The new order from the parent company could only be handled with a new robot cell. A Swiss contract manufacturer opted for a system that has a total of nine axes thanks to two positioners and the traversing axis.
© ABB
Muller Martini Manufacturing is one of the leading technical suppliers of mechanical engineering components and assemblies in Switzerland. The company has now expanded its machine park with a robotic system from ABB.
The Swiss Entlebuch is actually known primarily as a natural excursion destination. The first Unesco biosphere reserve in the Swiss Confederation shows the country from its original side with its natural areas. Entlebuch, in the municipality of Hasle, is also home to a special industrial company, Muller Martini Manufacturing. The full-service provider in mechanical engineering combines development, production, assembly and logistics under one roof. “The plant here in Hasle was built by Muller Martini in 1970 to meet the demand for machine components internally,” says Herbert Wicki, Managing Director of Muller Martini Manufacturing.
Muller Martini, headquartered in Zofingen, is a leading global manufacturer of systems for print finishing. Muller Martini Manufacturing AG is a subsidiary of the Muller Martini Group. “Production orders from our group of companies currently account for around 50% of our business activities,” explains Wicki.
The volume of orders from other customers in Switzerland is now just as large. “As a full-service provider for mechanical engineering components, we combine all specialist skills under one roof – from engineering and production with laser cutting, bending, welding and milling to coating, assembly and even logistics,” says Wicki.
© ABB
Over 120 welding processes for unwinder stands
Automated welding work was previously carried out by a robotic cell that was nearing the end of its technical service life and was inferior to modern systems in terms of performance and flexibility. The search for a more powerful robotic system for welding was accelerated by the fact that Muller Martini Manufacturing received an order from the company group to produce stands for an unwinder from May 2025. “This is a sheet steel construction weighing around 270 kg for large paper rolls that requires over 120 welding processes to produce,” explains Michael Mahler, Head of Production and Assembly at Muller Martini Manufacturing. Around 300 of these stands are to be welded automatically in Hasle every year in future.
To evaluate an application, they contacted ABB Robotics Switzerland as well as other manufacturers. The aim was for the new system to take over all the previous tasks of the robot cell, be able to weld the new stand and be open for future tasks. “It had to be ready for use by May 2025 – and fit into our budget,” reports Mahler
© ABB
Variants discussed with robotics experts
The project team from Muller Martini Manufacturing discussed the variants with the experts from ABB Robotics. “Their visualization with the Robotstudio software helped a lot,” says Olivier Keck, Sales Engineer at ABB Robotics Schweiz AG. They worked out the right application in two or three rounds. “We came to the conclusion that we could realize a future-oriented robot cell with ABB in the specified time at the right price – and placed the order,” says Wicki.
At the heart of the cell is an IRB 2600-12/1.85 robot equipped with a Fronius welding system. It is mounted on an 8 m long IRBT 2005 traversing axis (6 m travel). The IRB 2600 is combined with two positioning units: The IRBP L-2000 has a rotating axis and can pick up workpieces weighing up to 2 tons. The second positioner, the IRB B-750, rotates in two axes and can carry up to 750 kg. “With the robot, the second positioner and the traversing axis, the cell has nine axes,” says Keck. “This allows the welding torch to work vertically – the so-called trough position – even with complex workpieces, which is ideal for welding, as the weld pool flows downwards in a controlled manner due to gravity.” Muller Martini Manufacturing welds the stand with its 120 weld seams on the IRBP B-750.
On-site training in Hasle
ABB Robotics sent its expert Jerry Jämsä, project engineer and welding technician, to Hasle to install and commission the new robot cell. He then trained three welding specialists from Muller Martini Manufacturing on site in the operation and programming of the welding cell. This ensured a rapid transfer of practical experience – directly in conjunction with the production of the stands on the new robot.
“With this approach, we were able to commission the robot cell on schedule in May 2025 for the start of production of the stands,” reports Mahler. “The precision was right from the start. In the meantime, our specialists have been able to further streamline the program sequences and optimize the entire production process.”
“We have achieved our goal. I am convinced that the project went so well within the tight time frame because competent teams were involved on both sides,” Wicki concludes positively. “Production of the stands got off to a very good start. We are constantly transferring the other tasks of the soon to be obsolete robot cell. And with the flexible design of this robot cell, we are ready for new customer orders.”
Web:
www.abb.de/robotics
