Page 33 - MetalForming Magazine April 2023

Special Section: FABRICATION
R S O E B C O T T I OI C N WT I E T L L DE I N G
30 MetalForming/April 2023 www.metalformingmagazine.com
With AI-powered offline-programming software, “we only need to determine the type of weld and fine-tune the weld while the software handles movements to and from the weld,” explains Pieter Ceulemans, Van Hool robot welding engineer.
existing systems and supports welding robots and collaborative robots (cobots) from multiple brands, com- pany-specific models, such as that developed for Van Hool, are trained to capture insights on specific applica- tions and welding processes. The model learns and improves over time to suggest automatically the optimal process parameters for each specific weld.
“For the labor-intensive smaller vol- umes, we were looking for a more auto- mated solution—preferably a fully automated solution—for programming our welding robots,” explains Paul Mey- nen, IT architect CAD/CAM for Van Hool. “During our own development we’ve found that programming often requires a lot of logic, and that some issues can’t be solved without the assis- tance of AI. We also believe that AI offers solutions to many future prob- lems. Oqton brings a solution that is grounded in AI and that often results in fundamentally more added value compared to solutions that can be achieved through classic programming.
“We are convinced that this software will allow us to program more robots with the same number of programmers that we currently have,” Meynen con- tinues. “These people are difficult to find, but we are determined to continue production in Belgium. Thus we depend on highly technological solu- tions to control our production, and we certainly will continue to invest in order to do that.”
Since the Oqton collaboration began in 2021, Van Hool has made significant improvement in robotic welding oper- ations. Where one operator was needed per robot for small-volume work, according to Ceulemans, now a single operator can cover several robots. And, offline programming of robots enables the virtual perfection of all movements, from the start of a weld to its conclu- sion, before passing of these move- ments to the robots, with no manu- facturing downtime.
“When using offline programming for robotic welding before employing the software, we first needed to deter-
technology, Van Hool officials sought a way to reduce welding-robot pro- gramming time, a time-consuming chore that, along with a lack of skilled welding technicians, challenged throughput requirements.
“With a team of offline program- mers and more than 20 robots, we weld chassis and smaller components with the highest possible quality every day,” says Pieter Ceulemans, Van Hool robot welding engineer, describing how the welding robots function in the com- pany’s manufacturing operations. “For the smaller volumes, each of these robots has an operator, and some robots occupy several stations so that they can weld different parts at the same time. We have one operator tend- ing several robots that weld the full chassis. Our main challenge: the large variety of chassis that must be welded in small volumes. We need to deploy our robots as efficiently as possible.”
AI-Driven Software Provides Answer
A 2-yr. collaboration with Oqton, a manufacturing-software provider headquartered in Belgium and with
U.S. operations centered in San Fran- cisco, CA, has yielded a manufacturing operating system for welding robots that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to achieve optimal welding parameters —and helps Van Hool Industrial Vehi- cles meet production challenges with- out downtime due to programming.
“In practice, after a user uploads a CAD file, the software for welding extracts potential weld lines, generates collision-free robot-motion profiles and suggests optimal welding-process parameters using AI and machine learning technology,” says Mark Forth, general manager of industrial manu- facturing for Oqton.
The software uses tactile sense motions to recognize and adjust for geometric deviations and mounting errors. Users, if desired, can make adjustments through a simple, intuitive user interface that is built for welders, and does not require programming knowledge. Once the robot begins weld- ing, Oqton IoT monitors the process quality online, with real-time alerts and reports for manual inspection or rework generated automatically.
Though the platform integrates with