New welding tech from cluster collaboration
Robot welding is widespread in many industries, yet current manufacturers offer very few ways of optimising the process. Now a new solution is soon to come to market – developed through the innovation programme “Digital Omstilling – Innovationssamarbejder”, run by Odense Robotics and Business Hub Fyn. Inrotech, the University of Southern Denmark (SDU), Secomea and Happtec have developed a new digital data collection and communication platform for welding robot projects, which provides end users with the opportunity to access data readings from robotic welding installations – no matter the project.
The new platform “Inrotech Cloud Solution” from Inrotech, SDU, Secomea and Happtec allows welding manufacturers to collect data and performance readings to visualise results from robot welding projects, which can then be used to improve welding installations – a solution not many welding machine manufacturers offer, despite the increasing customer demand.
”We wanted to develop a flexible and visual Industry 4.0 add-on solution we could offer our customers that could enhance their user experience when operating the robot data by providing them with a method of logging data that could monitor the performance of their robots – something which more and more of our customers are requesting,” says Rasmus Faudel, Inrotech, Manager of Systems and Hardware at Inrotech.
Focusing on customer needs, the Inrotech Cloud Solution is flexible and data can be sent and stored in a local server, the customer’s own MES/ERP system or cloud solutions like Secomea’s data collection cloud (DCC).
Collaboration made way for new ideas
Due to the many customer requests for a way to collect and read process and sensor data from robotic welding installations, Inrotech, SDU, Secomea and Happtec came together to develop the Inrotech Cloud Solution.
Inrotech and Happtec contributed with testing, evaluation and customer insights, while SDU was in charge of project management and provided knowledge regarding robot applications and data collection. Secomea delivered the hardware interface. The platform was developed through the innovation programme Digital Omstilling – Innovationssamarbejder, run by Odense Robotics and Business Hub Fyn.
“Thanks to Odense Robotics and Business Hub Fyn, we gained access to an innovation programme which provided us with the funding needed to accelerate the development of the platform, which wasn’t otherwise in the pipeline,” says Dr. Thiusius Rajeeth Savarimuthu, Professor at the Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute and SDU Robotics at the University of Southern Denmark.
“It also meant that the three companies and the university could collaborate and combine resources by sharing industry insights and technical knowledge that could then result in an in-demand industry solution.”
The Inrotech Cloud Solution is expected to hit the market within the next few months.
Learn more about:
Digital Omstilling – Innovationssamarbejder
The University of Southern Denmark
Photos: Inrotech.