KTM Sportcycles AG needed a new solution to join the frame section of the new sports motorcycle it introduced earlier this year.

The KTM 1190 RC8 superbike put the Mattighofen, Austria-based manufacturer into the top echelon of motorcycle manufacturers. It's a hot new bike designed to impress with its looks and performance.

Early in its production, KTM needed to find a way to join the lightweight, rigid frame sections for the bike.

The answer to its search was to automate 90 percent of the welding assembly.

Tests by KTM engineers proved that the results met stringent criteria the company set for its new entry to the super sports bike market, and for all of its other products.

KTM used a MagicWave 4000 welding system from Fronius (www.fronius.com) to perform the automated welding.

Because of the image the RC8 motorcycle was intended to project, weld seams on its frame must be strong and must look good.

All the joined areas in the RC8 frame are TIG-welded because the traditional rippled TIG weld seam conveys the sense of prestige and quality that customers look for, KTM Sportcycles said in a news release on the bike.

However, the drawback to TIG welding is its relatively low productivity. Typically, TIG welding can be two-thirds slower than more updated MIG welding methods.

KTM's technical experts devoted three years to the development of the RC8 project, and the result is a frame that can be assembled quickly and without the shortcomings of the TIG process.

The frame is the “heart and soul” of the racing machine. It consists of joined tubing sections that can withstand the mechanical and dynamic stress of being driven on a road or around a grueling track.

The robot welding plant where the RC8 frames are welded has been working at full capacity on a three-shift basis since the beginning of 2008. Josef Baier, production manager at KTM, said.

Baier said the MagicWave 4000 system allows KTM to produce very fine, clean TIG seams. The frame is made from 1.2-mm (0.0472-in.) sheet and tubing made from 25 CrMo4 steel.

The system was designed with a pallet feeding system developed by KTM to feed subassemblies to the ABB robot that welds the frame. The effective throat thickness of the fillet and single-V butt welds is 2 mm (0.0787 in.), and the joint clearance that is bridged is 2 mm (0.0787 in.).

Baier said the reason that TIG welding is so successful from a technical point of view for the frame is that it produces a nearly perfect weld toe. The “pulses” that are typical of the TIG method cause the filler material to melt onto the frame in the form of a series of scallops.

The high, but accurately controlled heat input, developed in TIG pulse welding allows the joint clearance and root openings to be bridged effectively, and perfect roots to be achieved. In addition, KTM's Baier said fusion at the start and end of a seam is greatly improved, especially when welding the tubes for the frame.

Fronius develops, produces and distributes battery chargers, welding technology and inverters for photovoltaic systems. The group has four production sites in Austria, the Czech Republic and Ukraine and sales subsidiaries in Europe and North America.

On July 1, Fronius opened a new subsidiary in Santa Catarina, Monterrey, Mexico, and it plans to open a new facility in Mississauga, Ontario, on Oct. 1. Fronius Canada will have a robot shop, manual welding demonstration room, dedicated training center, service and repair center and testing facility.