Application of All-Position Automatic Welding Car in Cement Machinery Manufacturing

Date：2023-06-12

1. All-Position Automatic Welding Car

The all-position automatic welding car is a semi-automatic welding equipment, consisting of a car body, driving device, control device, and welding torch clamping device. After the worker inputs process parameters, it can perform all-position automatic welding according to a set running track.

The all-position automatic welding car was first introduced from South Korea and Germany more than a decade ago. Currently, this technology has been gradually localized, and some enterprises have started producing such products. The automatic welding device requires low investment (the maximum weight is only about 10 kg, easy to move) and can be put into use by simply connecting it with the existing gas shielded welding machine and 220V power supply (as shown in the figure). It has a low entry threshold: workers only need basic welding skills and simple training to operate it.

The all-position automatic welding car has two types of walking modes:

Rigid track mode: Uses a dedicated track, which is adsorbed on the workpiece by magnetic suction cups, and driven by a rack-and-pinion mechanism. The rigid track can achieve linear, horizontal, vertical and overhead automatic welding.
Flexible track mode: The flexible track can bend with the workpiece to realize circular and curve automatic welding.

Another mode adopts a magnetic wheel traveling mechanism. The car is adsorbed on the surface of the workpiece by strong magnetic wheels, and guided by the guide wheel to walk along the weld seam, enabling automatic welding of both straight and curved welds.

The all-position automatic welding car is generally equipped with one or two welding torch clamping devices to hold ordinary gas shielded welding torches. The torch clamping device is provided with a linear reciprocating swinging device, which uses digital methods to adjust the swing amplitude, center position movement, left dwell time, right dwell time and swing speed. It also has the function of stopping the torch at the center position when the welding is stopped.

Compared with manual welding, the automatic welding trolley has the following advantages:

The welding process is hardly affected by the welder's technical level; the welding process is stable, with few defects, and the weld surface is clean, significantly improving welding quality.
During welding, the welding wire can be continuously fed, with fast deposition speed, reducing the time spent on electrode replacement or posture adjustment/rest, greatly improving production efficiency.
It can perform one-time long-distance welding, with minimal spatter and smoke, allowing one person to operate two devices, greatly reducing the labor intensity of workers.

2. Application in Cement Machinery Manufacturing

The production workshops of welded structural parts in cement machinery manufacturing enterprises generally suffer from smoke, dust, and severe noise pollution. Long-term fixed posture work by manual welders often leads to unstable welding quality, low efficiency, and high tendency for weld formation defects.

Replacing manual welding with all-position automatic welding cars can improve working conditions, reduce labor intensity, and effectively prevent occupational diseases among welders. Ordinary workers can start working after simple training, and one person can operate multiple machines, improving production efficiency while reducing labor costs and the dependence of welding on senior welders—bringing significant economic and social benefits.

Cement machinery products are relatively large in size, especially rotary kilns with diameters ranging from several meters to more than ten meters and maximum lengths of nearly one hundred meters. Due to transportation constraints, most are manufactured in workshops according to drawings, then assembled and welded on-site. Thus, on-site welding workload during cement plant construction is enormous, and most on-site work is outdoors with poor environmental conditions. Using all-position automatic welding cars for large-scale assembly welding has significant advantages: welding quality is effectively guaranteed, reducing rework and ensuring first-time pass rate, shortening on-site construction periods.

For high-altitude welding operations, using all-position automatic welding cars should be prioritized to minimize manual welding, reduce safety risks and accidents. After-sales service for cement machinery often involves high-altitude operations, and the all-position automatic welding car is easy to carry. On-site, only an ordinary gas shielded welding machine is needed, allowing an ordinary worker to complete high-quality welding.

3. Conclusion

The use of automatic welding technology in all-position welding cars has significantly improved welding quality. At present, most cement machinery manufacturing enterprises are operating in the high-end market, with owners placing increasingly higher requirements on product quality. Therefore, adopting all-position automatic welding cars in cement machinery manufacturing enterprises is undoubtedly a wise choice.