FBR Limited has announced the launch of its new robotic welding product, Mantis, which incorporates the company’s proprietary Dynamic Stabilisation Technology (DST).
According to the ASX-listed company, the high-deposition rate, large-scale welding robot is designed for general and heavy fabrication applications, including mining, shipbuilding and defence.
“Mantis™ represents the next step in our commitment to expanding FBR’s robotic technology portfolio,” said FBR CEO Mark Pivac.
As a part of building a production line for Hadrian robots, FBR thoroughly investigated automated production solutions looking for ways to have robots building robots.”
“We have also looked extensively at how mining equipment and ships are built, realising that there is a gap in the welding robot market. There is an opportunity to provide an off the shelf solution for welding large parts, particularly in Western Australia.”
The Mantis robot has an 8-metre reach and can operate in ‘pendulum’ mode across one, two or four workspaces.
It offers standard single-wire or high-deposition twin-wire welding, with dual welders capable of achieving deposition rates of up to 25 kilograms per hour, weld rates of 4 metres per minute, and travel speeds of 10 metres per minute.
Its in-house designed welding head features a laser scanner for seam finding and tracking to ensure weld quality on variable components.
Pivac said that the robot is designed to offer efficiencies and capabilities beyond typical sub-arc processes and general-purpose 6-axis robots often adapted for welding.
“Mantis has the potential to provide significant benefits to users in the heavy fabrication sectors such as mining, shipbuilding and defence, where the same challenges such as low productivity and labour constraints are a constant,” he said.
Mantis works with the Australian-developed Verbotics software platform, which simplifies programming and allows potential users to simulate welding tasks to compare performance with other robotic systems or manual methods.
The robot will be sold at A$990,000 plus optional extras, site-specific installation, integration costs and support packages.
FBR is currently in discussions with sales and distribution partners to promote and market Mantis™. The first Mantis is scheduled for construction in FY2026.
“In line with our strategy, FBR will continue to utilise its substantial IP portfolio in developing innovative DST enabled products and solutions,” Pivac added.
“The development of Mantis is complimentary, although completely separate to the work we are undertaking for Samsung Heavy Industries in developing robotic solutions for the shipbuilding industry.”
