description
- "Robot welding is critical to welding automation in many industries and it is estimated that as much as 25% of all industrial robots are being used for welding tasks. The biggest challenge for small companies is to have flexible automation that can be set up quickly and can be switched over to another product line. The current proposal addresses the need to increase the competitiveness of welding SMEs by developing a low cost computer vision based welding robot with automatic track calculation and quality control system that can reduce manufacturing time and costs, increase production flexibility, improve product quality and production efficiency. Currently available welding technologies such as manual welding and welding robots have several drawbacks. Manual welding is time consuming, while existing welding robots are not efficient enough for manufacturing small batch sized products but they also often face discrepancies when reprogramming is necessary. This reprogramming is also extremely time-consuming. In contrary, MARWIN will offer a flexible, programmable system to manufacturers and with this solution they will be able to optimize the welding process in a timely and cost effective manner. Aware of the business opportunity and growing market in the welded parts industry, SMEs in the current proposal, with the help of RTD performers, intend to capitalise on this need by developing a product that will overcome the limitations of available systems for end-users, thereby fulfilling a real market need. It will provide a competitive edge for consortium SMEs and within the EU and worldwide in a field where the production of differentiated, high quality welded parts is mainly dominated by large enterprises. By using MARWIN system companies will not only widen the range of products / services offered but they will also reduce their production costs. The combination of these two elements will result in higher effectiveness and significantly increased competitiveness."