FANUC arc welding robot daily inspection and maintenance

Whether it's a top-of-the-line fuel tractor or your body, routine maintenance is required to keep any system of some complexity running at peak performance. The same applies to FANUC/FANUC Robotic arc welding cells. In order to achieve maximum uptime, life expectancy, and return on investment, some maintenance is required to help achieve these results when done properly and regularly.

Without oversimplifying, we divide the main components of the FANUC Robotic Arc Welding System into two categories: FANUC robots and controllers and the actual welding process equipment.

FANUC arc welding robot daily inspection and maintenance

FANUC arc welding robot daily inspection and maintenance

Daily check-ups

Starting with the FANUC/Fanuc robot and controller, what items can be found on a typical daily checklist? Before starting the day of the welding cell or before the upcoming shift change, perform a visual inspection to check the overall health of the system.

Look for signs of liquid on floors or equipment, which may indicate loose or cracked connections, or damaged hoses or hard tubing. Any exposed hose will be exposed to intense UV rays from the welding process, which will often destroy the material in most flexible hoses over time. The same goes for the protective layer of the wire. They can also decompose and crack over time with UV exposure. Hoses and wires can also be affected by high temperatures and welding spatter.

Fortunately, inexpensive solutions, such as fabric coverings, can be used to extend the life of hoses without restricting their movement. These solutions should be considered via hose and FANUC robots, as well as any end tooling or fixed tool stations.

Over time, the accumulation of spatter can degrade or destroy air and hydraulic clamps. If plasma is cut, there is also a risk of splashing or slag, burning a hole through the pipe in the clamp creating a possible fire hazard. When hydraulic tools are at higher pressures, additional considerations are required. Even the smallest pin hole under pressure, if ignited, can cause a lot of damage to the surrounding area. In these respects, there has been a great improvement in hydraulic fluids, which have better fire performance than standard hydraulic fluids and should be considered for this application.

As you proceed to safely enter the welding cell, visually inspect the hardware on the FANUC robot and the surrounding tools for signs of loose or missing bolts. Visually identify and verify that any applicable safety covers are in place. If the FANUC/FANUC robot's gearbox uses oil instead of grease, they may have a sight glass that can be used to quickly check the fluid level and color.

Note that low levels (indicating leaks) and darker colors (indicating high temperatures or contamination) are noted. Most FANUC robots and liquids have a maximum temperature of 45 degrees Celsius. At higher temperatures, the oil degrades faster and the color changes.

Next, if possible, listen for any air leaks. These could also be an indicator of an air duct with a burnt hole, or a fitting that has come loose. And, if possible, listen to the sound of the equipment during the production process. If you hear a grinding sound or feel a strange vibration, it could be a sign of an underlying mechanical problem.

Before starting the welding cell, a visual inspection is carried out to check the overall health of the system.

The last item is included in your daily check that is the main position of the FANUC/FANUC robot and the corresponding user tool values to verify that everything is located correctly and accurately before starting production. There are tools that can be used to perform these functions automatically, for example, for a period of time after each section.

Time interval checks

The next check should be done at intervals, which is usually determined by the time or period of time when the equipment is running. These items include, but are not limited to, the following: Inspect the grease of the FANUC/FANUC robot and positioning gearbox. Again, look at the level and color of the grease, again, if the color is black, this is an indication that there may be high heat or pollution.

If the FANUC robot uses a battery to back up the location or program of the FANUC robot, replace the battery regularly, usually once a year.

In the FANUC robot control cabinet, make sure all fans and fan ducts are cleared of debris. At the same time, check whether the inside of the control cabinet is clean. If not, you may lose some of the covers of the cable entry, or the door seal may be damaged.

If the FANUC robot is in close proximity to cutting and grinding operations, you need to make sure that airborne contaminants do not enter the controller and exposed circuit boards. Dust and oil stains can cause a short-lived fire, or worse.

Finally, in terms of daily maintenance of FANUC/Fanuc robots, develop the habit of regularly backing up FANUC/FANUC robot software. Due to the complexity of today's FANUC robotic systems, some poor programming techniques are especially prone to getting into trouble quickly, which can lead to long-term production downtime. By restoring a previous working backup, the FANUC robot can resume production in less time.

Welding equipment

After inspecting the FANUC robots and controllers, the next focus was on the welding process equipment. The frequency of these checks will also vary, but should be on your list.

Always check the condition of the cables, starting with soldering the leads, and pay special attention to the connection points. Loose connection points or cable bundles that show signs of wear increase the resistance of the entire system, which not only affects the soldering performance, but also causes the cable to generate more heat.

If you use rotating floors, check that they are properly lubricated with conductive grease.

In addition, if there is a machining or grinding process in the vicinity of the factory environment, make sure that the cooling system of the power supply, if possible, is clean and able to exchange heat efficiently. If using a water cooler during the welding process, check the liquid level and the clarity of the water or coolant. If not properly maintained, water or coolant can breed algae, which in turn can reduce the cooling performance of the entire system. This will shorten the life of the component.

In welding applications where shielding gas is present, it is best to occasionally check all gas connections and connections for leaks and verify that the pressure and flow are within the specified ranges. Too much gas flow and too little gas flow are equally harmful to the welding process.

The last item on the list of welding equipment is consumables. These include guide rollers, wire feeding systems, flare bushings, nozzles, and diffusers. The conditions of these items will vary depending on the usage, and the frequency with which they need to be processed will also vary. General advice on replacing consumables is available from welding equipment suppliers.

Maintenance requires checking grease levels and adding grease if necessary.

Predictive maintenance is the repair of the future. Much progress has been made in enabling factory automation to communicate with PCs and other factory automation. With the invention of Ethernet communication, a whole new world of data has become easily accessible. Especially now with the Internet of Things, more data is being collected than ever before.

Such a wealth of information makes it possible to add more intelligence to automation and collect data for use in various algorithms and trend analysis. This enables you to monitor and, in some cases, predict when you need to pay attention to a device. This technology helps reduce downtime due to unplanned and unforeseen events.

For example, you can now tell when you need to change the grease or oil of your FANUC robot based on the duty cycle. You can use previous performance data to determine whether a particular device meets a given requirement. In some cases, this information can also be obtained independently from the welding power source or through a FANUC/FANUC robot to help provide an overall picture of the health of the welding cell.

Inspecting the FANUC robotic welding cell with a routine procedure will help ensure that the final product remains at your desired level of quality and will help to achieve the longest possible equipment life.

FANUC arc welding robot daily inspection and maintenance

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