Contour II
Contour II: Ideally suited for welding fuel tanks for Hybrid-Vehicles
Increasing numbers of hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles run with fuel tanks, which have been produced on a Contour II resistance seam welding machine. Also the new electric vehicles with “Range Extender” have such fuel tanks.
The drive concept of plug-in hybrids allows the car’s battery to be charged with electricity from the grid, so that short distances can be driven in electric only mode. In another drive concept the empty batteries, which are normally charged using a plug connected to the electric grid, can be re-charged with the help of the vehicle’s internal combustion engine driving a generator. This so called “Range Extender” provides a virtually unlimited operating range to electric vehicles such as the Chevrolet Volt and its European sibling Opel Ampera, or the Fisker Karma sports car.
Under normal driving conditions, it may be, however, not required to operate the gasoline engine over a longer time. This can result in increased internal pressure of the fuel tank up to 35kPa (0.35bar). Plastic tanks can no longer withstand such pressure; also steel fuel tank wall thicknesses have to be increased from today’s 0.8 to 1.0 mm up to 1.5 to 2.0 mm.
The 7-axis Seam Welding Machine Type Contour II with patented double electrode (profiled copper wire), which is combined with a specially for this process developed weld current frequency converter, allows welding of complex part geometries as well as thick walled and coated materials. With the existing trend of plug-in hybrid vehicles, we expect an increase in global demand for fuel tanks made from steel.
Benefit at glance
- High complex 3D tank design can be welded without any problem
- weld speed up to 9 m/min for steel fuel tanks
- Integration in a fully automated production line easy possible
- Production of various tank designs in alternative mode (fixture and program change within seconds)
- Organic, aluminized and galvanized coating can be processed due to patented wire profile
- Stainless steal can be processed
- Low energy consumption (30kVA) due to wire electrode and PULSAR frequency converter
- No electrode redressing necessary (constant welding condition)
- A Fuel tank fixture with its CNC program allows easy adjustment of the weld path (geometry), without a need for mechanical adjustment.
- Tank templates with direct mechanical correlations to the shape of the tank is no longer needed, it therefore eliminates costly rework of the original template if the design should change (with some limitations)
Technical data
Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
Welding length | 2000 x 2000 rectangular + 2 x 100mm radius |
Material thickness | 0.5 – 1.3 mm |
Overlap | > 11 mm |
Copper wire | 2.5 mm profiled |
Weld speed | Up to 9 m/min. |