Facilities at TWI's Abington Hall headquarters have been enhanced by the addition of two new Kawasaki robots, on loan from the Robot Division of Industrial Member Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd.
The robots - one in laser processing, the other in resistance welding/mechanical fastening - are being used on TWI development projects but are accessible to organisations wishing to have confidential trials, investigations andfeasibility studies run on them.
The 6kg payload robot, model Js-6 (repeatability ± 0.1mm), is coupled to a Nd:YAG laser at present and will be used for precision laser welding (including aluminium components of complex geometry using additional filler wire),cutting and surfacing. With offline programming using UltraArc, distributed by Deneb Solutions Ltd, the Js-6 is central to an advanced manufacturing cell capable of working directly from 3-d CAD drawings.
The second, larger robot is a model UX100 (max. payload 100kg, speed 7,500 mm/sec). Also capable of operating with an advanced offline programming system, it will be used for resistance welding R&D including materials studiesand process control projects. The robot can also work with clinching and self-piercing riveting equipment. Interchangeable heads allow it to take the welding/joining equipment to the workpiece, or conversely, the workpiece to theequipment.
Further information from The Laser Centre at TWI.
