Meta Celebrates 25 Years Of 'Welding With Vision'

Formed in 1984 as a spin-out from a research project in Oxford University?s engineering science department, Meta Vision Systems (Eynsham, UK) is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year with a continuation of strong global business, despite the recession and thanks in part to export sales of its welding automation systems into the wind energy sector, particularly in continental Europe and the U.S.

That this should be announced on the heels of the impending closure of the UK?s only large-scale wind turbine plant is ironic.

Due to huge demand for alternative energy sources, producers of wind towers around the world often find it difficult to meet demand. Not only is the assembly process time consuming, but also the welds must be of high quality to meet safety criteria. Most of the structural welds are multipass, using high welding currents and relatively slow speeds.

The traditional welding method involves an operator monitoring the process remotely via a camera and positioning the welding torch manually using a joystick. This is tiring and prone to human error. Moreover, operators often need to leave the welding unattended for short periods to perform other tasks. Both of these issues can compromise weld integrity, leading to extensive rework.

For more than ten years, Meta has successfully applied its vision systems to automate multipass welding at the Dutch company, SIF Group BV (Roermond, The Netherlands), which specializes in fabricating monopiles for offshore wind farms and other energy-related applications. Recently, coinciding with the release of Meta?s new DLS300 digital 3D laser scanner, a number of automated welding systems have been installed in partnership with AMET Inc at various wind turbine manufacturers in the U.S.

The industry is using them to help fabricate towers for on- and off-shore wind energy, especially the larger, next-generation structures. Time and manpower savings are allowing the manufacturers to produce more cost effectively and faster, with fewer weld defects.

Meta has survived the normal ups and downs of a high-tech, start-up business to become one of the leading worldwide suppliers of vision systems for automated and mechanised welding. The company?s headquarters and factory are in Eynsham, near Oxford, with subsidiaries in Canada and Germany.

At the time of the original research, vision systems for robotic welding in the automotive industry were the main focus. Although robot welding is still an important part of the company?s business, it has diversified into many other areas such as wind tower welding and pipe production. One of the largest, privately owned manufacturers of spiral pipe in China, for example, placed a large repeat order earlier this year for Meta?s laser-based weld seam tracking systems.

Meta?s first employee following its departure in 1984 from the ?dreaming spires? was Dr. Wolfgang Kölbl, himself an Oxford graduate and now the company?s director of European sales. He commented, ?When we spun the company out of the university, we had little idea of what we were letting ourselves in for. Now, looking back over 25 years from our vantage point as a stable and prosperous international business, you cannot help feeling that we were incredibly naïve when we started it all.?

Jonathan Moore, another Oxford graduate who joined the company in March 1985 and is presently the company?s technical director, reflected on developments in the underlying technology since those heady, early days. ?When we first started, we used a mini computer that had its own air conditioned room to develop the software. It was transferred onto chips and loaded into a big electronics rack that formed part of each system.

?In contrast, later this year we will launch a new product range that will have far more computing capability inside the sensor head itself,? Moore continues. ?One does not appreciate how far technology has moved on until you take a moment at a milestone like this to look back.?

Bob Beattie, who originally joined the company in February 1985 and is now the managing director, said, ?Meta is a very good example of the way in which even relatively small businesses have had to globalise to prosper. We have sold well over 2,000 systems into six continents and exports account for over 95 per cent of turnover.

?Our traditional markets have been Europe, particularly the automotive industry in Germany, ? adds Beattie. ?However, India and China have been important markets for the past few years and at the moment, China seems to be weathering the economic storm better than most. We will continue to focus on providing intelligent, laser vision systems for automated and mechanised welding and are prepared to do so anywhere in the world.?

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

www.meta-mvs.com