Case study

Intelligent Welding of Photovoltaic Mounting Hooks

Name
Robotic Welding Cell
Industry
Renewable Energy (RES)
Scope
Design, construction, and commissioning of a robotic welding system for the production of photovoltaic panel mounting hooks in an open production cell.

Challenge

A client from the renewable energy sector required a comprehensive solution for automating the welding process of photovoltaic panel mounting hooks. The challenge was not only to ensure repeatability and weld quality but also to fully integrate the system with the superior MES platform and provide real-time process monitoring.

The goal was to build a scalable robotic welding cell that would allow production expansion without stopping the process.

Technologies and Solutions

4 KUKA industrial robots Fronius CMT welding source Siemens PLC controller Vision system for input component and finished product inspection WeldCube Premium welding process management system Integration with the superior MES system Offline programming of PLC and robots

Process and Execution

The project began with pre-engineering – developing the concept, optimizing the process, and selecting appropriate technologies. The next step involved system simulation and preparation of control programs in an offline environment. After building the cell and commissioning, the system was integrated with the client’s MES and WeldCube Premium software, providing full supervision of welding parameters.

The project was completed with system handover and the implementation of service and post-warranty support.

Results

Full automation of the MIG welding process

Consistent quality and accuracy of welds

Quality control before and after the process via vision system

Digital supervision of welding processes

Real-time production analysis enabled by MES integration

System readiness for future expansion