DESIGN AND OPTIMIZATION OF THE WELDING ROBOT SYSTEM FOR ALUMINIUM FRAMES USING SIMULATION SOFTWARE

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate Welding Robot Systems (WRS) for aluminium parts in terms of energy efficiency, cycle time and workspace, automation process and cost. The study also considers the reachability, accessibility and positioning accuracy requirements for automated robotic welding to ensure the ability to weld any part of the product. The most recent methods and technologies such as seam tracking, simulation software, digital twin and virtual reality are used in this work to determine compliance with the concept of intelligent manufacturing. Using the methodical approach, different layouts of the WRS are designed to meet different industry requirements and to handle different configurations for different products. A robot simulation tool has supported all design steps, evaluating different scenarios for different system configurations. The virtual reality capabilities of the simulation tool provided the ability to check the movement of the robots through fixtures and parts in "near real" dimensions. Intelligent system software would be used to ensure the accepted quality of the parts and to automate various activities. The study also considered intelligent welding systems, as they have shown great potential in experimental settings and there is growing interest in their application in industry.