Moving the Cobot Welder Into Traditional Automation with Synchronous Motion
August 12, 2024
Manufacturing seems to be a mixed bag right now, with some folks up big and others struggling. Finding welders continues to drive challenges for fabricators and when we look to automation, it can feel overwhelming to trade a welder shortage for a robot tech shortage. While no one wants to turn away business, many fabricators today are having to do just this due to a lack of reliable skilled workforce and skilled automation professionals. Business leaders are looking to automation to solve these challenges, how do you choose the right one for your business?
The touch-to-teach simplicity of collaborative welding is generating interest from both large multi-location metal fabricators as well as from smaller shops who are looking to leveraging the expanded reach and capabilities brought by longer cobots, rotary positioners and coordinated motion solutions. Whether you are familiar with cobot welding or are a collaborative automation noob, in this session this team of experts will discuss how cobots are revolutionizing welding from simple jobs to high-volume runs.
In addition, with their market leading position, THG Automation has launched their new coordinated motion axis that utilizes Universal Robots’ Motion Plus capabilities for Polyscope 5. In addition, THG has a strong line of rotary positioners that have been retrofit to a wide variety of existing welding solutions. With this addition, THG Automation has implemented a new feature in their cobot welding solutions that they believe “will blow their customers’ minds.” This innovative feature provides precise and synchronized motion between the UR cobot and one or more external axes. Coordinated motion not only optimizes cycle time significantly while adhering to precise toolpaths, it also enables the welding of odd-shaped and cylindrical parts that are difficult to efficiently weld with cobots.
Join the team for an insightful discussion between Will Healy III, Global Industry Manager for Welding at Universal Robots, and Matt Hendey, Founder & CEO of THG Automation based in Indianapolis. We will dive into the challenges faced by fabricators of all sizes and across North America, how manufacturing leaders are overcoming these headwinds with the unique advantages of synchronized motion for welding. Fabricators will learn how deploying cobots for welding applications can increase productivity, drive consistency and boost welder engagement in your facility.
Learning objectives:
- Learn how fabricators can leverage the power of the newest MotionPlus release for synchronized & coordinated motion.
- Engage with a true expert in welding automation and hear stories of how others have already leveraged the power of external axis for boosting welding productivity.
- Learn about how collaborative welding is not only transforming manual welding, but also upending traditional welding automation as well.
Speakers
WILL HEALY III
Global Industry Leader – Welding, Universal Robots
Healy III is enthusiastic about manufacturing, technology and workforce development. A Will Purdue University mechanical engineer who loves to share his passion for automation, Will is a leader at Universal Robots and with the Advanced Manufacturing Industry Partnership (AMIP) in Cincinnati. He speaks from personal experience about people-centric technology investments, managing culture change in organizations, bridging the manufacturing skills gap and creating value through automation.
Will has more than 18 years of experience in a variety of industries including automotive, welding, and food & beverage. Will is published in various trade magazines and has presented internationally at a variety of industry conferences. Follow Will on YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn with the handle WillAutomate.
MATT HENDY
Founder & CEO, THG Automation
Matt Hendey began his career in the 90s as a welder in the RV industry and quickly advanced to product design and process engineering at American Mobile Power, where he spent 11 years transforming a fully manual production facility by digitizing processes, implementing ERP systems, transitioning to 3D, and leading the shift to robotic automation. In 2008, he founded The Hendey Group, a consulting company specializing in robotic automation and process improvement, where he managed several high-profile projects across the US and Canada, significantly enhancing efficiency and reducing costs.
During this period, his passion for mountain biking led him to join Spir Bicycles, where he designed an electric bicycle for law enforcement, filing six US patents between 2013 and 2016. He also co-founded the product development company Glassboard in 2015, eventually merging it with The Hendey Group in 2017. In 2020, Matt co-founded THG Automation to offer collaborative welding solutions to the metal fabrication industry, growing it into a multimillion-dollar enterprise by 2021, with innovative solutions in MIG, TIG, Oxy-Fuel, and plasma cutting for the Universal Robots platform. THG Automation continues to expand rapidly in 2024, growing its product line and international market presence.
DATE & TIME
2024-08-27 14:00-15:00
LANGUAGE
English
PRICE
Free
SPEAKERS
Will Healy III, Universal Robots
Matt Hendy, THG Automation
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Universal Robots, the Danish collaborative robot (cobot) company, has reached a new milestone, announcing that it has now launched over 500 products through its UR+ ecosystem.
This marks a significant growth in the ecosystem since it started in 2016 with the ambition of making Universal Robots (UR) an open-source-like platform that would empower developers to create groundbreaking solutions. Today, the UR+ ecosystem offers a wide range of components, kits, applications and solutions within both hardware and software designed to meet various customer needs.
