Success story: Extreme mobility in a compact space
09.08.2022
The absolute accuracy of the Stäubli TX2-90XL six-axis robot brings amazing versatility to the new Voortman V 807 plasma cutting system. The robot allows precise processing of steel profiles with a thickness of up to 80 mm.
TX2-90 Reach: 1000 mm to 1450 mm. Load capacity: 9 kg to 20 kg. Repeatability: ± 0.03 mm to ± 0.04 mm
Task
Precision plasma cutting with a six-axis robot
With the V 807, Voortman has created a veritable jack of all trades for plasma steel profile cutting. Mounted on a suspended rotary ring as a seventh axis, a Stäubli six-axis robot that is as precise as it is robust fulfills the key requirement for ultra-precise omnidirectional machining of profiles with a thickness of up to 80 mm.
If there was a competition for versatility of profile processing machines, the V 807 from Voortman would be a prime contender. The integrated plasma cutting robot is capable of setting drill and bolt holes, producing cuts and notches, preparing welds, marking profiles with part or batch numbers, cutting out circles and slotted holes, and making bevel cuts, ridges and complex contours. The system does all of this on all four sides of the profile in a single clamping with high precision, high speed – and in a compact space in a continuous process.
Solution
Ceiling-mounted robot with rotary ring as seventh axis
The advantages that Voortman offers customers with the new system can be attributed to two factors in particular: the choice of robot, and the unique concept underlying the system, which is indeed unconventional. A ceiling-mounted Stäubli TX2-90XL six-axis robot moves in a circular motion on a fixed rotary ring which serves as a seventh axis. This enables the robot to reach every point of the profile on every side.
The design team invested a lot of time and effort in the meticulous development of this concept. The ability to reach essentially every inch of the profile is critical. This factor alone makes the V 807 an “all-in-one” machine, capable of processing profile thicknesses of up to 80 mm in a variety of ways, making it consistent with the one-stop production principle in the truest sense.
Customer usage
High precision plus optimum integration with system controls
The impressive precision of the system is the result of the absolute accuracy of the TX2-90XL. With this series, Stäubli takes accuracy to the extreme. Another user advantage is the robot’s excellent integration into the overall control system. For example, the robot continuously transmits its current position to Voortman’s proprietary VACAM controller. In this way, actual and target values can be compared during processing and the robot’s positions can be corrected accordingly.
Over the past two years, many steel fabrication companies worldwide have replaced their processing systems with the new, more versatile and much more compact V 807. The result is that they are now able to process all structural elements with this “one-stop shop” machine, working on profiles weighing up to 15 metric tons and achieving previously unmatched speeds.
For more information, please visit: www.staubli.com