The fully automated station has been designed in the form of a kiosk made of aluminum profiles. A rotary table was installed on the steel support frame, which is responsible for the transport of details to four substations:
At the station (1), the operator puts the cylinder into the socket, which is properly secured against improper positioning of the cylinder (Poka Yoke), then the operator presses the start button, the table turns 90 ° and the operator’s action is repeated. In station (2), the cylinder bottom is automatically brushed. At the next station (3), the cylinder is brushed in the place intended for welding the locator. Both operations are performed with steel brushes controlled by Siemens servo drives. At the last station (4), the locator is welded on the previously cleaned cylinder. The locator is fed automatically by a gripper from the feeder to the place of welding. The welding is carried out by a specially designed 1000 Hz invertor welder, with a power of 56 kVA P-50% and a pressure force of 450 daN.
The Siemens PLC master controller is responsible for controlling the machine, while the TE700 welding controller is responsible for controlling the welding parameters. Machine safety is achieved through optical curtains and safety switches.
