Rev Up Production

by Chuck Boyer
ABB Inc. Posted 04/21/2008

Situation: 
A California-based manufacturer of high performance exhaust systems for motorcycles felt the stamping process for producing heat shields was neither viable nor cost effective.  Instead of spending thousands of dollars to make a dye for each model they opted for plasma cutting parts out of tubes for a more economical and flexible process.

Problem:
Find a robot that can put plasma torches at the extreme complex angles required to get around the parts.

Solution:
Purchased an ABB IRB 1400 robot with the S4 controller.

The S4 control system's powerful programming language allowed production to be up and running in less than a half a day due to the flexibility of setting up extreme TCP (tool center points).  The robot now produces 40 different parts including 5,000 heat shields per year for the Harley-Davidson line.  Each shield is made of 1018 mild steel tubing and takes about 20 seconds and keeps the operator hopping.