With these technological advancements,
the industrial robot is quickly becoming
commonplace in manufacturing. These
advancements are not limited to the
industrial environment. Manufacturers
have developed humanoid robots that
can run, jump and even help in a variety
of surgical settings.
Each of these diverse application
areas are being absorbed as a whole
across the automation discipline. It’s
these various advancements that have
allowed manufacturers to mount a
laser to a robot and perform welding
or cutting with extreme precision and
versatility.
LASER ADVANCES
Lasers have also evolved in many ways
from their early beginnings. The power
range of lasers started from less than 1
W back in the 1960s to being pushed to
2 trillion W today. The newer fiber lasers
have made a huge impact by reducing
cost and size while also improving
beam quality, reliability and efficiency.
By using beam splitters, a single laser
generator can be used for both cutting
and welding. Beam splitters allow a
single generator to use different fiber
delivery sizes to optimize the process
for different materials or material
thicknesses. Previously, these processes
may have required dedicated hardware
for each.
Also, advancements in optical heads
and optical fibers have made it more
possible than ever to apply a robotic
arm.
Along with the advancements in laser
hardware are some equally impressive
features in software. For instance,
greater control over the power output
and varying the available power across
a larger range are now possible. The
output can also be pulsed and the
power, duration and frequency of
the pulses can be varied. In welding
applications, this allows better control
of the penetration depth and profile
and minimizes the surrounding heat-
affected zone, making for a higher
quality weld. All of these parameters
cannot only be controlled by the robot,
but can also be monitored by the robot
for process and quality control.
Fanuc’s M-20 robot series provides
six degrees of freedom, allowing the
user to break away from the flat plate
limitations of an X-Y table.
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