Process safety and the highest quality at the welding spots are the core requirements for welding processes in the automotive and household appliance industry. With the new welding control family PRC7000, Rexroth has further improved its proven control and monitoring concept. New software tools and the modular structure increase availability and simplify operation through reduced commissioning times. The use of the latest semiconductor technology reduces energy consumption by up to 80 percent. With numerous interfaces for commonly used communication protocols, the controller also fits into the networked production environments of the future.
The new welding control generation PRC7000 with the PRC7300 for steel and projection welding, as well as the PRC7400 for aluminum spot welding and applications with the highest power requirements distinguish themselves through high availability and a modular design. The adaptive control algorithms of the PRC7000 assure a reproducible and high welding spot quality for welding the most diverse sheet thicknesses, from steel through aluminum. In addition, the adaptive process control and monitoring methods have already been designed for future material combinations in the welding process.
Networkable for Industry 4.0
The PRC7000 welding controls are prepared for horizontal and vertical networking in Industry 4.0 environments. Users can physically separate the welding PC and the user interface from the welding cell. The multi-processor architecture - for process control and communication - increases the data transfer rate without repercussions on the welding process control. The controller exchanges data with higher-level systems over all standard Ethernet real-time protocols and is WLAN-capable. The integrated webserver also allows wireless operation and diagnosis of the controller with smartphones or tablet PCs.
Commissioning accelerated by 90 percent
New software tools and the modular design of the systems reduce commissioning and changeover times by up to 90 percent. An application layer integrated as standard allows fast and targeted adaptation to the robot interface. An internal real-time bus is available for the connection of electric servo-gun and peripherals. The servo-gun front-end reduces the installation effort and enable the preventive maintenance of the welding gun. With open interfaces for the process, robot integration and communication, the entire system fits into a wide range of automation structures up to Industry 4.0 environments.
The new PRI7000 software for the commissioning, operation and diagnosis controls multiple welding controllers with one piece of hardware. It simplifies operation with intuitive Windows and web-based applications. New communication interfaces reduce the response and waiting times. The control saves up to 10,000 welding programs and thus fits well into a multi-variant production process.
Energy-efficient and compact
The new power electronics of the PRC7000 reduce power loss. This allowed the developers to use smaller sized coolers. The compact size is 30 percent smaller than that of the previous generation. Simultaneously, the new controller increases energy efficiency. It uses up to 30 percent less energy during welding, and up to 50 percent less energy at idle. The superior controller can switch the welding controllers into the standby mode during production breaks and then reactivate them again via the fieldbus protocol.
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