Project History


Norjen Technologies has done many Engineering projects over the years, here are some of our recent efforts:



KUKA/Miller Robotic Cell (C.L. Malach - Winnipeg, MB) - 2019-Updated(2023)

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This cell features a KUKA KR8 R2100 Hollow Wrist Arc welding robot linked to a Miller Auto-Excess E450 Digital welding system installed with an elongated Binzel water cooled Torch in order to weld various complicated parts for industrial projects in Canada and the United States. There are two (2) sides to the cell, each side associated with a 12 foot wide head stock tail(HSTS). One HSTS has an additional external axis in the middle of the 12 foot span in order to provide 3D axis to parts for welding. The rotation of each HSTS is independent and controlled by an external KUKA 3900 MGU servor motor interfaced to the KUKA controller. While one HSTS on one side of the cell is busy welding parts, shop personnel can safely load or unload parts on the other HSTS. Safety circuits including light curtains in conjunction with KUKA SafeOperations and Beckhoff Controls prevent personnel from entering the robot welding zones during welding and also prevent the robot from entering the other side during manual loading or unloading of parts.


KUKA/Fronius Robotic Cell (Meridian Manufacturing - Winkler, MB) - 2015

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This cell features two (2) KUKA KR30 L16 robots each linked to a Fronius TPS 4000 welding system in order to weld the grain bin legs onto their hopper cone. In order to reach the leg-cone welding positions, each robot is mounted on six foot high pedestal as shown in the accompanying image. There are two (2) sides to the cell, each side associated with an 18 foot diameter Turn Table. Each Turn Table supports and rotates the bottom cone section of the grain bins where the legs are to be welded. The rotation of each independent Turn Table is controlled by a large KUKA 6800 MGU interfaced to the KUKA controller. While one base cone on one side of the cell is being tacked together by shop floor personnel, the other side is being completely welded by both robots operating together. Safety circuits including light curtains and area scanners in conjunction with KUKA SafeOperations prevent personnel from entering the robot welding zones during welding and also prevent the robots from entering the other side during manual tacking.


KUKA/Lincoln Robotic Welding Cell (Haul-All - Lethbridge, AB) - 2014

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This cell features a KUKA KR16L6 robot and a Lincoln Powerwave R350 welding power supply. This is a one-sided cell with a 12" trunion with 2000lbs carrying capacity. The trunion is driven by a KUKA External Axis motor which allows for synchronized welding if needed. This cell is essentially a two-sided cell cut in half to conserve floor space. The electrical and mechanical design of the cell allows for it to by extended to a two-sided cell in the future if required. The Lincoln Powerwave R350 allows for a wide range of welding processes and material types.


KUKA/ESAB Robotic Welding Cell (Prairie West - Saskatoon, SK) - 2013

This cell feature a KUKA KR16L6 robot and an ESAB Aristo 5000i welding power supply used to weld aluminium products for the boating and marine industry. The cell has two 12" trunions on either side of the robot with a carrying capacity of 2000lbs per side. This allows for welding of very large parts, or for many smaller parts on the same fixture. The trunions are powered by KUKA External Axis motors which are fully synchronized with the robot, allowing for welding to continue while the parts are turned (ideal for pipe welding). The two sided setup allows for maximum arc on time. While the operator is loading/unloading on one side the robot can continue to work on the other. Each side has a dedicated operator panel with simple push button operation, making the cell easy to operate and reducing the training required for a new operator to run the cell. The ESAB Aristo 5000i allows for the welding of multiple different materials, including aluminium and steel.


KUKA Robotic Welding Cell (Shur-Lift a.k.a Princess Auto - Winnipeg, MB) - 2011

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This cell uses two KUKA KR6 robots for welding base plates onto hydraulic cylinders. The use of robotic welding greatly increases part throughput, and keeps the weld quality consistent. The cell is controlled by a touchscreen computer running QNX. The touchscreen controls the communication in the system, and has an HMI that is used for setting up and programming parts. Each side has its own dedicated operator control panel and safety system, so both robots can be operated independently of each other. Parts are selected on the touchscreen, and the fixtures for holding the cylinders in place are manipulated using the operator control panels, which are controlled by the touchscreen via Ethernet. The centralized control system makes it easy for one operator to keep both robots working continuously. All of the welding parameters are configurable from the touchscreen; the only time the teach pendants have to be used is for adjusting welding positions. The system software also allows for copying of parts between the two robots, reducing the time required to get parts up and running on both sides.


ABB Robot Water Jet Cutting Systems with Track (Carlson - Winnipeg, MB and St. Cloud, MN) - 2010 and 2012

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This is a robot cell for trimming fiberglass parts using high pressure water jet cutting. The use of an ABB 4600 robot reduces labor costs, and increases productivity and consistency in trimming of fiberglass parts. The addition of the 8 meter track increases the range of the robot, gives it access to more fixtures, allows it to cut larger parts and reduces machine downtime while operators are changing out parts. A Touch Screen and Main Computer are controlled by the QNX operating system. The operator never has to use the robot's teach pendant. Ethernet connectivity to QNX allows the required robot program to be downloaded from the CAD office. The initial cell was so successful that two addition cells were purchased, another for the Winnipeg plant and one for their plant in St. Cloud, Minnesota.


ABB Robot Water Jet Cutting System (Eastside - Winnipeg, MB) - 2009

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This is a robot cell to trim fiberglass parts using high pressure water jet cutting. The use of an ABB 4400 robot reduces labor costs and increases productivity and consistency in trimming of fiberglass parts. The QNX operating system interfaces to the Touch Screen and the robot. QNX also provides a web interface to the companys internal IT network providing production statistics to management personnel.


Motoman K6 Welders (Princess Auto - Winnipeg, MB) - 2008

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This cell is used to weld the end caps onto hydraulic cylinders of various diameters. While each side can be operated independently of each other, both Motoman K6 robots are operated by a single controller. An external axis to turn the cylinders during welding was added by Norjen to each robot. The operator interface is a 15 inch Touch screen and controller and utilizes the QNX multi-tasking pre-emptive operating system.


ABB Wire Wrapping Robot Cell (Centennial Wire - Winnipeg, MB) - 2008

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This cell is used to coil and tie rebar wire for packaging. The ABB robot is used to remove the coil from the coiler and then tie and place it on a conveyor. An Allen Bradley PLC interfaces to the ABB 1400 robot.


Repair of Flight Operations Trainer (Red River - Winnipeg, MB) - 2008

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This is a King Air C90A Multi-Engine Operations Procedure Trainer. The operation of the flight simulator was controlled by an earlier version of the QNX operating system and Norjen Engineers were asked to repair the main computer control system that preforms all the sequencing and simulation in the trainer. This was successfully completed.


Camera Spacer Detector (Westeel- Winnipeg, MB) - 2008

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This was an addon to the existing four(4) ABB M2000 Robotic line mentioned later in this section. The camera setup was designed to detect the colored wooden spacers located between each bundle of sheets i n a specific pile. This detection prevented the robot pick-up cradle from colliding with the wooden spacers.


Four ABB Robot Line (Westeel- Winnipeg, MB) - 2007

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This is a production line used to create wall sheet bundles in the construction of grain bins. The ABB M2000 robots are sequenced to pick up sheets in the correct order with different hole patterns and gauges so that it is easy for contractors in the field to locate the next sheet for placement. The robots are interfaced via Ethernet connectivity and controlled by the QNX operating system.