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47 With the Motoman MA1440 welding robot from Yaskawa we easily achieved these and other goals. The six-axis robot for arc welding has a high degree of path and repeat accuracy. The new arm design (hollow arm) with cen- tral cable routing provides improved acces- sibility, minimises wear on the hose package and prevents welding errors, because there is no longer a risk of the so-called whiplash effect. In addition, maintenance is simplified. The internal cable routing also prevents cables colliding during welding movements. Besides the high positioning accuracy, that also guar- antees welding quality. “So far we have had excellent results with the Motoman MA1440. Our old robot was always causing positioning problems. Re-teaching was always necessary, and that cost us time. With the MA1440 we have been able to save on several fronts. Due to the much improved repeat accuracy and process stability, our employees hardly ever have to re-teach. The overall set-up time has been substantially About YASKAWA With an annual sales volume of more than 400 billion Yen, YASKAWA is a world-leading manufacturer of servo drives (Sigma Series), inverter drives (such as the A1000), and Motoman industrial ro- bots. Founded in 1915 in Japan, for 100 years the company’s philosophy has been based on the principle of supplying high- est quality products, making YASKAWA a global leader. The wide range of YASKAWA’s business activities includes drives (inverters), motion control (AC servo motors and drives, ma- chine control), robotics (industrial robots and robotics systems), systems engineer- ing (medium voltage inverters, generators, converters) and information technology (software-based products). VIPA GmbH in Herzogenaurach, which specialises in visualisation and process automation, has also formed part of YASAKWA since 2012. Furthermore, YASKAWA acquired The Switch Engineering Cooperation, which does business in the wind turbine sector, in October 2014. This makes YASKAWA one of the few glob- al companies able to supply components and solutions for almost all industries from a single source. Extensive investments in research and development have yielded numerous in- ventions, patents and innovations. These technological aspirations have enabled the Drives & Motion and Robotics divisions to achieve a leading market position in var- ious industries including manufacturing systems and plant engineering (packag- ing machines, pumps/compressors, tex- tile machines, digital printing machines, cranes and hoisting gear, equipment for semiconductor and electronics produc- tion, machines for producing and process- ing wood, glass, metal and stone) as well as lift, automotive, assembly and handling technology. Today, YASKAWA Europe GmbH, based in Eschborn near Frankfurt, operates three divisions – Drives & Motion (drives and control technology), Robotics (industrial robots) and VIPA (automation and control technology) – and services the markets of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the region of the former Soviet Union. www.yaskawa.eu.com From the front side the individual components can be clamped on jigs, while the robot at the rear welds the parts to assemblies at the second station. Even seams that are difficult to reach can be welded thanks to the turn-and-tilt element and the lithe robots. Easily recognizable in this photo: the internal hose package for feeding welding wire, process gas and cooling water. The internal design makes the arm very compact and the hose package does not swing back and forth with fast positioning.