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The task: spot welding

The most important task of a car body is to protect the occupants. To ensure this occupant contactor, the body must be torsionally rigid and be able to accommodate the other add-on parts.

A safe and stable car body is created by countless welding points on the body, the doors, the bonnet, etc. Each component contributes its part to the stiffness of the vehicle and thus to the contactor of the occupants. These spot-welded joints are now produced fully automatically, with consistent precision and quality.

This is exactly where Electric cylinders are used. They ensure that the welding gun generates an even force. For a spot weld to meet the quality requirements, the welding electrodes must constantly compress the weld metal with a defined force during each welding process and maintain the force during the welding process. The repeat accuracy, process reliability and durability are are just as important quality criteria for the welding gun drive used as the cleanly placed welding spots without damaging the surrounding surfaces; i.e. welding spatter does not occur when a welding gun application is functioning optimally.

The technical solution

The mechanical design of our electric cylinders is variable, depending on whether you need an X- or C-tongs to fit exactly into the respective welding gun design.

The design of the electric cylinders depends on:

Further features of the electric cylinders:

Flexible options for motor feedback, pin assignment and temperature sensors enable plug-and-play operation on the market-leading control systems for welding robots.

Two variants are available for the integration of electric cylinders:

  • As the 7th axis in the robot controller: Here, the movement of the robot (6 axes) and the opening/closing of the welding gun (7th axis) are taken over by the robot controller, e.g. KUKA, ABB or Fanuc. The welding current is regulated by the welding controller, which is also required.
  • With the PRC7300 or PRC7400 welding controller from Bosch Rexroth: The robot controller regulates the six robot axes. The welding current and the control of the electric cylinder are synchronised and regulated by the PRC7300 or PRC7400.
Design/selection criteria Conventional Market standard Future-proof
  Pneumatic cylinder Planetary roller screw with grease lubrication Solutions from SEW-EURODRIVE Ball screw with patented oil bath lubrication
Service life Depending on maintenance Dependent on regreasing Lifetime
Speed Up to 3 m/s Up to 1.5 m/s Up to 0.75 m/s
Space requirement and weight Low Medium Medium
Noise level High Medium Low
Energy efficiency 7 - 10 % 1 60 - 80 % 2 86 - 92 %
Force accuracy Low Force sensor required +/- 150 N
Positioning accuracy Medium High High
Maintenance Regular seal maintenance every 1.2 million cycles Regular relubrication every 2 million cycles Maintenance-free for life
Controllability in the process (speed, force, starting behaviour) No speed control Average controllability, slip-stick effect at the start of the stroke Simple and precise controllability
Environmental impact Very low efficiency1 Higher grease requirement, low efficiency Used oil only accumulates at the end of the service life, very high efficiency
Characteristic stability over the service life, with temperature changes, etc. Risk of leakage in the compressed air system, speed depends on the compressed air Very good stability, independent of temperature Very good stability, independent of temperature
Addendum devices required Compressed air supply, pressure reducers, sensors, pneumatic control unit Cables for motor feedback and power supply, servo controller, local relubrication tools Cable for motor feedback and power supply, servo inverter
Welding spot quality Repeat accuracy, positioning and force control dependent on air leakage, design less precisely controllable High repeat accuracy, positioning and force control High repeat accuracy, positioning and force control
Reliability of the overall system Approx. 11 million cycles with regular testing and sealing 15 million cycles with lubricant change after 7.5 million cycles 20 million cycles  

1 requires compressed air treatment, efficiency value incl. various compressions / 2 dependent on temperature and relubrication

Electric cylinder
Size
Hub Maximum
feed rate
Peak feed force Durable
Feed force
Weight
mm m/s kN kN kg
(with stroke length 160 mm)
50 70 - 600 0.75 2.65 - 8 0.6 - 3.2 5.8 - 13.6
63 60 - 600 0.45 10 2.4 - 5.2 8.8 - 18.6
71 100 -1200 0.45 18 - 24 6.2 - 12 21.6 - 48.7
Dimensions - Axle parallel design
Electric cylinder A B H Y L
50
Lengths S/M/L
73 217 70 / 100 / 150 / 200 / 300 / 400 / 600 221.5 / 251.5 / 301.5 / 351.5 / 451.5 / 581.5 / 781.5 Overall length S: 174.5

Overall length M: 223.5

Overall length L: 262.5
63
Lengths S/M/L
88 245.5 60 / 100 / 160 / 180 / 200 / 400 / 600 235.5 / 275.5 / 335.5 / 355.5 / 375.5 / 607.5 / 807.5 Overall length S:
252.8

Overall length M:
302.8

Overall length L:
352.8
71
Lengths S/M/L
115 295 100 / 160 / 200 / 400 / 600 / 800 / 1000 / 1200 326 / 386 / 426 / 686 / 886 / 1146 / 1346 / 1546 Overall length S:
229

Overall length M:
254

Overall length L:
304

All dimensions in mm

Dimensions - Axle-serial design
Electric cylinder A B H Y L
Size 50
Lengths S/M/L
73 120.7 70 / 100 / 150 / 200 / 300 / 400 /
600
221.5 / 251.5 / 301.5 / 351.5 / 451.5 / 581.5 / 781.5 Overall length S: 156.4

Overall length M: 195.4

Overall length L: 234.4
Size 63
Overall lengths S/M
88 245,5 60 / 100 / 160 / 180 / 200 / 400 / 600 235.5 / 275.5 / 335.5 / 355.5 / 375.5 / 607.5 / 807.5 Overall length S:
163.7

Overall length M:
214.2
Size 71
Lengths S/M/L
115 295 100 / 160 / 200 / 400 / 600 / 800 / 1000 / 1200 326 / 386
/ 426 / 686 / 886 /
1146 / 1346 / 1546
Overall length S:
211

Overall length M:
236

Overall length L:
286

All dimensions in mm