Robot welding stations are today a common and well known tool in the industry. The continuous development of robots, welding equipment and work piece positioners has dramatically decreased the cycle time and increased the uptime.
The worst load in a robot welding cell has the welding torch. It is exposed for heat, welding spatter and in worst case, collisions. Welding torches are made for such environment but need regularly cleaning, measuring and TCP-definition in order to weld with good quality and accuracy. It consists of three main units – a mechanical torch cleaner, a tool center point definer and a wire cutter.
Regular TCP confirmation is necessary because there are a number of things that can cause the welding torch to be out-of-position:
- A collision with the work piece, e.g. the robot hitting a fixture clamp which was left in the wrong position.
- Incorrect defined TCP.
- After exchange of the welding torch.
- After exchange of the swan neck.