Novarc automates arc welding processes with NovEye Autonomy Gen 2

Around the world, fabricators and contract manufacturers are held to strict standards to provide sophisticated welds across industries like aerospace, mining, energy, shipbuilding, chemical processing, and water treatment. Novarc Technologies Inc. said all of these industries can benefit from its latest product: NovEye Autonomy (Gen 2). 

Novarc yesterday launched the real-time vision processing system, which it said can constantly improve weld quality based on data collection and model enhancement, maximizing productivity and minimizing errors. 

“NovEye Autonomy (Gen 2) is an industry-first, as we have developed the intelligence to fully automate the welding process,” asserted Soroush Karimzadeh, CEO of Novarc. “This is an accomplishment that has resulted from years of data collected through machine learning, and we are extremely excited to be able to offer this solution to the industry.”

Vancouver-based Novarc said it designs and manufactures “full-stack” technologies including collaborative robots, computer vision, and artificial intelligence. The company‘s flagship Spool Welding Robot (SWR) is engineered for pipe, small pressure vessel, and other types of roll welding.

NovEye Autonomy (Gen 2) provides adaptive welding

NovEye Autonomy (Gen 2) uses machine learning to get smarter with data collection and model enhancement, claimed Novarc Technologies.

“NovEye Autonomy (Gen 2) is a truly adaptive welding solution with real-time vision processing and an advanced, complex sensory system,” Karimazadeh said. “It’s powered with advanced, real-time control due to its sophisticated AI and powerful hardware.”

The company added that the system has access to a terabyte-scale of welding videos to learn from, ensuring high precision and reliability.

Novarc has embedded NovEye Autonomy (Gen 2) software into its cobot control system. The system controls the weld pool in the same way a human welder would, allowing workers to delegate boring, repetitive welds to the robot. Users have access to uninterrupted welding due to the system’s multi-pass and multi-layer autonomous welding system, it said. 

The system can handle real-world and multi-layer autonomous welding inconsistencies like HiLo and varying root gaps. NovEye Autonomy (Gen 2) immediately detects inconsistencies and adapts its welding parameters to maintain weld integrity, said Novarc.

NovEye Autonomy can improve worker health, says Novarc

The new system can also easily integrate into existing manufacturing processes across a range of industries, said Novarc Technologies. The Spool Welding Robot, which the company designed with a small footprint and a long reach, makes up the hardware component of NovEye Autonomy. It said this enables the system to fit in almost all fabrication shops, easing the adoption process. 

In general, automation has the potential to reduce human exposure to welding hazards because it positions the operator several meters away from the welding arc, noted Novarc. With NovEye Autonomy (Gen 2), operators can program and observe the weld away from the arc, reducing the risk of exposure to dangerous fumes and radiant heat. 

In addition, the company said its latest system can reduces muscle fatigue, as the welding process is fully automated.

Novarc said NovEye Autonomy (Gen 2) is the result of years of data collected from its fleet of SWR at customer sites in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia. The system has undergone extensive internal and external testing to ensure that all of the features are performing and that weld quality meets American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) standards to ensure unmatched precision and reliability.

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