How Sengers Metaal stays competitive in a changing market with ArcNC
“With ArcNC, we can react quickly to customer requests and significantly reduce lead times,” says Kees Sengers, Head of Technology at Sengers Metaal. “The robot programming is fast enough to handle part variations, which keeps our operations competitive.”
Sengers Metaal, a high-end metalworking company near Eindhoven, is renowned for its precision, flexibility, and fast delivery times. With more than 40 years of experience, the company supplies industries such as high-tech, machine building, packaging, food, and automotive.
In February 2024, Sengers Metaal took an important step toward the future by investing in a custom-built ABB robotic welding cell from RobWelding, powered by ArcNC software. Leading this transition are Kees Sengers, Technical Director of Sengers Metaal, and Chris Kamp, an external mechanical engineer with more than 20 years of robotic welding experience.
Chris Kamp (left) and Kees Sengers (right)
Staying competitive in a changing market
According to Kees, the European metalworking market is undergoing a shift: large-scale production runs are increasingly moving abroad, while European manufacturers face a growing number of smaller, more frequent orders.
“With ArcNC, we can react quickly to customer requests and significantly reduce lead times,” says Kees. “The robot programming is fast enough to handle part variations, which keeps our operations competitive.”
Key features
Colleagues quickly learning to use the robot
For Sengers Metaal, the decision to use ArcNC for robot programming was straightforward: colleagues could easily learn to use the robot thanks to the software’s simplicity. “We now run new parts on the robot every week—all programmed with ArcNC,” Chris explains.
Automatic weld detection
“The software automatically suggests weld locations, which significantly reduces manual work. That’s my favorite feature,” says Chris.
Programming parts previously considered too complex
“We now run parts that were once considered too complex thanks to ArcNC” Chris adds. “We typically dry-run a program once before production, mainly to fine-tune welding parameters, because the motions themselves are already solid. This saves us a great deal of time and allows us to focus on weld quality rather than troubleshooting.”
Software that improves over time
ArcNC continues to evolve through regular updates, giving users access to new tools and functionalities. “We are already using it with both MIG/MAG and TIG torches and soon plan to integrate it with our ABB cobot installation,” Chris explains.
Brand-agnostic
“Another major advantage is that the software is brand-agnostic. As we are still relatively new to robotic welding, we didn’t want to tie ourselves to one robot brand. ArcNC gives us the flexibility to grow in whichever direction the future takes us,” concludes Kees.
Chris Kamp at the ABB welding robot installation
