Robotic Welding Systems

The automated welding market was valued at $ 5.42 billion in 2020. With an increase in applications in the construction, automotive, and oil and gas industries, the robotic welding market is forecast to grow to $ 9.76 billion by 2028 with a 7.7 percent CAGR. However, the use of welding robots is not limited to a few industries. Rather, electronics and electrical, shipbuilding, railway, aerospace, defense, steel plants, and other related industries all benefit from advancements in welding.

With continuous R&D that drives these advancements, robotic welding improves production efficiency, saves time, creates a safer work environment, decreases ROI duration, and enhances welding accuracy and quality.

These advancements include:

  • Adding sensors for adaptive welding processes that transform robots into more process-friendly, flexible, and maneuverable assistants. Sensors also help with tracking and searching weld joints, addressing moving weld seams, weld penetration control, and joint profile and width measurement.
  • Interlocking perimeter guards, laser scanners, auto doors, safety light curtains, pressure-sensitive safety mats, quality gear, smoke extraction systems, and more. All of these features have considerably improved the safety of automated welding and have led to an improved collaborative work environment with humans.
  • Improved IIoT integration with seamless integration of welding management software
  • Adaptive controls to analyze welding data to correct and improve weld current in real-time – critical for improved process optimization.

With improvements in technology that increase the scope of your welding applications, B2E Automation can help you to yield more accurate measurements, boost your production speed, manage processes efficiently, and save time!

Gaining Traction in the Industrial Application of Welding Robots

Although the selection for each application is based upon a welding robot's degree of freedom, kinematics structure, workspace geometry, drive technology, and motion characteristics, robots with revolute configuration are the most commonly employed industry welding robots. However, the welding processes primarily remain uniform regardless of configurations.

Some of the processes we provide are:

  • Arc Welding: An electric arc between the metal base and electrode produces intense heat to melt and intermix two target parts. Industries that require high accuracy and repeatability, such as electronic chips and nanodevices, employ arc welding robots.
  • Resistance Welding: A current passes between two metal pieces, the resultant pool formation joins the two target pieces together. As the most economical form of robotic welding, with subtypes like projection welding, resistance welding is adopted for heat-treating applications such as automobiles, aerospace, construction, heavy equipment, computer equipment, and other related industries.
  • Spot Welding: Joins thin metals with electrical current resistance. As a type of resistance welding, it is typically employed in automotive and related industries to join sheet metal frames together.
  • TIG Welding: Also known as Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW), TIG Welding is an intricate welding system where an arc forms between a non-consumable tungsten electrode and a metal part. It is utilized in industries where precision is primary.
  • MIG Welding: Also known as Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW), MIG Welding is a high deposition rate process that continuously feeds a wire towards the heated weld tip. MIG Welding is preferred in simple applications where speed is paramount, such as the pipe-fitting, automotive, and rail industries.
  • Laser Welding: The welding process is performed by a laser generator, which delivers laser light through a robotic cutting head. This process occurs through a fiber optic cable. Laser welding is ideal for high-volume, high-accuracy applications for hard-to-reach weld locations. The automotive, aerospace, medical, and jewelry industries all benefit from this process.
  • Plasma Welding: This welding format is applicable in areas that require flexibility in velocity and temperature. It employs ionized gas that passes through a copper nozzle to produce extremely high temperatures.
  • Ultrasonic Welding: A form of cold welding, ultrasonic welding utilizes ultrasonic vibrations generated from an electrical voltage to melt plastics at definitive joints for homogenous bonding.
  • Friction Stir Welding (FSW): Unlike rigid legacy FSW machines, Friction Stir Welding robots utilize force between the machine and the welding component tool. It is a type of spin welding that is used in consumer products like the computer and automotive industries.
  • Radio-Frequency (RF) Welding: A High Frequency/Dielectric welding process that combines thin sheets of polar thermoplastic. A notable example of RF welding is the production of drip bags in the healthcare industry.
  • Hot Plate Welding: A type of welding used for medium, complex, or contoured thermoplastic parts. It creates high-pressure hermetic seals for various thermoplastic applications.

What are the Types of Welding Robots?

With the wide range of processes that constitute the automated welding market, the specific types of welding robots hold equal importance to the types of welding in determining the exact solution for your enterprise. The majority of welding robots are equipped with a hand and an arm with several articulated joints. The joints swivel in arcs that mimic the behavior of the human shoulder, wrist, and elbow or move in a straight line – in short, the classes are determined based upon its joint combination.

  • Cartesian: The arm's X, Y, and Z coordinate system constitute its name and movement accuracy. Moreover, if your manufacturing floor consists of a cuboidal work envelope, cartesian robots are a good fit with their ability to carry submerged arc welding heads, flux feeding and recovery systems, and weld sensor variants.
  • Cylindrical: Despite a cylindrical welding robot's limited three degrees of freedom and cylindrical work envelope, it is ideal for spot welding applications.
  • Spherical: Alternatively, the 'polar coordinate arm' consists of sliding and two rotational motions around its vertical post. Its partial sphere work envelope and varying radii, minimal friction locomotion, and omnidirectional movement without overturning make it an excellent choice for industries that benefit from additional floor space.
Robotic Arm

Welding and Rapid Industrial Changes – The Time to Automate is NOW!

Industrial manufacturing, regardless of size, is transforming at an unprecedented speed. Robotic welding, with its technological advancement, has reached real-time operation speed with rapid seam geometry learning in unstructured environments. In addition, regardless of the material from steel, copper, aluminum, and stainless steel to plastics, welding robots improve your weld quality, increase productivity, reduce weld cost, and minimize human input to determine weld parameters.

If your business is focused on quality, rapid changeovers, and your return on investment, and if you intend to push your success even further on these fronts, our automation engineers are just a click away!

Reach out to learn more about how B2E Automation's solutions can help transform your business.

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