Beyond the limits of the standard - complex, individual special machines and production cells
If you want to survive in today's global competition, you not only need unique ideas and high-quality products, you also have to manufacture them economically. Due to the constantly increasing demands on productivity and process optimization, standard machines are often simply not sufficient. However, a competent and reliable partner is the be-all and end-all when it comes to the construction of special systems. DALEX is a coveted expert for all processes related to resistance welding and, in addition to its proven standard machines, develops robotic cells, automated systems and interlinked complete solutions.
"Experience welds the future" - hardly any sentence describes DALEX Schweißmaschinen GmbH & Co. KG better than its own guiding principle. Because high-quality welding technology has been DALEX's area of expertise for over 100 years. In the early days, the traditional company situated in Wissen was mainly known for its arc welding equipment, but today it is a competent partner for all questions concerning resistance welding technology. "As a company with a long tradition, it is particularly important to use its decades of experience and practice to meet current market developments and offer future-oriented solutions," says graduate engineer Hans-Werner Chwalisz, Sales and Marketing Manager at DALEX. This is why the globally operating company has long since ceased to be just a supplier of resistance welding systems - the company generates almost 70 percent of its annual sales in special systems engineering. DALEX has made a name for itself as a development partner for the automation of welding processes in numerous sectors, such as the automotive industry and its suppliers, household technology, the furniture industry, aerospace and commercial vehicle technology.
High development competence
Our success is based on our modern, flexible project planning and design department. Experienced engineers and technicians develop the highly complex welding systems in cooperation with procurement, work preparation and suppliers in "simultaneous engineering" - always focusing on the user's holistic manufacturing process. Thanks to this understanding of the complex interrelationships, tailor-made solutions are created with streamlined processes in the existing workflow, which ensure high product quality and productivity.
Welding technology is always at the centre of the complex production cells and special systems with a high degree of automation as a core competence, where in addition to resistance welding there is also extensive solution know-how in MAG and laser welding. The use of different processes results in systems for almost every task. However, DALEX's expertise does not end with welding technology: Pressing, testing and marking processes as well as upstream and downstream assembly steps are also part of the package. GE Hans-Werner Chwalisz: "Over the years, we have acquired not only our core competencies, but also expertise in feeding and assembly tasks, testing and packaging units, vision systems and special software. In addition to staffing up with industry experts from assembly automation, we have also built up a network of competent supply partners who contribute their knowledge to the overall solution.
In order to facilitate integration into an existing manufacturing process, DALEX uses different robot types, for example, depending on the requirements, which are coordinated with the user, and also programs them itself. "This is an important cornerstone for finding a solution, because often we cannot freely choose the robot for our developed system, since the client already has several other systems in use," continues GE Hans-Werner Chwalisz. The result is customized systems that are precisely tailored to the requirements.
Everything works out
For example, automation solutions based on rotary table systems are the ideal and space-saving solution for consistently high production volumes and long product life cycles. Fully automatic production is possible by adding automatic insertion and removal stations as well as additional processing stations such as marking, testing, milling, etc. To give an example: DALEX has designed a rotary transfer system for the fully automatic production of contacted stranded cables in many different lengths and diameters. The solution starts with the cable feed from the coil/reel unit with dancer control. This is followed by measuring, cutting to length and stripping operations for processing a wide variety of lengths and diameters. Finally, the system automatically feeds the end contact lugs, places them on and welds them to the cables. To round off the project, the finished products are also transfer out by means of a conveyor belt.
If a more flexible automation solution is required, DALEX develops, for example, modularly expandable longitudinal transfer systems. They ensure the interlinking of process and test stations. One example is a linear transfer system for the production of heat exchangers from 1 to 6 m in length and different widths: It includes a spot welding station for positioning the bottom and top sheets, a roll seam seal welding of the pre-spotted assemblies, a brush station for cleaning the weld seams and a palletizing magazine for stacking the finished parts. The special feature of the system is its very exact positioning. This is because the very first pair-wise spot welds determines the alignment of the upper and lower sheets in terms of component length.
In robot hands
Graduate engineer Hans-Werner Chwalisz: "For large series and components with a high proportion of welding, we often find the solution in robot cells and lines. They're precise and fast. Recurring, similar production steps and comparable product geometries allow a modular structure. Sometimes the robot itself welds by guiding the welding guns to a stationary workpiece. Other times it handles the workpiece carrier including the workpiece and guides it under a stationary welding system, a C-frame or a stationary welding gun in X or C design".
Due to the workpiece geometries, robot cells, if not directly integrated into lines, are often equipped with a manual loading station for the large parts. The automatic process does not start until the operator has been safeguarded by a roller shutter. Once the component is finished, it can either be removed again by the operator or automatically fed into further processes. To optimise cycle times, DALEX also installs two roller shutters or insertion positions. This allows the operator to insert at one position while the automatic process takes place at the other. The use of so-called "gripper stations" allows the processing of component variants and increases the utilization of such robot solutions.
Flexible reaction and best quality assurance
In the interest of being able to implement standard systems, modified machines and complex special machines flexibly and at short notice while meeting the highest quality standards, DALEX relies on a high vertical range of manufacture and high-quality components from renowned brand manufacturers. The experts in Wissen attach great importance to "Made in Germany" fabrication. To ensure high product quality, extensive tests are carried out during and after production. Before the systems leave the factory, they are tested for functionality in a test field. For complex robot lines, for example, cycle time evaluations and interfering edge investigations are secured by prior robot simulation. With its in-house Technology Center, which is equipped with spot, projection, longitudinal and cross seam roll welding systems and manual welding guns, DALEX can test the technology and the associated welding parameters in almost all cases beforehand and minimize the technical risk even before the investment.
"We are the only company in our industry to document this high quality standard in accordance with the strict standards of the German Association of the Automotive Industry VDA 6.4 and DIN ISO 9001," adds graduate engineer Hans-Werner Chwalisz.