ABB launched its OmniVance™ FlexArc® Compact – a new, smaller welding application cell with greater flexibility, ease-of-use and better integration – to help businesses address labor shortages in welding.
“Welding is one of the fastest-growing applications for automation – and it’s being driven by a lack of labor,” said Marc Segura, ABB’s Robotics Division President. “Rising costs and more challenging customer needs make production more complex, meaning manufacturers need simple automation solutions that can easily adapt to changing market needs. OmniVance FlexArc is our answer. We are making it even smaller, more flexible, and easier to use.”
With the smallest footprint in its class the OmniVance FlexArc Compact helps manufacturers optimize space, while up to four robots can be added without altering the cell’s structure, aiding flexibility.
This new, ready-to-deploy, modular solution incorporates robots, controllers, software, peripherals, and other key components into one simplified, welding application-specific cell.
At 14.3m2, the OmniVance FlexArc Compact is the smallest arc welding cell in its class. Its innovative 45-degree gantry robot mount design maximizes the robot’s working parameters by placing it in the center of a three-axis turntable, bringing it closer to the workpiece.
Every OmniVance FlexArc cell can be simulated before commissioning with RobotStudio®, ABB’s industry-leading simulation and programming tool, reducing integration time and effort, while minimizing disruption. In addition, ABB’s latest FlexArc software suite enables customers to collect and analyse data to refine performance and improve decision-making and welding efficiency by visualizing production data against specific key performance indicators.
AMRs, material handling and quality inspection equipment can also be easily integrated to enhance the functionality of the new cell to automate and speed up manufacturing logistics. If production increases, the OmniVance FlexArc Compact can be scaled-up with additional cells. Both the hardware and the software programs used to operate the cells can be easily replicated, either at a single site or across multiple sites, reducing the time and potential risks of adding new cells.
The OmniVance FlexArc Compact is one of the latest offerings as part of ABB’s new OmniVance brand, that unifies all ABB standardized application cells. By combining robot, gripper, controller, software, and other components into a single application-specific solution, OmniVance cells require minimal integration effort and reduce the potential for errors. The standardized design of OmniVance cells, coupled with ABB’s global footprint, ensures quick changeovers, easy expansion, and timely support.