Power sources and robots from a single source

ASCHAFFENBURG/HAIGER – Linde Material Handling GmbH is one of the world's largest manufacturers of forklift trucks and warehouse equipment and has been setting standards for solutions for industrial trucks, fleet management and driver assistance systems for more than 50 years. At its production site Aschaffenburg, the company trusts in the technologies by CLOOS for both manual and automated welding. Linde Material Handling does not only use different robot welding systems but also a multitude of CLOOS manual welding machines such as the new QINEO NexT high-tech welding power source.

As a global company, around 13,000 people in more than 100 countries are working for Linde Material Handling. At the Aschaffenburg premises, around 2,500 employees produce more than 40,000 forklift trucks per year. Linde's vehicle offer is unique. It comprises 77 series with up to 382 model variants and around 10,000 equipment options. On the basis of this modular system, Linde manufactures the vehicles and fleets precisely tailored to the individual requirements of every user. Productivity, safety and ergonomics are the key guiding principles for product development and production.

Excellent welding results with QINEO NexT
Although the company has many CLOOS robot systems for automated welding, Linde Material Handling often prefers manual welding in the case of special variants and capacity shortages in the mast production. In this production area there are 17 fix manual welding places where welding is made with CLOOS power sources only. Since October 2018, Linde Material Handling has been using new QINEO NexT welding machines by CLOOS. The heart of the infinitely adjustable MIG/MAG welding power source with external wire drive is an inverter power unit developed by CLOOS which clocks with a high frequency of up to 200 kHz. This results in optimum arc characteristics for highest welding quality - even in the case of complex welding tasks. Furthermore, the digital control allows an individual programming of the welding features. The high efficiency and a comprehensive energy management with stand-by function for inverter and fan meets the highest energy efficiency requirements.

The consistently modular construction with many optional functions  allows many utilisation possibilities - from the basic welding machine for manual welding to the multi-process welding machine for automated robot welding. No matter if manual or automated welding, thin or thick materials or materials requiring an A/C process – the QINEO NexT has the perfect solution for every task. Furthermore, the QINEO NexT can be equipped with all commonly used standard interfaces to digitalise and connect the welding production efficiently.