Kuznia forging die repair
The manual repair of forging dies often is a tedious, unhealthy job that requires a lot of manpower. In order to improve quality and to combat labour shortage, Kuznia collaborated with RAMLAB in order to improve quality and efficiency. By automating the repair process, Kuznia repaired their dies 60% faster and 59% cheaper, while using 42% less material and extending the tool lifetime with 20%.
A warehouse with forging dies that need to be repaired
The problem
Kuznia is facing a significant problem with the manual repair of forging dies. The manual process exposes workers to health hazards from welding, is slow, tedious, and lacks scalability. Quality issues arise due to human errors. Moreover, the company’s backlog of repairs is growing, affecting productivity. To overcome these challenges, Kuznia is working with RAMLAB to implement MaxQ Repair, improving worker safety, and exploring innovative solutions. An implementation at scale will streamline the repair process, reduce the backlog, enhance overall productivity, and ensure better quality control.
The Challenge
The challenges with the repair of the forging die for Kuznia were due to its deep and narrow cavities, increasing the risk of collisions between the repair robot and the die. Successfully addressing this issue required advanced motion planning and collision avoidance capabilities to ensure precise and safe maneuvering during the repair process.
The solution: Scan, plan, repair, repeat
MaxQ Repair was employed with its straightforward four-step process to repair metal parts. Firstly, the die placed on the table was scanned using an integrated 3D camera in the weld cobot to capture and dimensions. Next, a comparison was made between the scan and an ideal die representation, generating tool paths automatically and considering torch tilting and collision checks. With the push of a button, the repair job was started, while real-time monitoring ensured quality control, including geometry control with the 3D camera, interpass temperature control using a thermal camera, and anomaly detection with high-frequency current and voltage sensors. This process was automatically repeated for the subsequent layers.
The result
- 60% faster repair (from 28 hours manual welding to 11 hours with MaxQ
- Superior wear and temperature resistance due to WAAM graded repair.
- Faster repair and repeatability of the remanufacturing process (due to automation)
- 42% less material use; 7 times less CRM (Nb) use.
- 59% cost reduction per forging die repaired.
- 20% longer tool lifetime (from 2500 to 3000 forging pcs.)
The stats
- 8 kg of welded material
- 11 hours of welding without human intervention
- Only brushing between layers was required
About MaxQ Repair
MaxQ Repair is an all-in-one automated solution for the repair of metal parts, such as rails, rotors, and dies, that are subject to wear in service.
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