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48 Yaskawa Europe GmbH www.yaskawa.eu.com Website MESSER Eutectic Castolin Switzerland S.A. www.messer-castolin.ch Website reduced. That saves valuable resources and thus hard cash, because welding is of critical importance in the production process. If the welding robot breaks down for a lengthy peri- od or has to be repeatedly re-programmed, the whole production process grinds to a halt,” says Lüthi. Besides that, the slim design of this welding robot is space-saving, benefitting industrial applications. At 6 kg the payload is twice that of comparable models of its class. Another benefit: a wide range of different welding torches and sensors can be installed on the robot. Stringent quality requirements The welding process takes on a pivotal role in the manufacture of jacks. Some of the seams are so demanding that they can only be cre- ated by experienced welders. Such specialists are difficult to find, and they are also expensive – particularly since the wages are relatively high in Switzerland. The welding robot thus produces a double dividend: it saves wages and at the same time it delivers consistently high quality. Since ROBOR advertises with the promise of ‘Swiss quality’ that is of spe- cial importance. These are arguments that speak for a robot not only for large enterpris- es, but also for smaller companies such as ROBOR. A further aspect of the decision in favour of Yaskawa was also important: the welding solution should, if possible, come from a single source and be manufactured by an experi- enced solution provider who is familiar with the needs of companies with welding applications. With the MA1440 and Yaskawa’s positioner R2L250, in combination with a suitable weld- ing unit, Messer Eutectic Castolin Switzerland exactly fit the bill. Messer has been Yaska- wa’s Swiss representative for over 32 years and provides both sales and the appropriate service. “I was surprised how fast the two fitters installed the new robot. We were able to resume production after an interruption of only a few days. Yaskawa’s contact partners were present all through the project phase. That ensured ideal planning conditions.” Lüthi continues: “It was clear to see that the experts had an in-depth knowledge of their products. If we had a problem, no more than a phone call was needed and the solution was usually on its way. As a last resort we would only have needed to get into the car, and we would have our spare parts within two hours. That, pre- sumably, will never be necessary, but it gives us peace of mind.” The double-sided turn-and tilt application of the positioner allows us to weld on the one side while the other side is being reloaded. That saves time and makes the workflows even more efficient. In addition to other sav- ings, additional capacity is also freed up. In combination with short retooling times, that enables additional orders to be completed with ease. ■ By Thorsten Wittek, MESSER Eutectic Castolin Switzerland S.A. The robot is very compact and the space requirement small. Due to the clever combination of eight freely con- trolled axes, all welding points can be reached in one clamping position and without welding under constraint. This contributes to the quality and sav- ings in process time, as reclamping by hand is not necessary. Thorsten Wittek Sales Manager Cutting & Robot Digital BusinessCard