Extended Reach Robot Arm Increases Productivity in Welding on Large Parts

Miller Electric Mfg. Co. (Appleton, WI) offers a new 3.3 m robot arm that increases reach and provides greater joint access on large parts and weldments in automated welding applications. This robot arm can be paired with Auto-Continuum™ and TAWERS robotic MIG welding systems. With a reach of 3.3 m, the arm improves joint access by 63 percent over the traditional robot arm offering from Miller and offers a payload of 20 kg. The extended reach robot arm is ideal for welding large parts that would otherwise require additional robot motion axis or shifters to move a smaller robot arm into position to cover the same working range. Eliminating the need for additional motion axis helps reduce the investment for additional equipment and minimizes the time spent for maintenance and adjustments. Applications that can benefit from this include single and multi-pass welding on weldments found in the heavy equipment manufacturing, general fabrication, agriculture and construction industries.

The new robot arm also reduces stopping on longer welds, eliminating the need to reposition the robot and generating more arc-on time for improved efficiency and productivity. Along with versatility for larger parts, the robot arm allows for precision welding.

Miller also offers their 20 Series Single-Stage Flowmeter Regulators that provide efficient and accurate regulation, along with high argon flow capacity up to 55 standard cubic feet per hour (SCFH). These heavy duty industrial-grade regulators are available in multiple scales for use with a variety of shielding gases to cover most MIG and TIG welding applications and include exclusive self-centering flowball technology to provide accurate readings even if tipped. They are constructed with Sure Seat™ filtered seat technology for extended seat and regulator life. Filtered seats reduce CO2 freeze-up and prevent contamination from entering the seating area to reduce repair costs, lower downtime and extend service life. A rugged aluminum housing protects the flow tubes from damage while also providing an unobstructed view of flow reading. Extra-long flow tubes make expanded scales easy to read and accurate within five percent of full scale reading.

Miller has also introduced their new T94 Series welding helmets that reduce neck strain and fatigue, while improving operator comfort, visibility and productivity. These welding helmets have a chiseled shell design that provides optimal skin coverage and accommodates half-mask respirators. An aluminum heat shield and silver shell reflects heat to keep both lens and operator cooler. The synergy between the shell and headgear provides 14 percent better balance, reducing torque on the operator’s neck by 17 percent and alleviating operator fatigue and excessive neck strain. ClearLight™ lens technology optimizes color and clarity in both welding and light states, reducing eye strain and improving weld quality. Multiple operating modes, half-shade lens settings, shade 5.0 side windows and the largest integrated grind shield in the industry make these helmets ideal for the industrial welding environment.

https://youtu.be/YbMFC-Q6xwY

Four operating modes – weld, cut, grind and X-Mode™ – plus InfoTrack™ 2.0 data monitoring technology all enhance the versatility of the T94 Series, which offers features that lead to all-day wearability, improving productivity as well as long-term health benefits, all qualities that are appreciated by the operator and employer.

Miller also offers the LiveArc Welding Performance Management System that now includes an option for shielded metal arc welding (SMAW): the LiveArc WorkStation with SmartStinger extends training capabilities to the SMAW process, in addition to the previous training capabilities available for gas metal arc welding (GMAW) and flux-cored arc welding (FCAW) processes. The system’s monitor features a visual feedback guide that allows pre-weld positioning for both travel and work angles. Packages are available in GMAW/FCAW and GMAW/FCAW/SMAW combinations. The LiveArc System is a reality-based training system designed to recruit, screen, train and manage welding training performance. It features advanced motion tracking technology that provides critical feedback to improve welding skills, providing better, faster and more cost-effective results than traditional training methods.

Miller Electric Manufacturing Co., 1635 W. Spencer Street, PO Box 1079, Appleton, WI 54912-1079, 920-734-9821, www.millerwelds.com.