Low cost cell controller for a robot welding manufacturing system

摘要

This paper describes a cell controller for a robot cell for welding large structures like car bodies. The welding cell is specially designed for producing workpieces in small batch sizes but with large number of variants with resistance and arc welding techniques. The cell controller software integrates the supervision of the welding process, an interface for remote control of the robot and it manages the communication within the welding cell and to superior planning levels. The cell controller has been implemented on a PC with the MS-Windows operating system. This system architecture was chosen in order to achieve a low cost solution. Special attention was paid to designing a user interface which can be operated by welders in the workshop. The cell controller will be integrated in a pilot welding cell at a European manufacturer of convertible cars.