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Installing the nation's first HighYag RLSK laser optic head for an automotive supplier.
 Process: Laser Welding
Industry: Automotive
Parts: Seating Components
Company: Tier-One Automotive supplier
Project Results
Robot system meets or exceeds project
requirements for welding seat back components that includes tooling
change over for multiple assemblies. Robot systems achieves 45 second
cycle time while completing 148 welds
Challenges
This was the first HighYag RLSK laser optic head to
be installed in the United States. Laser welding of these components
requires a “no gap” condition between the parts to successfully weld.
This requires high quality tooling to consistently remove the gap while
still providing dimensional stability. A high level of flexibility was
required to allow the cell to quickly change over and to run various
models and assemblies.
Tennessee Rand successfully engineered,
fabricated, programmed, and installed this system at a Tier-One
Automotive supplier in the US. Experience in laser welding was vital
for this challenging project. As the individual components were stamped
from thin material, they were not flat and required forming in the tool
to ensure part to part contact. Tennessee Rand’s tooling experts
providing a tooling design that closed the gaps, was dimensionally
repeatable, and was operator and maintenance friendly. Not only did the
tools have to be repeatable, they were also designed to be changed out
quickly by disconnecting air, power, and communication, removing the
entire tool and replacing it with another tool to allow various
assemblies to be manufactured on one cell.
The cell was equipped with a Fanuc 2000i robot, and IPG 4Kw Fiber
laser, and HighYag RLSK scanning optics. This was the first use of the
HighYag RLSK in the United States. The combination of Tennessee Rand
experience, the 3D design of the tooling, and the software available
from HighYag allowed the cell to be programmed primarily “offline”
resulting in a quick start up of the cell. This combination of
equipment resulted in the cell achieving welding speeds of
approximately 7 meters per minute.
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