TPT July 2024

TUBE SOFTWARE & CONTROL SYSTEMS

Manufacturing using modern robotic welding cells IN 1982, the El Niño effect was unusually strong. The water temperature in the equatorial Pacific was 7°C higher than average. Thermal energy was released into the Earth’s atmosphere and global weather patterns were turned upside down. In the same year, Robert Bloos Senior revolutionised heating with wood: the resourceful inventor developed a way of automatically charging boilers with wood chips. Today, the Franconian pioneers of Heizomat Gerätebau + Energiesysteme GmbH produce up to 1,600 environmentally friendly, customised wood chip heating systems every year. In order to cope with the high order numbers, the boilers are welded using modern robotic welding cells from Fronius. Like many great stories, that of former truck driver Robert Bloos Senior started in a garage. Even then it was clear that “we have to heat exclusively with wood,” but every time he came home in the winter after a hard day’s work, his apartment was cold. This is because, back in the 1970s, the only wood-burning stoves on the market had to be fired up manually during the day. If you were not home, there was no fire. Frustrated by this, he started tinkering around in his

small workshop. Mr Bloos wanted to burn the wood from his own trees to create the same level of comfort as a fossil fuel system. That is why he decided to automate the charging of his stove. The result, after a huge amount of hard work, was a world first: an automatic dispenser system for wood chips. While the first wood chip heating systems boasting automatic feeding may have been developed in a garage, the German family business now manufactures them at two sites in Gunzenhausen and Heidenheim. With 330 employees and a real net output ratio of 85 per cent, the company produces customised heating systems rated from 30 to 990kW, with deliveries sent all over the world. Today, thousands of satisfied customers in over 40 countries use the reliable, low-maintenance systems of the inventive heating pioneer to heat their premises. Only the heat that is actually needed is generated, and from a climate-neutral, renewable source. And it is not just customers in Europe, the USA and Canada that trust in the quality: the company’s products can also be found as far away as Malaysia and New Zealand. Heizomat is ASME-certified for worldwide export. The certificate of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers is internationally recognised in over 100 countries. It certifies that the products meet the stringent requirements of the ASME code, including its safety standards. Manuel Vorbrugg, production manager at Heizomat, said: “In addition to heating systems, we are the only manufacturer that supplies all the system components required for harvesting, chopping and transport systems, including ash application and exhaust gas purification. Our latest innovation is our HeizoCont container system. This is a solution that brings the entire heating cycle together in a compact plug-and-play solution, from wood chip storage to ash application: install, connect, heat, without the need for any major conversion work. The container system is of particular interest to industrial and commercial customers, but also to municipal heating cooperatives.” Increasing skills shortages and continued growth mean that many companies, including Heizomat, require automated solutions. Today, the company uses three Fronius robotic welding cells to weld boilers. The cells are equipped with the Pathfinder offline programming and simulation software. “Without automation, we would have to take on more qualified welders, but they’re few and far between on the labour market. That’s why we decided to use robotic systems,” Mr Vorbrugg added. Fronius FRW robotic welding system, robot and positioner move synchronously

Fronius www.fronius.com

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JULY 2024