R&D
Cladding 
Robots
ABB Robots & Positioners used in Welding Applications
This video gives a useful illustration of some possible interplays between ABB Robots and ABB Positioners used in the welding Industry.
As you can see, various Power Sources can be integrated, including:
- Fronius
- Miller
- Lincoln
2M has integrated Control Systems including all of the above Power Sources, based on client requirements and specifications throughout the years.
Robots
ABB Positioner
Built to withstand up to 750kg, this Positioner has been developed for the Welding Industry in earnest, with a dedicated outlet named Weld Return Cable.
The positioner features a twin station solution where the robot works on one side and the operator loads and unloads on the other.
Control System Development aims for harmonious & robust communications between the Positioner & Robot Arm with it's mounted Welding Torch.
Do you notice the grease applied for environmental protection from rusting?
My elbow didn't.
Robots
Technical Manual
In this 1 to 2 Station offering, the Positioner has two options for mounting pieces, Rotary Unit A and Rotary Unit B.
Rotary Unit B can move pieces to be welded, with the ABB Robot being engineered to weld the piece with it's mounted Welding Torch.
On the outgoing shaft, Rotary Unit A also has a faceplate fitted. This faceplate has plain holes and guide holes ready for securing fixtures.
Robots
Centre Of Gravity
The diagram shows the maximum permitted centre of gravity displacement from the centre of rotation at different loads.
The mathematician equations also need to take into account the maximum load difference between side 1 and side 2 of the Rotary Unit, with the load referring to the workpiece including the fixture.
By way of example, if the centre of gravity is placed 276 mm from the centre of rotation, the load may not be greater than: 129 kg.
Robots
ABB Robot Mapping
Mapping in this context regards Communication between a Robot and, in this case, an Additive Manufacturing Unit involving Welding.
The Robot acts as a Master, monitoring and controlling all the Welding Parameters and Procedures, including:
- Welding Type such as MIG , TIG, or CMT,
- Welding Current,
- Wire Speed, and so on and so forth.
Our B&R PLC, is another Master in this case study. In tandem, it monitors all of these Welding Parameters for the purposes of Diagnostics & Data Logging.
Simultaneously, there's an additional Master-Slave relationship between Robot and PLC in this application, wherein the Robot is Master, and the PLC is Slave, with all imperative Parameters from the ABB Robot, such as Positions and Speeds, being transferred to the B&R PLC for the purposes of Diagnostics & Data Logging as well as creating 2D and 3D images in real-time.
The B&R PLC also controls the Operation of the Robot programmes.
In summary, the foundational research and development on this project involves establishing successful and robust Communications and Mapping of all required Parameters in order to build and fully control the production and quality of parts using Additive Manufacturing.
Robots
Yumi by ABB
Too soon?🎄🎶 -
Personally, my present wrapping leaves a lot to be desired, so this fellows delicate touch would be a welcome aid this festive season!
Here’s ABB’s YuMi ~ I’m unsure if the name is a play on words, though the ethos is definitely “you and me”.
This collaborative robot 🤖 with its dual arms is ideal for small parts assembly and working alongside its human companion.
Interestingly enough, we received an enquiry a few years ago from a company wanting to automate a very persnickety and frustrating part of their process involving minuscule coils which staff were finding painstaking to control.
This is the wonder of technology and technology at its best ~ when an advance casts new light and potential on a seeming dead end from the past💡Compare this affable cherub to the terrifying specimen on the next panel and be mindful of professed vs shadow aims. NOV 2018 CLIP
This clip is from the Smart Factory Expo.
Robots
Metallic Hitmen
Pitched as useful in hazardous conditions where terrain is hostile to human life, could it be that hazardous conditions were to be created for the debutante ball of Robots in earnest?
Robots
ABB Armonisation MultiAxe - ABB Multimove with two axes positioners
This demo from ABB is a great illustration of robots being used in the process of welding, showing both automized welding torch and turntable.
You can see more about our welding product range and collaborations on our Green Control System Case Study which comes to life via our Renewable Energy Industry Box (Renewable Energy - 2M Automation) , our Additive Manufacturing Case Study with Partners Arc Additive and ABB via our Partner Ranges & Collaboration Product Box (Partner Ranges & Collaborations - 2M Automation), and our Holy Trinity Of Sparks & Beams Case Study with Partners B&R Automation, JTR Automation and QA Weld Tech via our Cladding Industry Box (Cladding - 2M Automation).
Not to forget our numerous Project Write-Ups and Blog Posts on our R&D and technical advances in the field:
Product Upgrade with Partners TPS WeldTech Blog Post, (Product Upgrade - 2M Automation),
and the Project that started it all for Clients IODS, (Cladding Control System with I.O.D.S - 2M Automation).
Robots
Fanuc Robot Trials on a 2M Project
Ben on-site running trials with this Fanuc robot 🤖
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High speed pick and place with a desired speed of one pick-up cycle per second.
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This robot will pick and place 6 items per second in its prime and work non-stop for approximately 10hrs a day.
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MARCH 2029 CLIP
Robots
Robot Golf Buggy
Catch catch catch catch catch! Scenes from a Robotics Exhibition. JULY 20016 CLIP
Robots
Fanuc Robot Training
2M enrols in robot school 🤖 🏫 📚 ~ and talk about a room with a view!
R&D
Energy Industry Control System
R&D
Puzzle Pieces
It’s been a pleasure meeting with local machine builders today, it was in fact like stepping onto a vintage film set.
The stark reality is that the hands-on skills of machine builders are in much demand due to decades of undervaluing and under-resourcing certain skill sets.
With generations of missing links, there can be real knock on effects for client requests for anything from demo rigs to bespoke industrial and production cells and stations within factories.
Today we brainstormed possible solutions for an extremely persnickety and difficult to handle part of a process. Here you’ll see moulds from the shelf of past developments at PPL Engineering.
R&D
A Museum of Ideas
Shelf after shelf of parts and pieces for fitting, making, and testing machines and processes.
Welcome to an old school mind palace where you can check ideas in and out of the library, and where archives offer many nuggets.
R&D
Made to Measure
There’s no part too big or too small here, so experience, drawings and indeed the drawing board are used for trial and error to develop pieces and machines to client specifications.
R&D
Keeping Your Cool in the Clouds
Walking out of the fascinating machine builders den and back onto the courtyard on a bright and breezy autumnal day, I was greeted by the mill’s chimney.
This reminded me of a jaw dropping show of yesteryear, some of you may remember Fred Dibnah the first time around. This documentary about a steeplejack went on to receive many well deserved awards.
You may be lost for words when you realise exactly what he’s signed up for!
R&D
Symmetry of Time & Space - Centre Stage
We’ve quoted recently for a new and exciting project involving a sculpture, music, water, and sound.
Quite the mystery isn’t it? What I can share is that these beautiful and intricate domes provide inspiration from the past.
Indeed, style never fades. Nor do engineering fundamentals. All over the world, scientists, architects, engineers, artists, musicians, therapists, practitioners, chefs etc etc etc delve into the histories of their disciplines to recapture, reprise, and reconcile gems of the past into modern works.
Such is the organic nature of research and development.
R&D
How Can Old Persian Bathhouses Help Us Eat Food On Mars?
Following on with the theme of Persian domes, researchers over at MIT Media Lab in Massachusetts are exploring the complex geometry of structures in the Lut Desert of Iran.
Using local materials, these bathhouses remain engineering feats as a greenhouse on Mars would require the exact same tenets to succeed:
a. a closed clean water system
b. an open-air water flow circulation
c. a water reservoir
d. safe power access
e. the isolation of interior life
f. the insulation of temperature & humidity from extreme external environments
Once again, the human experience involves symmetry between past and present endeavours.
Check out the MIT lab for more!
https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/persian-domes-for-human-space-exploration-on-mars/overview/
R&D
A Tale As Old As Time
Throughout human history people have been fascinated by the idea of teleportation, whether it be with raw materials and vehicles or with spiritual mechanisms such as tarot and intuition.
Enjoy one particularly creative and playful take on teleportation over at MIT lab. Re-imagining interfaces may one day facilitate the vicarious touch at the very least.
See what you think, or should that be, what you feel?
Related Work
