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KUKA supplies TIG welding cell for the Ariane 5 upper stage nozzle

Into outer space with KUKA Systems

Quelle: Esa

High tech from Augsburg destined for outer space: the system builder and automation specialist KUKA Systems is to supply the new TIG welding cell for the upper stage nozzle of the Ariane 5 launcher to Astrium GmbH - Space Transportation. TIG stands for tungsten inert-gas welding and is a special form of arc welding, one of the core competencies of KUKA Systems. Astrium is the prime contractor for the Ariane 5 system and delivers all the stages of the launcher, along with the vehicle equipment bay, the flight software and numerous subassemblies.

In the cell, 242 square cooling tubes made of Inconel 600 are welded together without the use of filler material. Before welding, these tubes are bundled together on a copper-coated aluminum core and held together with binding wire, which is unwound step by step as welding proceeds. The cooling tubes measure four by four millimeters and have a wall thickness of only 0.32 millimeters.

The overall length of weld seam per nozzle amounts to 730 meters, comprising a total of 14,600 individual welds. As the work must be executed with the utmost precision, a vision system is implemented which carries out seam location and tracking, as well as height offset and gap detection, and adapts the welding process accordingly. The weld parameters are automatically selected in accordance with the previously measured gap dimensions.
The system also has a calibration system which aligns the sensor system with the welding torch. This also calculates any deviation of the TCP, which is automatically corrected by the robot.

The advantage of the new cell from KUKA Systems is the fully automated welding process, in which manual production steps are no longer necessary. The operator can observe and monitor the entire process on a screen located outside the cell.