Specialty Product From Briggs Stratton
After 15 years of producing only lawn mower engines,
Briggs & Stratton introduced its specialty products division in the year
1996. This specialty products division was responsible for designing,
engineering and manufacturing of new engines for the parent company as well as serving
other OEMs at a later stage.
Though this division offered full component production
and finishing services all the welding were outsourced till recent times. To
reduce the outsourcing cost the specialty division decided in-house welding of
the 6 hp InTex engine muffler. To ensure precision welding of mufflers which
involved two type of metal in three layers the Briggs & Stratton specialty
division procured the ‘ABB Flexible Automation’ automatic robotic welding machine.
The pay back period of this machine was just two and a half years. Later ABB
recommended the help of a local systems integrator Machinery & Welder
Corporation of Wisconsin. Keeping Briggs & Stratton specialty division’s
requirements and technical specification Machinery & Welder Corporation
worked with ABB to deliver a completely automated welding system which was
complete with a robotic arm, source of power, wire feeding system, water
cooling system, working table. The system enabled Briggs & Stratton to work
in a very efficient setup at optimal capacity.
Briggs & Stratton started using the RDS-1400P robotic
docking system at its specialty division which incorporated indexing and/or
stationary tables. These tables were pre-wired interconnected for quick
and easy setup. This system included the six-axis IRB-1400 robotic arm, an internal
control called Auto Invision with
pulsing capabilities and water based cooler sourced from Miller.
The specialty products division of Briggs & Stratton
brought a technological revolution by introduction of its BullsEye® system into
the robot lines it manufactured and sold. The BullEye® continuously monitors
the center point of the tool and makes adjustments automatically should it
detect any deviation, tip wear or tear, wire changes etc. and ensures that the
robotic arm remain perfectly calibrated and aligned at all times.