This is nothing you can buy from stock.
So it all depends on the realization of the structures. The more material you use the better will be fulfilled all your requirements.
I would prefer a ground mounted linear axis, and may be a bigger robot to reach all positions. Depends on your needed working space
you mean just like this?
We now have a frame about 4 meters in length that needs to be welded. The image below is a solution from an integrator.
They suggest using a 3-axis gantry truss to move the robot over a wide range, while the robot is hung upside down on the Z axis. And parts are placed on a single-axis positioner and rotated.
The problem is that I don't know how reliable this truss structure is? It is driven by 3 Fanuc servos, using RV reducer and rack and pinion for transmission.
Has anyone used this structure before? it's repeatability? it's efficiency? it's durability?
Is there any other recommended solution, ground track, or？
(the software side at least seems to be reliable, but feels like its straight out of 1980s )
Do you think the interface of the FANUC teach pendant is very simple or ugly? I noticed ABB's teach pendant looks like a Nintendo switch? has a remote sensor, and a touch screen, it seems to be easier to operate?
Display MoreStrange, last time I saw a customer buy a Fronius package it was $50k. In my experience Fronius has always been the far more expensive option than any other brand. Not sure where you have your information from, but I know some people out there who would love if Fronius actually were to cost less than Lincoln!
I have equal experience with Fronius and Lincoln. Fronius can be quite finicky. I've just gone through 8 ferris wheel systems and had to return 2 servo torches, 1 hosepack and 1 bad ethernet card/anybus module. Getting the Fronius system connected and functioning was also a pain because of their "over-engineering". Anytime the Fronius welder had an error, the screen displayed "Something went wrong. Contact support". I can't imagine why anyone would want their line down because their welder can't help their maintenance guy troubleshoot, instead "contact support". The integrator we sold those 8 ferris wheel systems to also mentioned their headaches with Fronius equipment, but chose Fronius anyways because of the CMT process. Just my .02c.
As far as Lincoln goes, there is a Lincoln place over there in Shanghai, China. I believe Lincoln will be able to offer you more than just welding support too if you want/need it. They should be able to help with integration and programming. Lincoln has an entire automation division that specializes in turn-key systems.
And lastly, not to get into too many specifics about my upcoming project, but it is a little similar to what you are doing (yzdtc2008) in terms of size and layout. Our customer has chosen to go with a Lincoln Power Supply because of the support that they can get from Lincoln, and also previous experience with them. Lastly, FANUC and Lincoln have quite the partnership going on, so they work very well together. Though I will say FANUC and Fronius work well together too when it comes to connectivity. It's up to you which you choose and as Byrol mentioned, just see which one has the best support for you in your area. I know I will definitely recommend Lincoln, but I may be a little bias, but! I am also talking from experience with both Fronius and Lincoln!
EDit: Also wanted to mention we have a returning customer who originally went with Fronius, but for all future cells (starting with the next batch here) with them are going all Lincoln.
Haha, you seem to like Lincoln a lot. We also cooperate a lot with Lincoln Shanghai, we have dozens of Lincoln manual welding power sources! But I am more concerned about the connection between Lincoln or Fronius and Fanuc or ABB robots, and the coordination of work. As I said earlier, I'm going to buy the arc sensor package, the robot uses the feedback of the arc voltage to relocate the path, so maybe the speed of the sensor as well as the fit is important, and the different waveforms seem to have a big effect? I wonder if you have any experience in this area to share with me?
If it were me, I'd prefer Fronius. Your friend recommended a new generation machine, it's good. I have installed this series before, it is really light and has a very low power consumption, such as 35A of the machine. But I think the two most important features are that you can disassemble and install everything on the machine without needing any extra equipment, and the 100Mbit communication speed is very good.
I took a fancy to the volume and modularity of the Fronius power supply! But I browsed their website and didn't find much information about the TPS500i. Instead I found a lot of technical manuals for Lincoln welders on Lincoln's website, the RV450 seems like a good choice? I'm worried that, as TomFoolious said, Fronius doesn't seem to be quite as good at fault detection?
Display Moreabout the robot choice
the priceing for Fanuc is pretty much all the time the cheapest, as long as you exclude options
it feels like a Fanuc can only move from A to B without any paid options and the option feel expansive
another point I experience here is that the hardware isn´t that reliable, we have at least every quarter Fanuc service here replacing motors up to half an arm on our paint robots, the ABB and Kuka we have run in worser environments without much more then the regular service
(the software side at least seems to be reliable, but feels like its straight out of 1980s )
a big point i would consider is the possiblities on offline programming (i hate to shut down production cause I need to set up a new product)
for instance on ABB you can open and edit the program files in any texteditor or use ABB Robotstudio to set up your path in 3d and fill in the logic in the included editor and test it with the controller running on your PC (and many more applications for ~1.500€ per year license)
Fanuc Roboguide and Kuka OfficeLite + Kuka.Sim would be somewhat comparable, don´t know if Cloose offers something in that regard
Thank you Alex!
According to the quotes I have， FANUC M10iD/10 is about 27K USD(Including arc welding package，ARC Sensor , multi-pass, etc.) . This is an attractive price!
ABB's price will be 30% higher, and CLOOS will be 80% higher, IGM is 350%?
I don't know if I need to pay that much for reliability? Of course long shut down time is unacceptable for me, I don't want to spend too much energy on repairing the equipment, and I just want to buy it, power it up, and keep working until I have new equipment to replace it.
You mentioned offline programming, I wonder if they can completely replace the teach pendant? Being away from the workshop seems like a big plus. My supplier offered me a one-time payment plan, which would be a lot of money, almost the price of a robot body! Did you mention the way of annual fee licensing? Sounds good.
Compared with offline programming of these brands, who will be better? Graphical interface? Structure of the program? Or do I need an IDE like VSCODE? Then use a high level language such as C++?
Well, I may have asked too many questions, please enlighten me！
I think you need to choose this entirely based on which brand in your area can support you better. Fronius machines are more affordable than Lincoln, and Fronius equipment becomes lighter. I think both are the same in terms of robustness. Cloos is not a brand I know of. According to Lincoln Fronius, there is more electricity consumption. However, because Lincoln is an older and more experienced company, their resource options are much greater.
In my area, our supplier recommended Lincoln's PowerWave R450 and Fronius' TPS500i, and Lincoln's price is lower. I have never used a Fronius power source, but my friend highly recommended it, how do you think I should choose?
Do I need an online laser sensor instead of nozzle sensor and arc sensor?
a suspended 6-axis robot that is mounted on a 3-axis truss
Hi guys, I'm going to introduce a welding robot recently, as a newbie, I have a lot of questions, so a friend of mine recommended this to me. Yes, I've been diving for days and read some articles and advice, thanks a lot! But I still have a lot of questions！
I have a compactor frame that needs to be welded. It is about 3.5 meters long, 1 meter wide, and weighs about 1 ton.
I know that in the passenger car industry, they use a lot of Fanuc robots and Fornius CMT.
But my situation here is a little different. The thickness of the steel plate is at least 8mm, and the assembly tolerances are wide and unstable. Although I have been redesigning my welding fixture, I am not confident that the root clearance will be controlled within 2mm.
So I have to use the nozzle sensor and arc sensor to relocate the position of the weld?
I'm going to use a suspended 6-axis robot that is mounted on a 3-axis truss for wide range of motion, and the frame will also need a positioner, so I have a total of 10 axes. It's going to be a huge project, and I need to spend a lot of money on the truss and positioner, so the budget for the robot is limited.
Our integrator recommended me some models of robots and welders. The robot: IMG, FANUC, CLOOS ABB, and the power source: Fornius, Lincoln, CLOOS.
I know all of these brands are good at arc welding, but I don't know the difference between them, but the price varies greatly. Fanuc is a relatively cheap solution, and its robot body is very cheap, but I don't know how well it works with the Fronius power? CLOOS has both their own robot and power, will it be easier to operate? The price of IMG is very high, almost twice as much as other brands, I don't know where their advantage is.
I know there are many guys here who have had many years of experience with welding robots and I hope to get your advice.
Also thanks to Google Translate! 
