Heat exchanger assembly: robotic cells for brazed plate units

A brazed plate heat exchanger is made up of several types of corrugated plates that must be stacked in a predefined, controlled sequence. The infeed pallets generally hold up to 4 different plate types, whose arrangement varies according to the model in production. A sequence or orientation error compromises the thermal performance of the entire exchanger and only shows up after furnace brazing, when the product can no longer be recovered.

The Sytec robotic cell for heat exchanger assembly solves this problem at the root.

Two articulated robots pick up the plates in the programmed sequence and position them on inclined centering and inspection stations. The inspection systems verify plate consistency, the corrugation configuration, the external and internal diameters of the fluid-passage holes, the presence of the internally welded copper sheet and any detachment of the weld points. Only conforming plates move on to the forming station. Non-conforming plates are unloaded separately.

The forming station, automatically managed on the vertical axis, stacks the plates onto the base, controlling horizontal centering and the vertical pressing of the forming pack at a programmed frequency. This plate-stacking machine ensures the vertical straightness of the finished product. Once forming is complete, the exchanger is transferred onto motorized chain conveyors and made available to the operator for the cover assembly before the subsequent stages.

The system handles different models in base dimensions, plate sequence and plate count. The batch sequence is fully manageable from the control system.