Stahlbauer invests for satisfied customers

The Fronius Smart Cell fits perfectly with the requirements of umetec GmbH – a fact that Managing Director Alexandra Walter and Production Manager Tony Meyer appreciate. (Image credit: Christoph Große/pivopix on behalf of Fronius Deutschland GmbH)

Production Manager Tony Meyer is shown by Fronius application technician Andreas Plumeier how easy it is to teach the Fronius SmartCell using the SmartArc software and the SAEP handle. (Image credit: Christoph Große/pivopix on behalf of Fronius Deutschland GmbH)

Production Manager Tony Meyer is shown by Fronius application technician Andreas Plumeier how easy it is to teach the Fronius SmartCell using the SmartArt software and the SAEP handle. (Image credit: Christoph Große/pivopix on behalf of Fronius Deutschland GmbH)

The welder places the component into the SmartCell and secures it: Thanks to the double design, welding can take place in one cell while the operator is already loading the next component into the other. (Image credit: Christoph Große/pivopix on behalf of Fronius Deutschland GmbH)

The Cobot Welding Cell in Action: The Fronius SmartCell ensures safe collaboration with the robot and enables consistently high-quality welds. (Image credit: Christoph Große/pivopix on behalf of Fronius Deutschland GmbH)

The Cobot Welding Cell in Action: The Fronius SmartCell ensures safe collaboration with the robot and enables consistently high-quality welds. (Image credit: Christoph Große/pivopix on behalf of Fronius Deutschland GmbH)

The Cobot Welding Cell Fronius SmartCell welds laser and bending parts as well as complex welding assemblies at umetec GmbH. (Image credit: Christoph Große/pivopix on behalf of Fronius Deutschland GmbH)

To be able to manufacture more flexibly and economically, the steel and metal construction company umetec decided to automate its welding processes. With the Fronius SmartCell, a very special Cobot-Welding solution now stands at the center of the production hall at the Eberswalde site: The prototype, consisting of a double welding cell and a well-protected Cobot, ensures safe and consistently high-quality welding results.

Alexandra Walter knows exactly what she wants: automated production, motivated employees, and satisfied customers. To achieve this, the managing director of umetec GmbH in Eberswalde, Brandenburg, consistently invests in future-proof concepts. "My heart beats for renewable energies," she explains, the dedicated boss who, with her team of 50 employees, mainly manufactures components for the wind energy industry.

The history of the steel and metal construction company began in 2004 – initially, the three-man operation produced exclusively parts for Senvion, a manufacturer of wind turbines. Today, the portfolio of umetec includes laser-cut and sheared parts as well as complex welding groups for the wind and solar industries, the automotive and vehicle sectors, as well as mobility and logistics companies. The specialists also handle processing and service for international customers. "We have already manufactured parts for wind turbines in Japan and for the auto train to Sylt, and welded a gate for the football club RB Leipzig," Alexandra Walter proudly recounts.

Reliable partners, successful collaboration

But the umetec managing director is not only passionate about wind and sun; digitalization is also a central part of her success. And she is happy to invest in it: "We are equipped with the latest software systems to accelerate our processes and ensure quality," adds the agile boss. "Only in this way can we respond flexibly to customer wishes and remain competitive." To take another step toward Industry 4.0, Alexandra Walter examined the welding processes. Together with her team, she considered how to optimize the welding process as well as the upstream and downstream workflows. "The components for wind power are always the same, so an more efficient solution was obvious," she explains.

The idea to automate the process with a Cobot-Welding solution came from Alexandra Walter together with Fronius Germany GmbH. "We have been working very well with the experts from Fronius for many years, know their welding machines, and appreciate their reliable service," she emphasizes. It was clear to her that her first step would be to contact her Fronius representative to discuss a more efficient technology.

Birko Winkler vividly recalls the meeting with umetec in November 2021 – right in the middle of the Corona lockdown. The sales manager in the Fronius team Berlin is impressed by how quickly Alexandra Walter made her decision: "We presented the Cobot-Welding solution SmartCell to her – and she was immediately enthusiastic," Winkler recalls. The new system fits perfectly with the managing director's requirements: a digitalized solution to enable even more customer-oriented and consistently high-quality welding. Accordingly, the Fronius specialists were able to implement the project quickly. Just four months passed between order and commissioning of the welding cell.

CE-certified enclosure instead of red curtains

The welding workplaces in the production hall are separated by heavy red curtains. Here, the total of 15 employees still weld by hand using TIG and MIG/MAG processes. Even in this area, the steel builder has relied on welding machines and accessories from Fronius for many years. The focus now is on the new, automated Fronius SmartCell – completely enclosed, without curtains. What immediately stands out: it is a double cell with two individual cabins. The partition wall between them can be opened for larger parts. "We wanted an absolutely flexible solution – both in terms of component size and the many different smaller parts," explains the umetec managing director. With the double configuration, welding can take place in one cell while the operator loads the other with the next component.

The SmartCell is a joint development by Fronius and the machine builders from fsk industries in Gummersbach. Fronius equipped the safety Cobot-Welding cell with its proven welding equipment, a TPS400i CMT power source. fsk supplied the complete CE-certified safety enclosure, the welding table, and the welding fume extraction system. This protects the entire system and the environment during the welding process. Alexandra Walter can easily explain why the Cobot – a Universal Robot of the UR10e series – is additionally equipped with a kind of cloak: "We wanted to keep the robot clean so it lasts longer." The idea of the silver dress also originated from the constructive exchange of the project partners.

The double cell with an additional linear axis is a prototype. "If it fits, we will also show the system to other interested customers here at umetec," says Birko Winkler, confirming the trusting collaboration.

High-quality weld seams: simple and fast

Alexandra Walter is caring not only with the robot but also with her employees. "Especially the young welders are enormously motivated and enjoy the new system," she says. This also affects the time savings, which are already around 60 percent compared to manual welding. "My team tries everything possible here to manufacture even more economically," the managing director is pleased.

But it’s not only the faster welding process that convinces with the SmartCell. The easy operation of the Cobot is also a major advantage, explained in more detail by Fronius application technician Andreas Plumeier: "To teach the collaborative robot, the user manually guides the robot arm through the predetermined movement. The Smart Arc software stores all essential points, and the operator progresses step by step to a reproducible, perfect weld result." This means that welders without prior knowledge can be trained in a very short time and create complex processes for the Cobot. With the so-called SAEP handgrip (Smart Arc Extension Pack) on the robot arm, the user can trigger additional functions at the push of a button, attach or select between different functions that allow the robot to move with force control.

Success story continues

For Alexandra Walter and her team, the decision to go with the Fronius SmartCell was definitely the right one. All involved leave no doubt about that, and the results speak for themselves: the quality of the components remains consistently high, the steel builder umetec can guarantee delivery reliability, and has significantly increased its productivity. "With the SmartCell, we weld components that previously took us 45 minutes in just 13 minutes now," reports production manager Tony Meyer. The managing director adds: "For me, it’s not just the weld seam that matters, but also the effort involved in the entire handling around it. Our goal was to digitalize the entire process, and that has been achieved with the SmartCell." And because all employees are satisfied, Alexandra Walter can imagine taking another step toward a digital factory next year with an additional SmartCell from Fronius.