TPT January 2017

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January 2017 59
Updated pipe welding work cell
ROTOWELD pipe welding work cells
have been used in the pipe spool
prefabrication industry for more than
20 years. Specifically developed for
industrial pipe pre-fabrication, small
pressure vessel manufacturing or other
similar 1G welding, Rotoweld integrates
machine vision, adaptive control and
robotics technology in a dedicated
package that produces high quality
GMAW full penetration 1G girth welds, at
five times the rate of manual SMAW.
The new Rotoweld 3.0 is the result
of the re-engineering of all aspects
of the machine, including mechanical
design, servo-controls, computer and
software, taking advantage of the
latest technologies. The most visible
change is the robotised manipulator,
which provides increased flexibility for
torch positioning in various machine
configurations.
The core of the Rotoweld technology
is its patented vision-based penetration
control loop. It allows any operator, even
without welding experience, to perform
full penetration girth welds with just a
few hours of training. Operating like the
welder’s eyes and hands, the control
loop continuously analyses the image
of the root weld pool. Image processing
algorithms use the image to adjust
welding parameters such as travel
speed, wire feed rate, arc voltage or
weaving width, constantly
adapting the process to
varying conditions (gap,
alignment, root face and
temperature).
Rotoweld 3.0 is designed
with a modular architecture,
allowing users to select
different configurations
and processes such as
SAW or FCAW, to better
suit operators’ needs. A
new, low-cost base model
delivers the same quality
welds on the full pipe size
range as the previous
version, but at lower
productivity rates. The base
model is built with a single rotator and
work bay, compared to the standard set-
up of two work bays and two rotators.
Tecnar – Canada
Fax: +1 450 461 0808
Email:
Website:
Tecnar’s Rotoweld has
been fully re-engineered