ESABs Friction Stir Welding robot Rosio™ enables flexible joining of complex structures, preferably in Aluminium. The ability to perform welds in an arbitrary direction of a 3-dimensional workspace increases the possibilities of usage for new challenging FSW applications.

The cell consists of an ABB IRB 7600 robot, modified for the purpose of FSW. The welding equipment is integrated in the mechanical structure of the robot without limiting the robot’s standard working envelope.
The robot’s reachable workspace spans over 2.5 meters, in which a down force of up to 13 kN may be applied during welding. Running on the latest state-of-the-art control system, an embedded force control solution allows in-contact motions with high accuracy.
Provided with the system is an extension to the standard motion programming language. This extension includes instructions for welding linear in arbitrary directions, circular and square shaped paths, as well as functionalities to support custom made path programming and spindle operations. This to enable welding with minimum efforts. To provide valuable feedback to the operator, a man-machine-interface is included. Extending the control systems own interface on the Flex Pendant, based on WinCE.

Features

·         Designed for complex joints

·         The latest control system featuring embedded force control ensures high accuracy in-contact motion

·         The upgraded motion software permits linear welding in arbitrary patterns, as well as circular and square paths

·         Additional functionalities to support customized path programming and spindle operation, permit advanced welding, even with limited programming skills

·         A user-friendly HMI extends the control systems interface, providing full operator feedback via a Flex Pendant.