Small job shops struggling with the budget, programming and space requirements of traditional welding robots now have an alternative setup …

… the new SnapWeld Collaborative Robot Welding package developed by ARC Specialties Inc. and Universal Robots is a cobot-assisted, interactive welding system that can be deployed easily and flexibly in existing, manual welding booths, eliminating the need for costly new robotic cells.

“We’re getting requests for integrating Universal Robots in welding booths, so we saw an opportunity to develop an integrated low-cost system for gas metal arc welding (GMAW) applications that no one else in the market is currently offering,” says John Martin, V.P. of ARC Specialties, a Certified Systems Integrator of UR robots.

The SnapWeld will be shown for the first time at FABTECH in Chicago, November 6-9, at Universal Robots’ booth B-25094 and in interactive demos at ARC Specialties own booth B-35047 where attendees can simply grab the UR10 robot arm and perform stitch welding by “teaching” the robot the start and stop points, as well as the number and length of the stitch weld.

The SnapWeld will move along the start and stop path and weld only during specified stitch areas, reducing robotic programming from hours to minutes.

The welding system integrated with the UR robot is comprised of a Profax wire feeder and water cooled torch enabling welds up to 600 amps, with torch bracket, all cables and hose packages included. The simplified programming is enabled by direct software integration into Universal Robots’ own programming environment through the Universal Robots+ platform, that will allow users to program advanced settings directly on the teach pendant that comes with the UR robot. Settings include features such as wire feed speed and burn back time, gas flow time, and crater fill time with instant feedback on welding volts and amps.

Area Sales Manager of Universal Robots, Craig Tomita, is excited to include ARC Specialties’ welding package on the UR+ platform which is an online showroom featuring the rapidly expanding ecosystem of plug & play products for UR robots:

“This UR+ welding package is the suitable setup for low volume/high mix fabrication shops, allowing operators to manage robot programs and welding parameters on the fly. I look forward to sharing this experience with FABTECH attendees.”

Universal Robots was co-founded in 2005 by the company’s CTO, Esben Østergaard, who wanted to make robot technology accessible to all by developing small, user-friendly, reasonably priced, flexible, industrial collaborative robots. Since the first collaborative robot (cobot) was launched in 2008, the company has experienced considerable growth with the user-friendly cobot now sold in more than 50 countries worldwide. The company, which is a part of Teradyne Inc., is headquartered in Odense, Denmark.

ARC Specialties was founded in 1983 by Dan Allford to provide welding services and weld automation to industry. Since then, ARC Specialties has grown to a 60+ person company occupying a campus with over 75,000 sq ft. in Houston, TX. These buildings house all the components for a vertically integrated manufacturing setup provider: research, design, manufacturing, assembly and testing at a single location. ARC Specialties has built machines for companies in 21 countries and a variety of industries.