[CASE STUDY] Integration of CRP welding robots in furniture production

Hello, everyone! This is Top 3D Shop, and today we will talk about the CRP robots that help our customers increase the productivity and profitability of their enterprises.

This case study will show how industrial welding robots can be implemented in furniture manufacturing. Learn more by reading the article.

Task

A company producing office furniture approached us to optimize the production of welded steel frames.

The steel part of the structure plays a crucial role for office furniture as it ensures the reliability of the entire product. Table legs, chair bases, and other construction elements must be welded with the highest quality. Moreover, the cost of the work should be reduced, since some of the company’s products belong to the budget segment. 

At one of the development stages, the management decided to automate the welding area.

About the company

The product range of the manufacturer includes more than half a dozen series of cabinet furniture with metal frames. The items meet all current needs: they are high-quality, practical, comfortable, and aesthetically pleasing. Moreover, the furniture is made of environmentally friendly materials.

The company owns an industrial complex engaged in metal processing. It produces a variety of products, including metal frames for furniture. The available capacity of the enterprise allows not only to perform the company’s tasks, but also to take external orders. The company provides laser cutting services for sheet metal and pipes as well as bending, powder coating, and welding works.

Before automation

All steel structures used to be welded manually.

A qualified welder is a highly paid specialist. Taking into account the fact that non-stop production implies several shifts of workers, the cost of their labor becomes a burden to the company’s budget.

In addition, even the most skilled welder can make a mistake that would affect product quality.

Benefits of robotization

A robot always spends the exact amount of time needed for each operation. It performs strictly according to the program, which reduces the potential for rejects to a minimum.

Also, a robot doesn’t need vacations, sick leaves, uniforms, food, and social insurance, not to mention wages. Only electricity and servicing are required. Overall, the cost of maintaining robots is much lower than with human staff.

Equipment

After analyzing the available offers on the market, the specialists chose the most optimal option in terms of price-quality ratio — the CRP welding robots.

Throughout the year, three CRP robots were integrated into the factory workflow, two of which have now been put into operation.

The first set consisted of the CRP-RH18-20 industrial robot and the Megmeet Ehave CM350AR welder. The delivery also included the SC210A torch cleaning station.

The working area of the robot is 172 cm, which makes it possible to process most parts in small, medium, and large production environments. The device can be mounted on the floor or suspended from the ceiling. It is also possible to install the robot on floor or ceiling rails.

CRP RH18-20

The characteristics of the CRP-RH18-20 robot allow its use in such processes as welding, painting, loading, transportation, sorting, etc.

Specifications

• Arm form: Vertical multiple joints
• Degree of freedom: 6 axis
• Maximum payload: 20 kg
• Maximum travel: Axis 1 — ground/upside down mounting -167°–167°,
• wall mounting -30°–30°; Axis 2 — 0°–175°; Axis 3 — -80°–150°; Axis 4 — -190°–190°; Axis 5 — -105°–130°; Axis 6 — -210°–210°
• Maximum speed: Axis 1 — 159°/s; Axis 2 — 159°/s; Axis 3 — 169°/s; Axis 4 — 280°/s; Axis 5 — 240°/s; Axis 6 — 483°/s
• Allowable torque: Axis 4 — 48 N.m; Axis 5 — 48 N.m; Axis 6 — 28 N.m
• Allowable moment of inertia: Axis 4 — 1.8 kg.m²; Axis 5 — 1.8 kg.m²; Axis 6 — 0.8 kg.m²
• Repeated positioning accuracy: ±0.08 mm
• Maximum reaching distance: 1720 mm
• Weight: 285 kg
• Ambient temperature: 0–45 °C
• Relative humidity: 20–80％ (no condensation)
• Vibration: Under 0.5 G
• IP level: Body IP54, wrist IP67

Overview

The industrial robot is equipped with an independent emergency stop and high flexibility cables for safe and smooth operation.

The CRP RH18-20 has a reach of 1720 mm and can perform various types of operations, which include:

• Welding;
• Polishing and grinding;
• Transportation;
• Milling;
• Laser and plasma cutting.

To ensure uninterrupted operation, including welding and plasma cutting, the robot is engineered with high efficiency power sources as well as qiality equipment of well-known brands.

The CRP RH18-20 has the C series control and programming unit, a user-friendly device with a color touch screen, function keys, and an emergency stop button.

Examples of CRP RH18-20 operation

Here you can see some welds performed by the robot.

CRP RH18-20 at the furniture factory

According to the company representatives, the introduction of the robots not only increased the volume of production, but also improved its quality.

For example, the welding chords made by robots are always the same, and some welds are so accurate they do not require any additional cleaning or machining.

Apart from shielding gas welding, the company’s engineers also tried carbon dioxide welding and got great results. In their opinion, this could lead to additional cost savings.

Six months later, the company purchased another set: the CRP-RH14-10 industrial robot with the Megmeet Artsen Plus 350DR semi automatic welder.

CRP RH14-10 

Specifications

• Arm form: Vertical multiple joints
• Degree of freedom: 6 axis
• Maximum payload: 10 kg
• Maximum travel: Axis 1 — ground/upside down mounting -167°–167°,
• wall mounting -30°–30°; Axis 2 — 0°–175°; Axis 3 — -80°–150°; Axis 4 — -190°–190°; Axis 5 — -105°–130°; Axis 6 — -210°–210°
• Maximum speed: Axis 1 — 169°/s; Axis 2 — 169°/s; Axis 3 — 169°/s; Axis 4 — 280°/s; Axis 5 — 240°/s; Axis 6 — 520°/s
• Allowable torque: Axis 4 — 10 N.m; Axis 5 — 10 N.m; Axis 6 — 3 N.m
• Allowable moment of inertia: Axis 4 — 0.25 kg.m²; Axis 5 — 0.25 kg.m²; Axis 6 — 0.05 kg.m²
• Repeated positioning accuracy: ±0.08 mm
• Maximum reaching distance: 1440 mm
• Weight: 170 kg
• Ambient temperature: 0–45 °C
• Relative humidity: 20–80％ (no condensation)
• Vibration: Under 0.5 G
• IP level: Body IP54, wrist IP67
• The capabilities of this robot are similar to the previous model, the RH18-20, with one exception: the reach of RH14-10 is 144 cm, which makes the device ideal for machining small and medium-sized parts.

Bottom line

Our clients from the furniture factory were completely satisfied with the quality of the integrated equipment and its operation. The use of the CRP RH18-20 allowed to significantly reduce costs and increase production speed without compromising on quality. The company ordered two more sets with similar machines.

In the future, the factory plans to expand production and extend the volume and range of office furniture. The introduction of robots in the metalworking shops has led to a noticeable increase in productivity and output. The management continues to invest in automation of operations by purchasing another welding complex, including a CRP industrial robot and a computerized welding platform.