Prototyping center at Fronius

High investment costs in prototype construction

Prototype construction plays a key role in the development of new components. Be it battery trays for electric cars or other components, high investments in software, high-tech equipment, engineering, and personnel are often necessary.

If companies outsource certain areas of prototype construction, they not only reduce deadline pressure and risk, but also resource, development, and production costs. This in turn provides greater room for maneuver in the pricing of new products.

Prototyping center for industrial and commercial clients

Fronius offers companies in various sectors, such as the automotive industry, the option to permanently outsource welding-related areas of their prototype construction workflow.

At the Wels site in Upper Austria, Fronius experts work together with their customers to develop the ideal solution for their individual welding technology challenge.

The offering starts with a feasibility study and ends with the finished prototype. If required, Fronius can also produce smaller quantities for pre-series production.

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From the feasibility study to the finished prototype - procedure

1) Feasibility study and design consultation

/ Customers provide 3D data of components, possibly also of clamping devices
/ Virtual components allow conclusions to be drawn regarding weldability, accessibility, and cycle time
/ Any problems that occur are addressed and discussed
/ Joint search for possible optimizations and solutions
/ Simulation of the welding processes with Fronius Pathfinder
/ Fronius takes care of the engineering and production of clamping devices upon request

2) Welding tests and data documentation

/ Welding tests on the original test material of the component with the selected welding process
/ Determination of the correct welding processes and parameters
/ Production of prototypes
/ Production of smaller quantities for pre-series/ 900 m2 of ultra-modern clamping, welding, measuring, and sensor technology

3) Precise measuring of components

/ Optical 3D measuring of the welded prototypes
/ Checking of distortion and deviations compared to original CAD data
/ Knowledge regarding clamping concept, welding process, welding sequence, and parameters is incorporated both in new tests and when welding new components – continuous optimization of the joining work in prototype construction is guaranteed

Robotic welding cells and sensor technology for prototype production

Core joining technologies of this welding cell are the Cold Metal Transfer (CMT), Pulse Multi Control (PMC), and Low Spatter Control (LSC) welding processes. The Fronius TPSi high-tech power source is a prerequisite here. The use of these highly specific welding processes ensures extremely low heat input, maximum spatter reduction, extremely high arc stability, and high welding speeds.

However, it is not only welding processes and correct clamping that are responsible for the quality of weld seams, but also the appropriate processing and surface cleaning of components. For cleaning, Fronius uses the ACERIOS surface cleaning system, which uses hot plasma technology to clean the joining area with precision.

This welding cell uses the LaserHybrid process. A powerful GMAW welding system in conjunction with the latest laser technology combines the advantages of both worlds: excellent gap-bridging ability, high welding speeds, low heat input, and deep penetration.

At a speed of up to 8 m/min, various components in a wide range of materials can be welded to first-class quality with low distortion.

Laser monitoring system
/ Mounted on the welding torch and ensures that the robot welds at exactly the right position
/ In the case of offset or distortion, the pre-programmed welding path is automatically adjusted

Seam Tracking
/ Used predominantly for fillet welds and prepared butt welds
/ Robot detects the course of the seam through oscillating movements of the welding torch
/ Offset and distortion are compensated in real time without interrupting welding

ArcView camera system
/ High resolution live image of the arc and weld seam
/ Welder can take corrective action if necessary

Weld seam inspection system
/ Automatic weld seam inspection immediately after welding
/ Seam volumes, seam irregularities, notches, seam position, pores, and much more are inspected
/ All inspection results are stored for clear traceability of the weld seams
/ Excellent starting point for optimizing prototypes

Data documentation with WeldCube
/ Documentation software with intelligent management, statistical, and analysis functions
/ Graphical visualization of analyses and statistics
/ Welding data are stored in a central database and enable precise traceability of components and weld seams

Prototyping center inquiry

Are you already a Fronius customer?

Then please send your prototype production inquiry to your national contact person.

If you do not yet have a contact person, please fill out the following contact form.

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Perfect Welding

Prototyping Center From feasibility study to welding of pre-series