jamin. “It allows us to run a wide vari- ety of applications on the same robot, with the same power source and in the same cell. Plus, the gun features a quick-change neck, so we can swap
them out with minimal downtime.” Benjamin also appreciates the safe- ty and durability of the gun. “In the event of a crash,” he explains, “the gun’s safety features prevent it from becom-
ing damaged.”
To both Benjamin and Kammerzell,
having equipment that can keep up with the unique demands of their cus- tomer base is non-negotiable. “Being a
job shop, we never know if we are going to have 10 parts, one part or several hundred,” Benjamin says. “Having a gun we can so easily swap out and maintain is a huge benefit.”
Investing in Automation
When Kammerzell and his team decided to invest in robotic welding, the goal was to gain a 15- to 20-percent increase in productivity and reduce costs—for its customers and for them- selves. It’s exceeded those goals, while also focusing on delivering precise, repeatable parts to the welding cells.
“Having the robotic-welding cells has forced our laser and press-brake operations to be absolutely perfect, and they’re automatically checked every day,” Kammerzell explains. “Every part must be in spec in order to fit in the welding fixture—a built-in quality- control mechanism.”
The time, effort and labor needed to refine the company’s robotic-weld operations, and the fabricating processes that feed parts to the cells, have paid off handsomely. Kammerzell notes that the firm received a full return on its automation investment within two years. MF