By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

LA CROSSE — Flame Engineering has installed a new $200,000 Miller robotic welding arm at its La Crosse plant.

The robotic arm, installed in January, replaces a similar piece of equipment the company has operated since the late 1990s.

Flame manufactures LP gas equipment. This includes torches for home, agriculture and tar roofing. Flame Engineering has been operating in La Crosse since the late 1950s and now sells all over the world.

The robotic welding takes about five minutes, whereas hand welding some products might take 20 minutes. It cut labor cost and increased production.

The company has multiple jigs for welding the different types of equipment it manufactures. Metal parts are clapped onto a jig, and the robot’s turn table rotates the parts into place so they can be welded.

The robotic arm can perform multiple welds on multiple pieces during a single pass.

On the afternoon Hays Post visited, workers had parts loaded into the machine for dollies for propane tanks. The arm made multiple welds on each of three bottom plates for the dollies.

Jason Pivonka, Flame Engineering vice president, said the arm is faster and more consistent than a worker hand-welding the parts.

The introduction of the arm into the shop has not eliminated jobs. When the company bought its first robotic welder, it added two workers to program and operate the arm.

In addition to the dollies, the company uses the robotic welder to manufacture tow hitches and construction heaters.

The new arm can weld larger parts, the arm has a larger range of motion and the new machine can weld a lighter weight steel.

“It is so much easier to use and has new technology,” Pivonka said. “It was time for an upgrade.”