Things aren’t slowing down any time soon here at Washington Metalworks. Following our recent £4 million investment into new sheet metal manufacturing machinery and training for our rapidly expanding team, we are very excited to have added another state-of-the-art Robot to our 130k square foot premises and sheet metal work services.
Joining Robbie (a.k.a. The Trumpf TruBend 7000 Robotic Welding Cell) on our factory floor is the latest arc welding robot system from Panasonic. Roberta (a.k.a. Panasonic TAWERS MAG1600W) is at the forefront of the latest welding technology and these are just a few of the benefits that she will be bringing to our clients:
Speeding Up Metal Manufacturing Processes
Considered a ‘new era of high-speed welding’, our brand new Robotic Welding Cell is optimised for maximum acceleration and as a result, significantly diminished cycle times. That’s fantastic news for our customers, who can expect faster turnaround times with even greater precision.
TAWERS robots are built with larger motors and controllers, crafted with highly optimised design and refined for increased reciprocation speeds, which can be higher than 150 times a second!
Turning as it welds, this innovative robot does the work of 3 men, driving down the metal fabrication process from 12 minutes to just 4. With our increased sheet metal manufacturing capacity, Washington Metalworks is able to take on bigger projects and complete them in less than half the time.
Metal Fabrication Quality Management
Welding spatter can cause all manner of issues during sheet metal manufacturing. These molten droplets can be scattered during the welding process, sticking to the base material and even the surrounding surfaces. Spatter can be hazardous to welders and, if there is surface damage to the base material in the form of pores, marks or cracks, it can also lead to eventual metal corrosion. Corrosion is particularly problematic for complex fabrications that need to withstand the harshest environmental conditions, such as in the Oil and Gas industry.
Specialist markets like these are subject to rigorous levels of inspection and demand exceptionally high levels of welding control. With the Panasonic TAWERS Robotic Welding Cell, transfer droplet size is greatly reduced, while spatter is decreased by an incredible 75%. In fact, the disturbances caused by post-vibrations are almost completely eliminated.
As a result, this fantastic machine helps to support our scrupulous levels of quality management and adhere to our customers’ critical industry regulations. Plus – we can proudly guarantee our clients a flawless finished result, every time.
Maximising Productivity for Metal Manufacturing
The Panasonic TAWERS™ series is the first and only robot system that completely integrates its power source – making it 250 times faster and more responsive, eliminating virtually any delay in information flow. As the first robot with Embedded Arc Control technology, our very own Roberta is part of the first generation of fully software-controlled robotic welding solutions. So, we’re waving goodbye to long process times and manual welding!
As well as decreased cycle times and reduced component programming time, the weld seam quality and appearance is also dramatically improved thanks to the torch angle display on the robot control panel. This exceptional level of control and automation maximises productivity and manufacturing accuracy. Incredibly, if an error is detected when the arc is ignited, the robot automatically starts a new ignition attempt.
Reliability is a crucial component of the rail industry, so now along with our Rail Welding Accreditation BS EN 15085-2 and ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System, the addition of our Robotic Welding Cell can give our clients an even deeper guarantee of consistency and compliance.
At Washington Metalworks, we’re synonymous with delivering a superior service and being able to offer extensive in-house capabilities without a reliance on 3rd parties. Our latest investment continues to drive us and our client’s businesses moving forwards.
From our laser cutting shop through to our paint shop, we’ve got all the necessary tools to deliver the full sheet metal manufacturing package. Get in touch today to arrange a tour of our factory and find out how our new machinery can help your company.
