Alstom’s Le Creusot site has unveiled the highest-capacity welding robot in the railway sector, developed and manufactured by its supplier Farman, a subsidiary of the Galilé group, which specialises in robotic installations.
The new Farman welding robot is a combination of three robots, custom-built in response to Alstom’s specific needs. It automates welding operations for steel or stainless steel parts and the handling of bulky parts that can weigh up to a tonne and measure five metres in length.
The new installation will also help improve working conditions by taking the strain in operations previously handled by workers and enabling them to gain new skills in robot programming and operation.
Following fine-tuning and operator training, the new Farman welding robot will be fully operational by the end of May.
This investment in innovation of over EUR 1 million euros is aligned with the development strategy for the Alstom site in Le Creusot, the group’s centre of excellence for bogie design and production. The site’s expertise is deployed in major rail projects such as the new-generation RER and Avelia Horizon, the fifth generation of TGV. Around thirty projects are currently being developed and manufactured at the site. The new welding robot will help respond to this high level of activity by reducing production times.
Alstom’s Le Creusot site currently employs over 700 people, who design, approve, industrialise and manufacture 1,500 bogies and 15,000 dampers on average every year for the group’s whole range of rolling stock.
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