Compact Robot Cell

Abstract

The present invention relates to a compact cell Z having a protective enclosure 3 for welding operations by a welding robot 15. The compact cell Z has a protective enclosure 3 including a roof 1, side walls 2, a front surface 4A, and a rear surface 4B. The protective enclosure 3 is movable from a first position to a second position and vice versa by guide rails 23 supported on pneumatically actuated guide devices 24, so that in the first position it can enclose a front processing area A1 and in the second position it can enclose a rear processing area A2. The front surface 4A and rear surface 4B of the protective enclosure 3 further include at least one roller shutter device (22A; 22B) in each case. Each roller shutter device (22A; 22B) can open or close a full-face closing roller shutter (5A; 5B) or a modularly combinable roller shutter (18; 20) on a corresponding roller shutter mount (V1; V2; V3) integrated into the roof 1.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a compact cell with a protective enclosure for welding operations by welding robots, in which the processing area to be enclosed is modular and adaptable by moving the protective enclosure. [Background technology]

[0002] Typical robot cells for welding processes known from the state of the art usually comprise one or more processing areas. They are embodied by a processing surface or other receptacle for fixing the workpiece, a mobile welding robot, and an outer housing enclosing the welding robot and the processing surface. During the welding operation of the welding robot, the outer housing protects the welder and directs the generated welding fumes into an extraction device provided. The protective housing is usually provided with doors, windows, or at least curtains, which allow the welder to quickly reach the corresponding processing area during workpiece changes or for manual setting of the welding robot.

[0003] DE212012000203U1 shows a cell enclosure for a welding cell with expandable wall structural elements, in which the shape of the individual walls can be changed and adapted to the movement requirements of the robot in order to temporarily extend the movement range of the welding robot system.

[0004] The object of the present invention is to configure a general welding robot cell so that it has the most compact shape possible with the best possible accessibility to the corresponding processing area, and to optimize the structure of the welding robot cell in order to make the best possible use of the available processing area, without neglecting the protection of the welder. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To achieve the above mentioned object, the features of the independent claims are proposed. The dependent claims relate to preferred embodiments of the invention.

[0006] A compact cell with a protective enclosure for welding and / or cutting operations by a welding robot may include a protective enclosure including at least a cell roof and cell side walls. The protective enclosure may be connected to a cell base frame by a guide device and thus be movable in both directions from a first position to a second position to enclose at least a first or second processing area incorporated in the compact cell. Preferably, the guide device may be pneumatically controlled, but in further preferred embodiments, it may be controlled by a motorized, electric, and / or pneumatic support. Furthermore, the protective enclosure may include roller shutter devices at least on the front and rear surfaces. The roller shutter devices can modularly move the roller shutters up and down to enclose the corresponding processing area located within the protective enclosure, thereby allowing access to the corresponding processing area as needed. By moving the protective enclosure from one position to the next, at least one processing area may be exposed for a welder. On the other hand, another processing area may be completely enclosed by the protective enclosure and thus used as a processing surface for a welding robot installed in the compact cell. This configuration provides a cost-effective and at the same time flexible robot welding cell configuration. In particular, the movement of the protective housing and the resulting modularly switchable processing area allow optimal and safe parallel processing by the welder during the robot's welding operations, while at the same time allowing for a maximum processing area ratio. Furthermore, due to its advantageous design, this arrangement offers a high degree of compactness and transportability, which allows for easy integration into existing systems and easy access from at least three of the four sides and from the top.

[0007] In a further preferred embodiment, the protective housing comprises four side walls, each of which comprises at least one roller shutter device. The aforementioned cell side walls may thus be formed in this further embodiment by roller shutter devices, thereby allowing easy accessibility from all sides. In this further embodiment, the protective housing is configured as a portal on (preferably four) pillars, whereby roller shutter devices and / or welding curtains may be provided between each of the pillars. Particularly preferably, welding curtains may be provided on at least one side of the protective housing, preferably on all sides.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment, the first processing area may preferably be a front processing area facing the front of the protective housing, and the second processing area may preferably be a rear processing area facing the rear of the protective housing.

[0009] Furthermore, the cell side walls are preferably made integrally and comprise an iron or aluminum alloy or a heat-resistant polymer, and preferably include an area for the attachment of a welding curtain. The side walls also preferably include at least one inspection window. In a further particularly preferred embodiment, the inspection window may comprise a heat-resistant UV filter material, allowing inspection of the enclosed processing area. This effectively protects the working welder from potential damage (flying sparks, UV radiation, etc.) during the robot welding operation, while at the same time allowing easy observation of the welding and / or cutting operation through the window. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the inspection window may be provided in a roller shutter, which is preferably attached to the cell side wall.

[0010] Preferably, the side walls may be rigidly connected to the cell roof, preferably by means of welded seams or screwed connections, thus forming the mobile frame of the protective enclosure. A construction of the aforementioned type has the advantage of ensuring a compact, lightweight and stable form of the protective enclosure, thus providing a robust and at the same time cost-effective body to protect the welder.

[0011] The cell roof may preferably be made of a heat-resistant material, preferably metal or plastic, and may preferably include a cover for incorporating further elements.

[0012] Preferably, at least one extraction port may also be mounted on the cell roof, so that when the protective housing is moved, the extraction device provided at the extraction port, preferably integrated into the roof, can be moved along with it. In this way, extraction of harmful welding fumes in different processing areas can be achieved with a single extraction device and therefore implemented efficiently.

[0013] In a further preferred embodiment, the extraction device may be connected to the compact cell (or extraction port) at another location, e.g., externally (in the factory hall), with a movable hose. Similarly, the extraction device may be integrated into the underside of the cell, e.g., into a welding bench used as the processing surface, or into the cell side wall. Also, a downwardly guided extraction system, preferably a movable hose or a movable tube system, may be used for extraction of the enclosed processing space. A further advantage of the latter embodiment is that extraction of only the desired area is carried out by the movable guide system, which further minimizes the required extraction force and therefore the energy costs.

[0014] Preferably, at least one front roller shutter device may be arranged on the front side, and one rear roller shutter device may be located on the rear side of the protective housing. These roller shutter devices provide at least one roller shutter, preferably made of metal, on a roller shutter mount preferably integrated into the roof cover, guiding the roller shutter in a closing movement from the roof surface to the processing surface and in an opening movement from the processing surface to the roof surface. Furthermore, the roller shutter preferably also has an integrated roller grill and / or a window or window area (e.g., made of welded protective glass) for observing the processing area inside the protective housing. When the roller shutters are closed or opened, they are closed flush with the aforementioned side walls or with the sides of the protective housing, so that when both roller shutter devices are in the closed position, a space enclosed on all sides for the processing area located below the protective housing is created, and the open position of at least one roller shutter device allows access to the processing area enclosed by the protective housing. This structure not only allows for efficient enclosure of the corresponding processing area, but also simplifies access to the processing area by partially opening and closing the roller shutter.

[0015] In a particularly preferred embodiment, at least one of the roller shutter devices may be integrated on three sides (particularly preferably on all four sides) of the above-mentioned protective housing, whereby preferably each at least one roller shutter of the roller shutter devices may be able to completely close the corresponding side of the protective housing, thereby allowing a complete enclosure of the corresponding processing area located below the protective housing, whereby the further roller shutter devices implement an increased modularity and optimized accessibility of the processing area.

[0016] Furthermore, preferably, each individual roller shutter of the roller shutter device can be opened and closed independently by a drive module and preferably equipped with a safety device to prevent possible entrapment of objects or body parts. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the individual roller shutters can be modularly connected to divide the processing area into a plurality of different partial processing areas by opening and closing combinations of the individual roller shutters. This arrangement allows the corresponding processing areas to be expanded or adjusted particularly effectively and quickly, thereby making the workflow used even more efficient. Preferably, at least one roller shutter can be provided in the front roller shutter device and the rear roller shutter device. This at least one roller shutter can completely close the corresponding (front or rear) side of the protective housing to adjust these partial processing areas more quickly.

[0017] Preferably the roller shutter device also comprises at least one drive for opening and closing the roller shutter device and preferably also at least one safety device for preventing pinch-in situations. These additional elements allow the movement of the roller shutter to be even more precisely defined by precise electrical control of the roller shutter, the safety criteria of which can be optimised in all dimensions for use in parallel welding operations.

[0018] Additionally, the roller shutter devices can be opened and closed independently of each other, thus allowing for even greater modularity of construction.

[0019] In order to move the protective enclosure from at least one position to another and vice versa, in a preferred construction, at least one guide rail may be attached to the underside of the roof and may be installed on a fixed, immovable guide device. Preferably, the guide device may be controlled pneumatically or by pneumatic support (only), whereby possible wear caused by the movement of the protective enclosure and the risk of injury during movement are minimized by means of integrated sensors. Alternatively, the control of the guide device may be performed electrically or mechanically, which may lead to a more precise or simplified movement mechanism of the protective enclosure.

[0020] In a particularly preferred embodiment of the device, the guide device is also attached to at least one base frame that remains stationary. This allows the protective enclosure to be moved on the guide device along the base frame from a first position for enclosing at least a first processing area to a second position for enclosing a second processing area, and vice versa. Such an embodiment allows the compact cell to have the most optimal shape possible, since the geometry and size of the processing area to be protected thus depend only on the shape of the base frame. Furthermore, the base frame is preferably fixed inside the side wall of the protective enclosure during the movement of the protective enclosure from one position to another and vice versa. This ensures that important guide elements are protected in a particularly efficient manner during movement and also during transportation of the entire compact cell.

[0021] In particular, such a base frame allows optimal mobility of the protective housing even when the number of processing areas is greater than two. For example, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the compact cell may comprise, in sequence along the longitudinal axis, at least a first processing area, a second processing area, and a third processing area. Here, the protective housing can subsequently enclose each of the individual processing areas by linearly moving along the longitudinal axis defined by the base frame, thus subsequently providing optimal protection for the welder even in more complex structures.

[0022] Furthermore, the guide device is preferably configured to allow alternating welding operations, i.e., the protective housing in the second position completely encloses the second processing area. For example, the first processing area is freely accessible to the welder, and when the protective housing is moved to the first position, the front processing area can be enclosed, while the rear processing area is exposed. This allows the welder to always perform parallel processing in preparation for the next processing step or welded piece, which also further improves the efficiency of the welding operation. Furthermore, in a particularly preferred design, the walls of the protective housing and the roller shutter can be flush with the frame of the processing area in at least one position, resulting in advantageous transportability and compactness of the compact cell.

[0023] Therefore, the guide device may preferably be configured such that after moving the protective housing from at least one position to another, at least one processing area is not enclosed by the protective housing from all sides.

[0024] Preferably, the base frame is further connected to at least one modular welding bench, preferably on both sides of the bench. This not only provides additional stability, but also allows for further optimization of the processing areas used. For this reason, the welding bench is preferably also provided with a perforated grid plate. This allows the welding bench to be used as a support for at least one of the processing areas for precise adjustment of the workpiece and other elements. In a particularly preferred embodiment, each processing area further comprises at least one modular welding bench or plate. Here, the welding bench may also comprise additional elements, such as additional welding equipment for the welder, drawers, or connection points to another processing area. This significantly facilitates typical welding operations in a compact cell and allows for faster production.

[0025] Preferably, the modular welding bench may also be configured in relation to the base frame such that the protective enclosure is enclosed on all sides in at least one position, which not only allows for optimal compactness or transportability of the compact cell, but also provides improved protection for the welder.

[0026] The modular welding bench also offers the possibility of further optimizing the above-mentioned preferred partitioning of the work surface. Therefore, in a particularly preferred embodiment, the perforated grid allows at least one further modular partition wall, oriented along the movement direction of the protective housing, to be integrated into one of the work areas and combined with at least one modular roller shutter of the rear roller shutter device or the front roller shutter device. Such a device thus allows the work area to be divided into smaller sub-working areas with the corresponding roller shutter device in the closed position, and also allows these smaller sub-working areas to be enclosed from all sides. Preferably, the partition wall may be realized by a roller shutter. This allows the corresponding work areas to be modularly formed by opening and closing the corresponding roller shutter.

[0027] The welding robot preferably used may be positioned in at least one of the processing areas, on the welding bench, on the side wall of the protective housing, or inside the cell roof on supports or rails connected to the aforementioned elements. In a particularly preferred embodiment, a welding robot, preferably a cobot, may be selected that is provided with a manipulator at at least one station and is movable on at least one rotation axis. Such a robot can thus perform even more complex welding tasks. A perforated grid integrated into the welding bench here allows for even more flexibility in positioning or fixing the welding bench, thus providing a welding system with even more degrees of freedom.

[0028] Preferably, the cobot weighs less than 40 kg, which means that, in contrast to conventional industrial robotic systems, the cobot can be flexibly used wherever needed. The worker can stand back while the robot welds, thus avoiding inhaling welding fumes. Cobots are also very easy to program. With manual guidance and operation via a touch panel, new tasks can be taught after only a short training period. The free-drive function allows the cobot or torch to be easily moved manually to the start and end positions of the job. Intermediate waypoints and sections are also programmed in this manner. Cobots (or collaborative robots) consistently produce high-quality welds with little to no rework required.

[0029] The cobots are also technically designed to be able to work safely in close proximity to humans without the need for protective fences. The cobots ensure the necessary safety regarding direct contact with workers thanks to a unique six-fold force and moment monitoring system that allows flexible interaction between the robot and its environment. Advantageously, the cobots are collaborative types that comply with the technical specification ISO TS15066.

[0030] If the compact cell or cobot welding cell has an additional axis (positioning device), the cobot can be taught position points very quickly by manually moving them without any programming knowledge, and at the same time the workpiece can be positioned in the optimal welding position by the additional axis, and therefore processed productively in several aspects. The cobot performs accurate movement of the torch, and the welding system produces perfect seams. Preferably, the collaborative robot includes a learning mode for learning the processing movements of the welding torch to process the workpiece, and a processing mode for performing the processing movements learned in the learning mode, and the processing mode allows both welding and cutting of the workpiece.

[0031] Furthermore, positioning the welding robot on the side wall of the protective enclosure or on the cell roof allows the welding robot to be moved by moving the protective enclosure to enclose a corresponding processing area, and the welding robot can be used to process workpieces located in that processing area. Thus, such an embodiment not only provides optimal compactness or space utilization of the compact cell, but also allows a larger processing area to be realized at the associated welding bench by such fastening, thereby avoiding any constraints that may arise when moving the protective enclosure or due to the fixed position of the welding robot.

[0032] However, preferably, the guide device of the protective housing is configured such that the welding robot can be enclosed on each side by the protective housing in a first position and preferably by the protective housing in another position, at least relative to the position of the welding robot, and automatically closes on all sides before each welding operation. Such a design makes it possible to ensure optimal safety for the welder without hindering the movement of the protective housing.

[0033] In addition to the fixed attachment of the welding robot, for example by screw fastening, the welding robot can also preferably be positioned on a robot guidance system, i.e., on an eccentric swivel or concentric rotation axis on a rail or welding bench, or in each case on the side wall or cell roof of the protective enclosure. Therefore, in a highly preferred embodiment, the welding robot can be independently moved between the modularly defined partial processing areas described above or switched between corresponding processing areas via an external control system, thus mastering even complex, spatially distributed processing steps. Therefore, the process steps can be further optimized by selecting a robot guidance system, and further processing areas can be formed with minimal area requirements (e.g., with respect to the rotation axis).

[0034] In summary, the above-mentioned features allow for a compact welding cell. This not only allows for optimized method steps that maximize the use of the processing area, particularly due to the movable protective enclosure and the resulting alternating welding operations, but also provides the best possible protection for the associated welder at every stage of the method. In this context, the protective cover, preferably a combination of at least one side wall and a roof, primarily functions as a primary protection device for the integrated elements. Here, a roller shutter device mounted on a roller shutter mount inside the protective enclosure can completely enclose the processing area located below the protective enclosure, thus isolating the welder from harmful influences during welding operations. The protective enclosure is further supported on pneumatically accessible guides on the base frame, allowing the protective enclosure to be moved between a first position for enclosing a first processing area and at least a second position for enclosing a second processing area. With such a design, the optimal alternating welding described above can be achieved. Furthermore, the guide can preferably be designed in such a way that a welding robot, controllable with several degrees of freedom, located in at least one of the processing areas can be enclosed from all sides in at least one position, thereby ensuring not only the best possible protection but also the largest possible processing area for the robot. Further features such as an adjustable welding bench also allow for the individual adaptability required for the corresponding welding process, which can be further maximized by the possible division of the processing area into partial processing areas by a combination of adjustable roller shutter devices and partition walls.

[0035] Such a compact cell therefore offers the highest possible individualization combined with maximum compactness and transportability. Preferably, the compact cell may also be a mobile compact cell with at least one fork pocket for transportation. This allows the compact cell, especially with the protective housing in one of two positions, to be transported by a lift truck using the fork pocket, thus making transportation of the compact cell even easier. Wheels may preferably be used on the underside of the compact cell. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0036] [Figure 1A] FIG. 1 shows a compact cell according to the present invention with the protective housing in a first position. [Figure 1B] 1 shows a side view of a compact cell. [Figure 1C] 1 shows a side view of the compact cell with the protective housing in a second position. [Figure 2A] 1 shows a view of a compact cell with one side of the compact cell visible and the protective housing in a first position. [Figure 2B] 2B shows a view of the compact cell of FIG. 2A with the protective housing in a second position. [Figure 3A] 1 shows a top view of the compact cell without the roof structure and with the protective enclosure in a first position. [Figure 3B] The top view of FIG. 3A shows the protective enclosure in a second position. [Figure 4A] 1 shows a three-dimensional view of an embodiment of a compact cell with several rolling shutters and partition walls, with the protective enclosure in a first position. [Figure 4B] A three-dimensional view of the embodiment of FIG. 4A is shown with the protective housing in a second position. [Figure 5A] 4B shows a top view of the compact cell of FIG. 4A without the roof structure and with the protective enclosure in a first position. [Figure 5B] 5B shows a top view of the compact cell of FIG. 5A with the protective housing in a second position. [Figure 6A] 1 shows a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a compact cell with a roller shutter device taken along its transverse axis. [Figure 6B] 6B shows a detailed view of the guide device of FIG. 6A. [Figure 6C] 1 shows a representation of a compact cell without a protective housing. [Figure 7] 10 shows a top view of a further embodiment of a compact cell with linear guide rails for a welding robot without a roof structure. [Figure 8A] 10 shows a left-hand cross-sectional view of a further embodiment of a compact cell with a welding robot on an eccentric shaft, with the protective housing in a first position. [Figure 8B] The cross-sectional view of FIG. 8A shows the protective enclosure in a second position. [Figure 9A] 1 shows a cross-sectional view of the left side of a further embodiment of a compact cell with several roller shutters, with the protective housing in a first position; [Figure 9B] The cross-sectional view of Figure 9a shows the protective enclosure in a second position. [Figure 10] 10 shows a front view of a further embodiment of a compact cell with a welding robot on a connection device attached to the underside of the cell roof. [Figure 11] 11 shows a three-dimensional view of the embodiment of FIG. 10 with the protective housing in a second position. [Figure 12A] FIG. 10 shows a front view of a further embodiment of a compact cell with a welding robot on linear guide rails attached to the underside of the cell roof. [Figure 12B] A three-dimensional view of the right side of the embodiment of FIG. 12A is shown with the protective housing in a second position. [Figure 12C] A cross-sectional view of the right side of the embodiment of FIG. 12A is shown with the protective housing in a first position. [Figure 13A] 10 shows a side view of a further embodiment of a compact cell with three processing areas positioned one behind the other, with the protective housing in a second position. [Figure 13B] 13B shows a side view of the protective housing embodiment of FIG. 13A. [Figure 13C]13B shows a three-dimensional view of the compact cell embodiment of FIG. 13A. [Figure 13D] 3 shows a three-dimensional view of a further embodiment of a compact cell with three processing areas positioned one behind the other and manipulators attached to the processing areas, with the protective housing in a third position. FIG. [Figure 13E] 13D shows a three-dimensional view of the compact cell embodiment of FIG. 13D with the protective housing in a second position. [Figure 13F] Two front views of the compact cell embodiment of FIG. 13D are shown with the protective housing in a third position (top view) and a second position (bottom view). [Figure 14A] 13B shows a front view of the compact cell embodiment of FIG. 13A with the protective housing in a third position. [Figure 14B] 14B shows a three-dimensional representation of the compact cell embodiment of FIG. 14A. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0037]

[0023] The following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention is given with reference to the exemplary drawings. The features of the embodiments may be combined in whole or in part, and the present invention is not limited to the described embodiments. Furthermore, to the extent possible, reference numerals with the same names refer to the same features of the present invention in all drawings.

[0038] 1A shows the externally visible shape of a first embodiment of the compact cell Z, together with a protective housing 3. The protective housing 3 comprises a roof 1 and side walls 2. The roof 1 and side walls 2 are rigidly connected to each other and enclose a modular welding bench 8 that can be used as a processing surface. Preferably, the side walls 2 of the protective housing 3 are provided with at least one window 7 for observing the welding operation inside the compact cell Z, and the roof 1 includes an extraction opening 6. Harmful welding fumes can be removed by an extraction device through the extraction opening 6.

[0039] Additionally, roller shutter devices 22A, 22B (not shown in this figure; see, e.g., FIG. 6A) are incorporated into the front and rear faces 4A, 4B of the protective housing 3. This allows the front face 4A and protective housing 3 to be flush with the side wall 2 by the front roller shutter 5A, and the rear face 4B to be closed by the rear roller shutter 5B (not shown in this figure). This design allows the processing area located below the protective housing 3 to be enclosed on all sides. However, a preferably incorporated safety device (not shown) prevents movement of the roller shutters 5A, 5B when an element below or between them is detected, thereby preventing damage or injury due to pinching during normal operation.

[0040] The adjustable welding bench further comprises a drawer device 9 suitable for tools and materials, and a further welding device 10. This allows the welding operations carried out in the compact cell Z to be further optimized.

[0041] 1B and 1C show possible positions of the protective housing 3 and the corresponding processing areas A1 and A2. In FIG. 1B, the protective housing 3 is positioned in a first position. This means that the front of the modular welding bench 8, together with the first processing area A1, can be enclosed on all sides by the protective housing 3, thus creating a welding area that is safe for the welder. In this case, the movement of the protective housing 3 is configured so that in the first position of the protective housing 3, the rear processing area A2 is fully exposed and can therefore be used by the welder to prepare the first workpiece 11 in parallel with the welding operation inside the protective housing 3 or to process it separately. In this embodiment, the rear processing area A2 also includes an adjustable processing table 12 with a grid of holes. The processing table 12 is rigidly connected to the welding bench 8 for an optimized workflow.

[0042] FIG. 1C shows the embodiment of the compact cell Z already shown in FIG. 1B, but with the protective housing 3 moved to a second position. In this case, the rear processing area A2 is located inside the protective housing 3 and can therefore be enclosed from all sides by closing the roller shutters 5A, 5B on the front and rear sides 4A, 4B of the protective housing 3. In contrast, when the protective housing 3 is in this position, the front processing area A1 is exposed and therefore available to a welder for processing or removing a second workpiece 13. Here, a first workpiece 11 in the enclosed processing area A2 can be processed in parallel by a welding robot inside the protective housing 3. This repositioning of the protective housing 3 thus makes it possible to realize optimized alternating welding operations. In addition to the welding operation performed by the robot here, a welder can perform or prepare the next processing step in one of the processing areas at any time. Further integration of the welding device shown in this embodiment inserted into the welding bench 8 or a perforated grid inserted into the table surface 14 also allows for further individualization of the corresponding processing areas. Furthermore, the designation of the first and second positions is not limited to the exemplary allocation of the exemplary embodiment. A reverse definition between front and rear, or between the first and second positions, is also possible. Preferably, the manipulator can be freely positioned at a number of different positions on the perforated grid base (table surface 14). Preferably, a collaborative robot may be mounted on the perforated grid base for easy positioning. Preferably, the perforated grid system is not screwed, thus ensuring easy positioning.

[0043] Figures 2A and 2B show, in a three-dimensional representation rotated to the left, the advantages of the movable protective enclosure 3. Figure 2A shows the protective enclosure 3, also called the protective cover, in a first position. The closed front roller shutter 5A, which is flush with the cell side 2 and the welding bench 8, makes it possible to provide an approximately cubic structure that is ideal for transportation or integration into existing systems.

[0044] 2B shows the protective housing 3 in its second position, exposing the front processing area A1. The perforated grid table surface 14 inserted into the adjustable welding bench 8 can be used to position the workpiece 13 so that it is processed to the correct shape, or to incorporate any elements that support the welding operation. The cavity formed between the table surface 14 and the base part of the platform 8 can also be used to insert further equipment into the first processing area A1, thus further optimizing the workflow. The protective housing 3 in its second position can also enclose any openings that may be formed into this cavity, which will optimally protect the incorporated elements.

[0045] 3A and 3B show the interior and connecting elements of the compact cell Z in an embodiment of the welding robot fixation. In FIG. 3A , which shows the compact cell Z from above with the protective housing 3 in the first position, the welding robot 15 is attached to a support 16 fixed to the perforated grid of the welding bench 8. This allows the welding robot 15 to be moved within the first processing area A1 by manipulators positioned on various arm joints, while its base remains fixed in position on the platform 8. Furthermore, adjustment of the welding plate 12 of the second processing area A2 relative to the welding bench 8 is performed by a movable swivel arm 21. The movable swivel arm 21 can be fixedly attached to the platform 8 by a connecting element 28 for precise positioning. With such an arrangement, the processing platform 12 of the second processing area A2 can be modularly exchanged with the welding bench 8 and folded or removed for transportation purposes, which further increases the compactness and efficiency of the compact cell Z.

[0046] 3B further illustrates the embodiment of FIG. 3A, where the protective housing 3 has been moved to a second position. In this case, the protective housing 3 can enclose the second processing area A1 in this position, and the welding robot 15 together with the support 16 is configured to remain located within the protective housing 3. In this manner, optimal protection of the welding processor can be achieved during the movement of the protective housing 3 and when the protective housing 3 is in its two final positions. The freedom of movement of the welding robot 15 also allows for free repositioning of the welding head from the second workpiece 13 in the first processing area A1 to the workpiece 11 in the second processing area A2, thus ensuring simplified switching of processing operations from one processing area to another.

[0047] 4A and 4B show a further embodiment of the compact cell Z, in which the first processing area A1 can be divided into adjustable partial processing areas AB1 and AB2 by introducing independently adjustable roller shutters 18, 20 and a partition wall 19. By implementing such a structure, the processing areas used by the welding robot 15 or welder can be further individualized, which leads to an optimal utilization of the corresponding processing areas A1, A2.

[0048] In the illustration shown in FIG. 4A, where the protective housing 3 can again be seen in its first position, the front face of the protective housing 3 includes, for example, two, preferably equally sized, independently adjustable roller shutters 18, 20. Here, only the left adjustable roller shutter 18 is closed, modified by an additional partition wall 19, which can also be realized by a roller shutter, inserted in the center of the welding bench 8, forming a separate additional partial processing area AB2 for the welding robot. Meanwhile, the open right roller shutter 20 allows a welder to process, for example, a third workpiece 17 in the right partial processing area AB1 in parallel. This allows for processing on both sides (partial processing area AB1 and rear processing area A2), i.e., the simultaneous parallelization of several welding operations, in the first position of the protective housing 3 in this embodiment. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the individual adjustable roller shutters 18, 20 and partition wall 19 can be connected and separated again and can be opened and closed independently of each other, thereby ensuring optimal access to the individual partial processing areas AB1, AB2 or processing areas A1, A2.

[0049] 4B shows the embodiment of FIG. 4A again, but now with the protective housing 3 in a second position, in which both the left roller shutter 18 and the adjustable right roller shutter 20 are closed. The partition wall 19 is still present here and continues to form two partial processing areas AB1, AB2. However, in this case, the partial processing areas AB1, AB2 are clearly separated by the protective housing 3 from the corresponding robot processing area by the housing of the second processing area A2, which is located with the welding robot 15. Thus, in this embodiment, even two partial processing areas, or more partial processing areas with a corresponding number of partition walls, can be realized for welding operations performed by one welder.

[0050] 5A and 5B are top views of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, identifying the location and function of the welding robot 15 with respect to the modular roller shutters 18, 20 and partition wall 19 previously described.

[0051] 5A shows welding robot 15 with support 16 according to the above-described function, positioned in the roller shutter arrangement shown in FIG. 4A. Support 16 for welding robot 15 is attached to table surface 14 so that the shortest distance, if any, between welding robot 15 and partition wall 19 is achieved, allowing the welding robot to reach the entire space of part-working area AB2 enclosed by partition wall 19 and left-side roller shutter 18. Similarly, the illustrated embodiment may be designed so that welding robot 15 can move between two part-working areas AB1, AB2 throughout the entire welding operation, with partition wall 19 remaining in place to protect the welder on the side of the part-working area not currently being used by welding robot 15. Thus, in this case, a very compact alternating welding method can be implemented that can be used on only one side, allowing the welder and welding robot 15 to continuously alternate between first part-working area AB1 and second part-working area AB2. Such a method is advantageous, for example, when preparation for another welding operation is being carried out simultaneously in the second processing area A2 and therefore the protective housing 3 cannot be moved from the first position to the second position.

[0052] Figure 5B shows a separate variant of the welding operation using the same welding robot 15 as that introduced in the embodiment shown in Figure 4B. Such an arrangement, and in particular the partition wall 19 introduced in the front processing area A1, also makes it possible to implement an alternating two-person welding system without any problems, since the welding robot 15 can weld independently in the second processing area A2 and the workpieces 11, 13, 17 can likewise be exchanged independently by different welders by opening and closing modular roller doors 18, 20.

[0053] 6A, a side cross-section of the compact cell Z with the protective housing 3 in the first position, also shows roller shutter devices 22A, 22B for opening and closing the modular roller shutters 18, 20 located on the front side 4A, and roller shutter 5B of the protective housing 3 located on the rear side 4B, according to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4A, 4B, 5A, and 5B. In this case, the corresponding roller shutters 18, 20, 5B are initially attached to roller shutter mounts V1, V2, V3 integrated into the roof 1 or into cavity structures 29A, 29B of the roof 1. This allows them to be stored in the most protected manner possible during movement of the protective housing 3 or during general welding processes. Motors (not shown) with control units coupled to the roller shutter devices 22A, 22B control the opening and closing of the roller shutters 18, 20, 5B.

[0054] FIG. 6A also shows a guide structure used to move the protective enclosure 3. This guide structure is also shown enlarged in FIG. 6B. To precisely move the protective enclosure 3, two linear guide rails 23 are attached along the front axis of the protective enclosure 3 to the underside of the roof 1 or the aforementioned hollow structural frame. The length of the guide rails 23 defines the travel distance of the associated protective enclosure 3. Each guide rail 23 rests on two pneumatically controllable guide devices 24 that move the protective enclosure 3 in each direction via the same guide rails 23 to move it from a first position to a second position and vice versa. To improve the stability of the movement mechanism, the corresponding guide devices are also rigidly connected to a base frame 25 and, via further connections of the base frame 25 to the corresponding side walls of the welding bench 8, to both sides of the latter. This structure, particularly due to the base frame 25's tight fit to the welding bench 8, allows optimal stabilization of the processing of the protective enclosure 3 while maintaining the compact size of the compact cell Z. 6C, which shows the embodiment of the compact cell Z from FIGS. 1 to 3 in a three-dimensional view without the protective housing 3, also shows the structure of the base frame 25 in more detail. In this case, the base frame 25 is rigidly connected on both sides to the corresponding outer sides of the welding bench 8 and forms a beam structure at the rear end of the welding bench 8. The beam structure is installed at the rear corners of the welding bench 8 for additional stabilization and defines the height of the corresponding protective housing 3. Therefore, at the top end of the beam structure, a pneumatic guide device 24 is attached for moving the supported protective housing 3, thereby further benefiting from the stability of the base frame 25 with regard to the movement of the protective housing 3 when the guide rails 23 of the protective housing 3 are in the appropriate position.

[0055] FIG. 7 shows a top view of another embodiment of the compact cell Z. Here, the protective housing 3 is shown in the first position and is provided with the roller shutter structure already shown in FIGS. 4A and 5A, respectively. In particular, in this case, the welding robot 15 is adjusted on a linear guide rail 26 parallel to the longitudinal axis of the welding bench 8, which allows the welding robot 15 to move between the two partial processing areas AB1 and AB2 of the first processing area A1 in a simplified manner and to reach the individual areas of the partial processing areas AB1 and AB2 or the workpieces 13 and 17 in an improved manner. Furthermore, the support 30 of the welding robot 15, connected to the guide rail 26, is rotatably mounted, which allows equally simplified access to the second processing area A2 or the workpieces 11 attached therein when the protective housing 3 is repositioned. A control unit (not shown), connected to the motor of the guide rail 26, also enables the welding robot 15 to program its workflow.

[0056] 8A and 8B also show a further embodiment of a welding robot support 27 in a side view of the embodiment of the protective enclosure 3 already shown in FIGS. 1-3. In FIG. 8A, the protective enclosure 3 is in a first position, and in FIG. 8B, it is in a second position. In this embodiment, the welding robot 15 is adjusted on a rotary shaft support 27 eccentrically mounted on the welding bench plate 14, which allows the welding robot 15 to move in the direction of the front face 4A or rear face 4B of the protective enclosure 3 as an additional degree of freedom, thereby enabling it to move more precisely and in a simplified manner toward the corresponding workpiece 11, 13. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 7, the working surface can be used even more effectively with the eccentric rotary shaft 27 compared to a fixed linear guide rail 26, which further optimizes the illustrated embodiment compared to the previously shown one.

[0057] 9A and 9B also show the embodiment of the welding robot support 27 shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B in the embodiment of the protective housing 3 provided with the modular roller shutters 18, 20 already shown in FIGS. 4A, 4B, 5A, and 5B. FIG. 9A shows the corresponding protective housing 3 in a first position, while FIG. 9B shows the protective housing 3 in a second position. This combines the high adjustability of the division of the work area by the individually positionable roller shutters 18, 20, 5B with the precise control of the welding robot 15 relative to the workpiece 11 by the eccentrically mounted support shaft 27. Furthermore, none of the illustrated embodiments interfere with the movement of the protective housing 3 toward the first or second position, which equally illustrates the high adjustability of the illustrated invention.

[0058] Figures 10 and 11 are intended to illustrate a further embodiment of the compact cell Z. In these figures, in the embodiment of the protective enclosure 3 already shown in Figures 1 and 2, a welding robot 15 can be positioned above the welding bench by means of a connection device 30 permanently attached to the cell roof 1.

[0059] 10 shows a front view of the above-described embodiment, where in particular the positioning of the welding robot 15 above the workpieces 13 to be processed ensures improved accessibility of the workpieces 13 for the welding robot 15 and therefore further optimizes the accuracy of the associated welding operation. This embodiment also offers the advantage that the welding robot 15 is attached to a mobile protective enclosure 3 and can therefore move together with the protective enclosure 3, which not only avoids any restrictions on the movement of the protective enclosure around the fixed position of the welding robot 15, but also allows the control unit attached to the protective enclosure 3 to bring the welding robot 3 even closer to the corresponding workpieces 11, 13, 17.

[0060] Figure 11 also shows in a three-dimensional representation the embodiment described with reference to Figure 10, seen from the bottom of the compact cell Z. In particular, this representation again shows in more detail the position of the connection device 30, by which the welding robot 15 is connected to the cell roof 1. It can further be seen that by mounting the welding robot 15 on the protective housing 3, a larger processing surface can be realized on the welding bench 8, which further optimizes the work-cell area ratio of the compact cell Z.

[0061] 12A to 12C are intended to illustrate a further embodiment of the positioning of the welding robot, in which the welding robot 15 is further connected via a connecting device 30 to linear guide rails 31 attached to the roof of the protective housing 3 and combined with the embodiment of the protective housing 3 together with the welding bench 8 already shown in FIGS.

[0062] 12A shows a front view of this compact cell Z. Here, the welding robot 15 can move between the two partial processing areas AB1, AB2 via linear guide rails 31 aligned parallel to the front roller shutter, and thus optimally reach the workpieces 13, 17 separated from each other by the partition wall 19. Positioning the welding robot 15 relative to the cell roof 1 of the protective housing 3 also has the advantage that the size of the processing surfaces of the partial processing areas AB1, AB2 on the welding bench 8 is not further reduced by the welding robot 15 or the corresponding guide rails 31, and that moving the welding robot 15 during the movement of the protective housing 3 allows even more accurate movement of the welding robot 15 to the corresponding workpiece.

[0063] 12B and 12C are intended to illustrate a side cross-section of the embodiment of the compact cell Z already shown in FIG. 12A. Of these figures, FIG. 12B shows the protective housing 3 in the second position, while FIG. 12C shows the same device with the protective housing in the first position. In addition to the advantages already mentioned, what is particularly clear here is that the movement of the protective housing 3 in this embodiment is determined by the shape of the base frame 25 or the size of the guide rails 23, and therefore there are no further constraints (e.g., maximum movement distance due to elements fixed on the welding bench 8). This embodiment therefore allows for larger or even compact cells Z that can be shaped in a geometrically free manner.

[0064] 13A to 13C show a further embodiment of the compact cell Z. Here, the design of the protective enclosure 3 described above together with the welding robot 15 attached to the cell roof 1 is combined with a welding bench comprising three processing areas A1, A2, A3.

[0065] 13A shows a side view of the compact cell Z with the protective housing 3 in a second position, i.e., enclosing the second processing area A2. Unlike the previous embodiment, the processing areas A1, A2, and A3 in this embodiment are not defined by two or more welding plates, but are instead arranged one behind the other and overlap each other on a single welding bench 8. Here again, the first processing area A1 represents the front processing area A1 of the compact cell Z relative to the front surface 4A of the protective housing 3 (see, e.g., FIG. 12C), while the second processing area A2 and the third processing area A3 represent the central and rear processing areas of the present invention.

[0066] Furthermore, the aforementioned base frame 25 or guide device 24 is configured in this case so that the protective enclosure 3 can be continuously moved from a first position for enclosing the first processing area A1, via a second position for enclosing the second processing area A2, to at least a third position for enclosing the third processing area A3, and vice versa, so that at least each area of ​​the welding bench 8 located below the protective enclosure 3 can be enclosed once by the movement of the protective enclosure 3, and only the unenclosed areas are exposed. This has the advantage that any number of processing areas can be provided, so that not only can one or two welders prepare or process the workpieces 11, 13, 17 in parallel with the welding robot, but also the compact cell Z can be assembled as desired depending on the requirements of the corresponding welding job. Preferably, the movement of the protective enclosure 3 can be more precisely determined by the control unit, so that the position of the protective enclosure 3 can be redefined at any time before the corresponding welding operation.

[0067] 13B also illustrates the protective enclosure 3 of this embodiment in more detail. The corresponding roller shutters 5A, 5B, 5C may be equipped with protective curtains 32A, 32C, so that when the roller shutters 5A, 5B, 5C are lowered, the protection of the welder is ensured while at the same time allowing observation of the inside of the protective enclosure 3. Furthermore, preferably, these protective curtains (or roller shutter grill structures) 32A, 32B can be automatically closed when the welding robot 15 located inside the protective enclosure 3 is performing a welding operation, thereby completely preventing jump sparks or possible release of welding fumes.

[0068] 13C also shows a three-dimensional visualization of the same embodiment, with the roller shutters 5A, 5C of the protective enclosure 3 still in the closed state. It can be seen in particular here that the compact cells of this embodiment can be serviced from each side, and the associated protective enclosure 3 can be accessed through at least one roller shutter 5A, 5C on three of the four sides of the protective enclosure 3. This arrangement therefore provides optimized accessibility, in particular in the case of parallel welding operations by welding robots 15.

[0069] 13D-13F illustrate another embodiment of a compact cell Z with three processing areas A1, A2, A3, in which further receptacles with manipulators 32 are added, which are arranged along the longitudinal axis of the welding bench plate 14 and positioned above the first and second processing areas.

[0070] 13D shows a three-dimensional view of this embodiment with the protective housing 3 in a third position, i.e., on the third processing area A3. In this case, the manipulator 32 is equipped with a rotation axis, arranged here along the long side of the welding bench plate 14, for clamping the workpiece 33, which rotation axis rotatably supports the workpiece 33 and thus makes it accessible to the welding robot 15 from all sides during the welding operation. The shape and degrees of freedom of the manipulator 32 are not limited to those shown in FIGS. 13D to 13F. Therefore, in further embodiments, the manipulator 32 can preferably translate the workpiece 33 relative to its original position or rotate the workpiece 33 about more than one axis, thus ensuring optimal processing of the workpiece 33 by the welding robot 15. Also, several manipulators 32 can be implemented, preferably on several welding bench plates 14.

[0071] Furthermore, the side walls 4C, 4D of the protective housing 3 are provided with lightweight welding curtains for optimized movement of the protective housing 3 and for protecting the manipulator 32 from possible contact damage, so that, particularly when the protective housing 3 is moved from the processing area A3 without the manipulator 32 (see FIG. 13D) to the processing areas A1, A2 where the manipulator 32 is provided, no damage is caused to the workpiece 33 inserted into the manipulator 32 even when the side walls 4C, 4D are lowered as shown in FIG. 13E. Preferably, in a further embodiment of this protective housing 3, openings or opening hatches may be provided in the side walls 4C, 4D according to the shape of the manipulator 32 or the workpiece 33. This allows the manipulator, the workpiece 33, 32, or part of the workpiece 33, 32 to be entirely enclosed without coming into contact with the protective housing 3.

[0072] Such a construction therefore allows even more precise processing of the workpiece 33 by the welding robot 15, in particular by means of the integrated manipulator 32. Furthermore, due to the modular adjustability of the processing areas A1, A2, A3 and the freely selectable size of the manipulator 32, partial processing steps can also be carried out on one and the same workpiece 33.

[0073] 13D and 13E, again in front view, the drawing in Figure 13F shows this in more detail: for example, by moving the protective housing 3 to a second position (Figure 13F below), the workpiece inserted in the manipulator 32 can be only partially enclosed by the protective housing 3 and therefore only partially processed by the welding robot 15 attached to the roof 1, so that the welder still has the option of preparing and further modifying the part of the workpiece 33 that is still free, for example in the first processing area A1. This means that parallel welding operations can also be carried out on larger workpieces and, moreover, complex processing steps requiring multiple preparation or processing steps of the workpiece can be realized without problems.

[0074] The protective enclosure shown in Figure 13E has four sides, two of which have weld curtains and the other two have roller shutter devices on each side. Thus, the cell side walls in this further embodiment can be formed by roller shutters or weld curtains, allowing for easy accessibility from all sides of the protective enclosure. The protective enclosure in this further embodiment can be configured as a movable / movable portal on four pillars, with the roller shutter devices and / or weld curtains preferably provided between each of the pillars.

[0075] 14A and 14B further illustrate the embodiment of the compact cell Z already shown in FIGS. 13A-13C. In this case, the three roller shutters 5A, 5C of the protective housing 3 are open, and the protective housing 3 has been moved to a third position, or is located in the third processing area A3. Positioning of the welding robot 15 by the connecting device 31 of the cell roof 1 again allows optimal processing of the workpiece 11, and further movement of the welding robot 15 by the protective housing 3 allows it to be positioned in another processing area A1, A2 after its processing is completed. This process can preferably be automated, for example by the above-mentioned control unit (not shown), thereby enabling an optimized processing chain. This embodiment of the compact cell Z thus achieves optimal accessibility of the individual processing areas in combination with the possibility of expanding and automating parallel welding operations as desired.

Claims

1. A compact cell (Z) having a protective enclosure (3) for welding and / or cutting operations by a welding robot (15), a cell roof (1) and at least one cell side wall (2) connected to the cell roof (1); the protective enclosure (3) having at least the cell roof (1) and the at least one cell side wall (2); At least a first processing area (A1) and a second processing area (A2) for welding operations; Equipped with The protective housing (3) is configured to be movable in at least two directions, and when in a first position, it encloses the first processing area (A1) and exposes the second processing area (A2), and when in a second position, it encloses the second processing area (A2) and exposes the first processing area (A1). Compact cell (Z).

2. The protective housing (3) has at least one roller shutter device (22A; 22B), The roller shutter devices (22A; 22B) allow access to the processing areas (A1; A2; A3) enclosed by the protective housing (3) when in an open position, and close the processing areas (A1; A2; A3) for welding operations when in a closed position. A compact cell (Z) according to claim 1.

3. a welding robot (15) is supported by said protective housing (3), in particular on said cell roof (1) and / or on said cell side wall (2) so that they can move together, said welding robot being preferably a collaborative robot; A compact cell (Z) according to claim 1.

4. The protective housing (3) has a cell front surface (4A) including at least a front roller shutter device (22A) and a cell rear surface (4B) including a rear roller shutter device (22B) adjacent to the cell side wall (2); the protective enclosure (3) can be at least partially closed by the front roller shutter device (22A) and / or the rear roller shutter device (22B); A compact cell (Z) according to claim 1.

5. the protective housing (3) comprises at least one roller shutter device (22A; 22B) and / or a welding robot (15) supported in the cell roof (1) and / or on the cell side wall (2), the protective housing (3) being capable of closing off the processing area from all sides when the at least one roller shutter device (22A; 22B) is in a closed position, Preferably, the roller shutter devices (22A; 22B) are operable to open and close independently of each other. A compact cell (Z) according to claim 1.

6. the compact cell (Z) is configured for alternating welding operations, such that the protective enclosure (3) in the second position encloses the second processing area (A2) for the welding operation and in particular exposes the first processing area (A1) for access by an operator to set or change workpieces in the other processing areas (A1; A3) at the same time, The protective housing (3) can be moved from at least the second position to the first position to change the processing area, so as to enclose the first processing area (A1) and simultaneously expose at least the second processing area (A2). A compact cell (Z) according to claim 1.

7. at least a first processing area (A1), a second processing area (A2) and at least a further processing area (A3) are arranged successively along the longitudinal axis, The protective housing (3) encloses the processing area (A1; A2; A3) by continuously moving the protective housing (3) in a linear direction along the longitudinal axis. A compact cell (Z) according to claim 1.

8. the processing areas (A1; A2; A3) exposed by the protective housing (3) are accessible from at least one side of the processing areas (A1; A2; A3) and from above the processing areas (A1; A2; A3), in particular so that loading into the processing areas (A1; A2; A3) from above by a crane is possible; A compact cell (Z) according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

9. The roller shutter device (22A; 22B) has at least one roller shutter mounting base (V1; V2; V3), which is provided inside the cell roof (1), and preferably the roller shutter mounting base (V1; V2; V3) moves a roller shutter (5A; 5B; 5C; 18; 20) from the cell roof (1) to the floor of the processing area (A1; A2; A3) to close the protective housing (3), and from the floor of the processing area (A1; A2; A3) to the cell roof (1) to open the protective housing (3). A compact cell (Z) according to claim 1.

10. the processing area (A1; A2; A3) can be divided into further partial processing areas (AB1; AB2) by at least one further partition wall (19), preferably the at least one further partition wall (19) being a roller shutter; A compact cell (Z) according to claim 1.

11. The partial processing areas (AB1; AB2) can be enclosed on all sides by the corresponding roller shutters (18; 20) of the roller shutter devices (22A; 22B) and the partition walls (19) of the protective housing (3), and the roller shutters (18; 20) of the partial processing areas (AB1; AB2) can be opened and closed independently of each other. A compact cell (Z) according to claim 10.

12. each processing area (A1; A2; A3) has at least one modular welding bench (8) comprising a table surface (14) including a perforated grid for accurate positioning of the workpieces (11; 13; 17), the manipulators and / or the welding robot (15); A compact cell (Z) according to claim 1.

13. the protective housing (3) has at least one roller shutter device (22A; 22B) on each of its three sides, and particularly preferably on each of its four sides (4A; 4B; 4C; 4D), the roller shutter devices (22A, 22B) are in each case capable of completely closing the three sides, and particularly preferably the four sides (4A; 4B; 4C; 4D) of the protective housing (3) by means of the roller shutters (5A; 5B; 5C) so that the processing area (A1; A2; A3) located below the protective housing (3) can be enclosed from all sides by at least one roller shutter (5A; 5B, 5C) and the cell side wall (2), A compact cell (Z) according to claim 1.

14. a welding robot (15) is provided in one of the processing areas (A1; A2; A3), the welding robot (15) being able to be surrounded on all sides by the protective housing (3) in at least the first position and / or by the protective housing (3) in the second position; A compact cell (Z) according to claim 1.

15. said welding robot (15) being movable along at least one axis by means of a receptacle (16; 26; 27; 30); the receptacles (16; 26; 27; 30) are configured to allow the welding robot (15) to be positioned in all processing areas (A1; A2; A3) located within the protective enclosure (3), and preferably the receptacles (16; 26; 27; 30) include linear guides (26; 31) and / or eccentric shafts (27); The receptacle is provided on the table surface (14), or on the cell roof (1), or on the cell side wall (2). A compact cell (Z) according to claim 14.

16. The protective housing (3) has at least one linear guide rail (23) for movement, the guide rail (23) being provided on the underside of the cell roof (1) and mounted on at least one guide device (24). A compact cell (Z) according to claim 1.

17. Further comprising a modular welding bench (8), the guide device (24) is fixedly connected to a base frame (25) that remains stationary, and preferably the protective housing (3) is pneumatically movable; 17. The compact cell (Z) according to claim 16, wherein the base frame (25) is fixedly connected to the modular welding bench (8).

18. The cell roof (1) has a movable extractor and / or at least one extractor port (6) that can move together with the protective housing (3). A compact cell (Z) according to claim 1.

19. The compact cell (Z) comprises a cell roof (1) and at least one cell side wall (2), said cell roof (1) and said cell side wall (2) being connected to each other to form a protective enclosure (3) for welding and / or cutting operations by a welding robot (15); The compact cell (Z) includes at least a first processing area (A1) and a second processing area (A2) for welding work, The protective housing (3) is configured to be movable in at least two directions, moving the protective enclosure (3) from a first position to a second position so as to enclose one processing area (A1; A2; A3) and simultaneously expose another processing area (A1; A2; A3), A method for constructing said protective enclosure (3).

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