Adaptive Control for Resistance Welding

The PRC7000 control for resistance welding provides precise adjustment of the welding current to eliminate spatter and rework. Innovative software tools and a modular design enable up to 90 percent faster commissioning. The PRC7000 can store 10,000 welding programs that can be easily selected and built via a drag-and-drop graphical interface to program sophisticated welding sequences that can have 100 or more separate heat blocks. Through user-friendly programming tools, each heat block can be configured to handle specific weld criteria.

The system also features a new, Industry 4.0-ready dual-processor architecture for both process control and communications with higher-level automation systems. This enables high data transfer rates without affecting the process control; combined with an integrated web server, this supports wireless operator control and diagnostics via mobile devices.

Compared to previous systems, the PRC7000 reduces energy consumption by 30 percent in operating mode and up to 80 percent in idle mode. New performance electronics reduce power loss and enable the use of smaller, more compact cooling systems to minimize the system’s footprint.

Advances in hardware and software address key developments in automotive manufacturing, such as an increased use of high-strength steel, aluminum and next-generation materials in vehicle bodies and parts. The controller can adjust the quality of the weld within a millisecond time frame. A force feedback system reads the expansion of aluminum due to heat and can regulate the weld through adaptive control of the weld tip pressure and the current being applied.

Bosch Rexroth
www.boschrexroth.com

John has been with ASSEMBLY magazine since February 1997. John was formerly with a national medical news magazine, and has written for Pathology Today and the Green Bay Press-Gazette. John holds a B.A. in journalism from Northwestern University, Medill School of Journalism.

The ASSEMBLY Show South

ASSEMBLY is thrilled to return to the Music City Center in Nashville, TN for The ASSEMBLY Show SOUTH on May 1-2, 2024. This is a booming time for manufacturing and the U.S. South is right in the heart of the action. According to ASSEMBLY’s most recent annual capital spending survey, the South is projected to account for 31 percent of total spending this year, marking the fifth straight year this region has accounted for at least 30 percent of capital spending in the U.S.

In this session, manufacturers will learn how Quality function deployment (QFD) can transform consumers’ qualitative demands into quantitative parameters that will shape the design of their product and, ultimately, their manufacturing process.

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