Industrial Automation – Improving Manufacturing Process with a semi-automated welder
Automating a battery welder to improve consistency and increase throughput
Client
Industrial manufacturer of battery stacks
Challenge
The previous welding method was all manual, prone to errors and inconsistency. The old system also required the operator be in contact with the module while welding without any safety shielding.
Solution
The welder semi-automates the ultrasonic welding of terminals on a battery module as part of the manufacturing process. It allows for welds to be conducted in the same place for every module, reducing variability and operator errors. This system is also quicker than doing the welds manually.
Benefits
- Increased weld consistency
- Improved operator safety
- Increased welder throughput
System Overview
The system semi-automates the ultrasonic welding of terminals on a battery module. The system consists of an ultrasonic welder, XYZ table, and safety interlocks. The table moves the battery module to the correct welding position. Once in position, the Z portion of the table lowers the welder to the correct welding height. The application sends the signal to the welder to conduct the weld. Weld data is saved to a file from the welder Ethernet interface for later analysis. Viewpoint provided the software for this system, while the client provided the hardware for us to interface with.
Considerable attention was paid to addressing faults in the production process to avoid damage to the operator and the battery module during the welding process, due to the high current output available from the battery module.
| SOFTWARE FUNCTIONS |
|---|
| Welding routing configuration |
| Operator GUI |
| Maintenance mode |
| Interface to welder |
| Interface to table & controller |
| Interface to E-Stop & interlocks |
| INTERFACES / PROTOCOLS |
|---|
| RS-485 |
| Ethernet |
| 24V Digital IO |