Page 27 - Metalorming Magazine January/February 2023

Special Section
FABRICATION
Today’s fabricating technology promises the ability to produce high-quality components job after job, in a variety of applications. And, in each issue, MetalForming is committed to informing you on how fabrication equipment delivers.
This month, help mitigate challenges in welding fasteners to hot-stamped boron steel via use of capacitance-discharge power supplies. And, see some of the latest laser cutting technology spied by MetalForming’s editors as they walked the floor at FABTECH this past November in Atlanta, GA.
24 MetalForming/January/February 2023 www.metalformingmagazine.com
FABRICATION
CONTENTS
24 News&Technology
26 Welding Fasteners to Hot Stamped Boron Steel–Made Easy
Modular, Compact- Footprint Arc Welding Cells
At the recently held Automatica 2022 in Munich, Germany, ABB launched its OmniVance FlexArc Compact, a compact welding application cell with greater flex- ibility, ease-of-use and better integration, according to company officials, who note that the cell helps manufacturers address labor shortages in welding.
“Welding is one of the fastest-growing applications for automation, and it’s being driven by a lack of labor,” said Marc Segura, ABB’s Robotics Division president, at an Automatica press briefing. “Rising costs and more challenging customer needs make production more complex, meaning that manufacturers need simple automation solutions that can easily adapt to changing market needs. OmniVance FlexArc is our answer. We are making it even smaller, more flexible and easier to use.”
This ready-to-deploy, modular solution incorporates robots, controllers, software, peripherals and other key components into a simplified, welding application-spe- cific cell. With reportedly the smallest footprint in its class—154 sq. ft.—the cell helps manufacturers optimize space, while as many as four robots can be
added without alter- ing the cell's struc- ture, aiding flexibility. A 45-deg. gantry robot mount design maximizes the robot’s working parameters by plac- ing it in the center of a three-axis turntable, bringing it closer to the work- piece.
The OmniVance FlexArc cell can be simulated before commissioning with RobotStudio, ABB’s simulation and pro-
gramming tool, to reduce integration time and effort. And, ABB’s latest FlexArc soft- ware suite enables users to collect and analyse data to refine performance and improve decision-making and welding effi- ciency by visualizing production data against specific key performance indicators.
Easily integrate autonomous mobile robots as well as material-handling and quality-inspection equipment to enhance the functionality of the new cell to automate and speed manufacturing logistics, offer ABB officials. And, if production increases, the OmniVance FlexArc Compact can be scaled with additional cells.
The OmniVance FlexArc Compact is one of three OmniVance offerings intro- duced at Automatica. Also under the Omni- Vance umbrella: OmniVance Machinining Cell for machining applications and Omni- Vance FlexLoader for part picking and placing. OmniVance, the new name that unifies all of ABB’s standard robotic appli- cation cells, responds directly to the global trends of labor shortages, greater uncer- tainty, and changes in consumer behavior, according to company officials, who note that this branding marks the arrival of more intelligent, more adaptable, more capable and more space-efficient robotics solutions.
ABB Robotics & Discrete Automation: www.go.abb/robotics
NEWS & TECHNOLOGY
30 Laser-Cutting at FABTECH