Cimolai operates worldwide in the design, supply and erection of complex steel structures ranging from bridges and stadiums, to architecturally complex buildings and structures for the Off-shore and Oil & Gas sectors, these being either commodities (pipes, plate girders, etc..) or complete assemblies (modules, platforms, pressure vessels, etc.).

Robotics expert Daniele Ottorogo explains why Cimolai trusts ArcNC to program their welding robots.

Thinking back a few months, what was the biggest challenge with your welding robot?

It is rarely that we have the fortune of having a significant quantity of identical pieces; we normally handle all "unique" parts. This is why it is essential to have a good balance between the time spent on programming the parts and the time required to complete the welding.

We often found ourselves having to not using robots for welding because the time saved during production did not outweigh the time needed to program the pieces. Therefore, we began searching for solutions that would allow us a much faster approach to programming and we found ArcNC. 

How did ArcNC help you address that?

ArcNC allowed us to significantly speed up programming from the very beginning. We initially started with simple parts to quickly test the results: importing a 3D model, selecting welding lines, entering a couple of optional parameters, and within a few minutes, we obtained a downloadable program ready for use.

The fact that the entire process is carried out in the cloud allows us to engage in other activities while waiting for the result, such as uploading additional models. This will certainly enable us in the future to use our robots even if there is just one piece to weld. 

Do you use your robot differently because of ArcNC nowadays?

Reduced programming times definitely open up new possibilities: not only are we able to make it advantageous to use robots across a broader range of products, but their ease of use is also very important. I believe it will be significantly easier to train a larger number of people, allowing us not to rely on a single programmer for all the machines. 

How is ArcNC different from your previous OLP solution?

With our previous software, we were forced to manually program each individual point and then manually check for any collisions along the path. When collisions occurred, it was necessary to intervene to modify the path and simulate it again. Even the searches for the starting points of the welds always took a lot of time, as they involved searching across all three Cartesian axes, often requiring numerous "in-air" points to avoid collisions. With ArcNC, however, the software takes care of how many and which points to insert to avoid collisions. 

Which features do you like most?

Surely, the best part is the automatic generation of paths. Not having to worry about telling the robot how to reach an area and how to leave it is a relief, especially when working with elements where space is minimal and specific axis positions or configurations are required.

We recently welded components where the maneuvering space between the welding torch and the piece itself was less than a centimeter: manually finding a solution for the torch angle and axes 5 and 6 would have taken hours and certainly more than a few attempts during production itself. We programmed the entire piece in less than an hour using ArcNC. 

How is the cooperation with ArcNC?

During the initial trial months, we often communicated with the ArcNC team as we required some modifications to the code generated by ArcNC for our robots, which did not comply with the proprietary language rules of the robot. All of these modifications were made for us in a very short time (sometimes just a few hours later), and at this point, all our requests have been met. Therefore, I can only describe the service we have received so far as excellent. 

To whom would you recommend ArcNC?

Surely those who do not produce in series but rather individual elements can significantly benefit from the reduction in time required. If, like us, one manages to produce up to 8 beams a day through welding, reducing the programming time for each beam from 1 hour to 15 minutes (for example) translates into a huge time savings! Of all the OLP software we have tried, I consider this one to be the fastest and the easiest to use, making it an easy choice for us. It's definitely worth trying to understand how useful it can be.