Screen Welding Machinery - The next generation.

ISSUE 77 March 2021

The new Smart Welder from CNC Design Solution has now solved the issues of producing quality welds on hard to weld fabric with just one machine.

Launched in December 2020, the Smart Welder series from CNC Design Solution has been developed to suit the needs of the Australian manufacturer and the wide range of materials they must deal with.

Michael Jolly from CNC Design Solutions says this machine totally removed the dependency of the operator skill to get a perfect weld, first time every time.

The Smart Weld table is able to weld a zip or spline on either sides of the table in either a 4.0m, 6.0m, 8.0m, 10.0m, 12.0m and 14.0m format.

The table is supported using a sub frame made of 150 x 80 mm extruded aluminium section to provide rigidity, has an overall width of 1.4m and table height of 900 mm.

The welding gantry runs down both sides of the table and is concealed inside an extruded 140 x 140 mm aluminium section and parks at the far end of the machine when not in use, so making skin loading and removal straight forward. The tabletop has a laminate top ensuring a ridged base and ease of cleaning.

The Smart Weld range has an industrial grade PC control system from Beckhoff in Germany at the centre of the control system for the machine.

“The order entry system is extremely user friendly and can be done either using our App on a smart device or loaded using the touch screen,” says Jolly.

“The Smart Weld unit has a unique dual anvil design, this allows both sides of a skin to be processed without the material leaving the table, so reducing the chances of a Workcover claim.” 

“The welder can weld up to 20mm wide welds in a range of four formats to ensure the strongest weld possible. This also allows you to weld a wide range of zip types and to be able to position the weld in the correct location, level, flat and straight every time.”

“This model also has the “stich” function, which when doing a join and lining up long lengths to be welded, allows you to do a part weld to check alignment before doing the final weld. This weld can be separated, and the skin re-aligned to ensure its correct before final weld.”

Smart Weld is also able to crease and weld a wide range of pocket sizes, starting at 20mm for splines and up to 100mm.

“There are several weld options, which includes being able to scan the table once the skins you wish to weld are positioned on the table. The length of the table is scanned, skins located and the welding zones identified.”

“Once the required weld type is selected, the welding gantry will then perform these welds in the one process on multiple skins. The top of the central fence has a series of air cylinders which then release the zip / spline clamp once welded.”

The spline / zip holder is a full length extruded aluminium section which is dual sided and is available to suit various systems in the market. Additional Zip / Spline holders are available.

The Smart Weld also has a database to refer to ensure the correct settings are chosen to get the ideal result every time.

“The Ultrasonic unit is manufactured in Germany and is the most advanced and efficient unit in the market at present, able to perform this type of welding with ease,” Jolly says.

“The PC is able to adjust the strength of the ultrasonic weld, allowing the Smart Weld to achieve the correct setting for each fabric type the first time.

“The PC can also adjust the welding pressure from the data base to achieve the correct setting for each fabric type.”

Jolly says this unit has access to the CNC Design Solution Web supported database which has a list of over 600 fabrics from most major suppliers and the suggested setting to weld both weld zip, splines and to join fabric panels.

“This machine also has a remote access module to allow remote support if required.”

The Smart Weld unit operates off a 240-volt 15 Amp supply, using up to 75% less power than similar sized machines.

“The machine has a full safety system which includes emergency stops, all electrical circuits are protected by circuit breakers and all control voltages are only 24-volt DC, and a series of lights including a safety buzzer to notify the operator of any issues.”

“The machine will also ‘chirp’ before the gantry starts to weld and retract to ensure the operator is clear.”

“The welding head also has a unique integrated safety switch which stops the welding function from commencing until in its ‘weld position’. It will retract if any obstruction is detected before it reaches its weld position such as an operator hand with no risk of harm.”

Jolly added that the Ultrasonic system eliminates the chances of burns as the operator is not using an ‘element type’ welding system with the associated heat and risks.

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