OBARA specializes in complete welding systems and equipment. The company originated in the automotive industry, and its resistance welding systems are now used in automotive production lines worldwide.
OBARA China has integrated the Anybus CompactCom M40 into a new generation of welding controllers, enabling the controller to communicate via various industrial protocols.
The application
OBARA's resistance welding solutions are primarily used in the automotive industry. Most end users are large car manufacturers and automotive component manufacturers. In recent years, due to the ever-increasing customer demand for industrial automation, the vast majority of application scenarios utilize robotic welding.
The challenge
The industrial communication of such a welding system has many interesting aspects:
- End users choose different industrial robot systems depending on various factors. These robots are connected to the industrial network of their choice, such as DeviceNet, PROFINET, Modbus TCP, CC-Link, and so on. The OBARA welding controller must therefore support a wide range of standard communication protocols to exchange information with the welding robot controller. It is important that the welding controller is able to easily switch protocols according to the end customer's requirements.
- High reliability and availability are crucial. Automotive production lines and parts lines place strict demands on stability and reliability. Any communication failure can lead to a production line shutdown.
- Communication is, of course, not the core functionality of the welding control system. Developing the required communication technology from scratch would require a significant investment from OBARA, plus all the associated maintenance costs.
Anybus solution
After numerous comparisons and tests, OBARA ultimately selected the Anybus M40 module. Leveraging HMS's support and expertise, OBARA quickly completed the initial solution evaluation and product design, and was able to launch a welding controller with a network interface in a short time.
The M40 is a complete solution with all the hardware and software resources needed for communication integrated. The module provides access to all major communication protocols with just one development step.
The product has the following properties:
- Support for more than ten common fieldbus and industrial Ethernet protocols, including Profinet, EtherNet/IP, EtherCAT, Modbus TCP, Profibus and CANopen.
- The M40 module is easy to install by an end user and is ideal for optional applications or applications where networks are frequently switched.
- High reliability. The CompactCom 40 series is used daily in millions of products.
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