A Thompson friction welding machine capable of producing more than 150,000 truck axles a year has been installed at the world's largest automotive axle maker in China.
Thompson, the Halesowen-based manufacturer, has also used the world's strongest industrial robot, a KUKA Titan, for the automated component loading/unloading operation at Fuwa's factory in Guangdong Province.
The heavy-duty robot undertakes a series of tasks using a specially-designed, dual-purpose end effector, which means it can hold a trio of unwelded parts at the same time as it unloads a 160kg welded axle assembly from the machine.
After loading the set of components to be welded in to the system, the robot places the finished assembly on to an output conveyor before returning to the input conveyor to pick up its next batch of parts.
Fuwa's Vipan Bhalla said Thompson had been chosen for the project because of the superior build quality, performance and reliability of its truck axle friction welding machines.
Thompson produced the machine in a double-ended design so that two welds can be performed simultaneously to join the fabricated steel banjo to a pair of turned spindles.
Other special features of the machine include a centring bung, a special device for securing the components in position so that tight tolerances can be achieved, as well as a shear flash removal tool.
"This is one of our largest automation projects to date and represents the first time that we have integrated such a heavyweight robot model with a friction welding system," explained Nick Edge, Thompson's global sales manager.
