Under the motto “Unleash your welding potential” at the SCHWEISSEN & SCHNEIDEN trade fair in Essen, Fronius exhibited future-proof and profitable welding solutions for manual work, series production, and automation. What they all have in common is that they use energy, material, and time particularly efficiently. The Austrian welding expert also presented its most recent digital welding products. These ensure that novice welders and professionals can work easily and safely, and always achieve good-quality results.

Digitalization: remedying the shortage of skilled workers

Solutions to counter the shortage of skilled workers met with a great deal of interest. This starts with digital welding training on the brand-new Welducation Simulator, which uses augmented reality (AR) to provide apprentices with amazingly realistic training. It also offers a safe learning environment without heat, welding fume, or flash burns, and does not use any training material—unbeatable benefits that are environmentally-friendly and protect health.

The WeldCube Navigator, on the other hand, helps to reduce the complexity of the welding tasks in production. Step by step, it guides the welder through the work sequence for a component, and uses appropriate default settings to ensure that the work steps are carried out correctly and in accordance with the standards. Rework and rejects are thus avoided, and efficiency improved.

The TIG Experience Box visitor magnet
Fronius also has a solution for the top-tier welding process, TIG welding. With the TIG DynamicWire Welding Package for the iWave, even novices will easily achieve TIG seams like a pro in no time. Around 500 people satisfied their curiosity by trying it for themselves, in the TIG Experience Box.

Fronius knows about automation

“This year, we presented our extensive automation portfolio at the trade fair for the first time. The highlight was the huge, robotic welding cell at the center of our stand. But the two cobot cells and the FCW Smart circular seam welding system, in which the new iWave has been integrated for the first time, also attracted a lot of attention. Our automation solutions are able to deliver a tailor-made complete package from a single source, which greatly benefits our customers,” explains Harald Scherleitner, Director Sales & Marketing, Perfect Welding, Fronius International GmbH. 

But it was not only the hardware for automation that filled visitors with enthusiasm. There is also the Fronius Pathfinder programming and simulation software that significantly increases efficiency in manufacturing by programming welding processes offline. Welding specialists can prepare what is required next in manufacturing in parallel, on the digital twin. The software even detects axis limits, calculates start and end points and approach paths, and independently sets positioning points. With ArcView 2.0, the specialist welders then have a direct view of the arc and the welding quality during the welding process. This is made possible by serial camera shots that allow the arc to be monitored in real time. 

Safety first

The extraction performance of the new mobile Exento extraction devices LowVac and HighVac could be judged at all the live welding stations. Many also tested how comfortable it feels to hold the ergonomically shaped and well-balanced high-performance torches, or the new Exento fume extraction torch. Fronius showcased all its safety equipment, from the Bluetooth-enabled high-tech welding helmet with a fresh-air supply, to the air-purifying respirator. In one of the daily live stage presentations, experts explained the importance of welding fume prevention and employee health.  

What’s next?

The presentations on the Fronius Live Stage revealed, among other things, that the company has great plans for 2024. On the one hand, you can look forward to highly precise and optimized process characteristics for additive manufacturing and, on the other, to a revolutionary maintenance app, the Pocket Engineer. In the live demonstration at the trade fair, this gave an idea of how easy and convenient it will be to deal with service cases in future. 

In addition to this, the welding technology supplier provided initial insights into the brand-new compact and mobile powerhouses for manual welding: Fronius Artis, a TIG welding system, and Fronius Ignis, for manual arc welding. Both will be available as early as the first half of the year. More news about this will be coming soon. 

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