welding process. You may know about this type of welding because
it is often used on assembly line work, especially in the
automotive industry.
Robots are used to handle the parts that need to be welded and
to perform the weld. Robots are generally used when you want to
do resistance spot welding or arc welding where there is a need
for high production.
Although robotic welding is fairly new, they were started in
about the 1980s when the automotive industry found that they
could use robots to do spot welding. As of 2005, there were over
60,000 robots being used in many industries in North America for
welding.
Robotic welding can be relatively expensive to do so it can be
difficult for some industries to bring in more equipment. Many
robots are being "employed" to also do arch welding and they
have two parts: the manipulator that is how the robot is able to
move, and the controller which is the "brain" of the operation
and actually performs the weld.
They can also optimize welds because of a process known as
signature image processing in which data can be collected from
the robots in real time, analyzed and then used to create better
welding systems.
Types of Robots: There are basically two types of industrial
robots: Rectilinear robots move in a boxed shape along three
axes. They are the ones that may be most common in looks because
they have a "wrist" at the end of their movement arm so they can
move the arm in a rotation.
The articulating robot is the second type of robot and it moves
in irregular shapes. They have both arms and joints that rotate.
In this process the arm moves similarly to the way a human arm
works and they also have the "wrist" that rotates at the end of
the arm.
When setting up a robotic aspect of welding it is important to
realize that this is not the same as doing welding manual. Many
things have to be taken into consideration around reliability,
the number of axes you need and the space where the robots will
be installed.
On the human side of this you will have to make sure that there
is someone there to check the welds, someone to do maintenance
and seam tracking programs should be in place.
Robotics has advantages and disadvantages. As an example, many
manufacturers use robots to do the monotonous tasks that are
difficult for humans to continue to perform overtime. However,
robots will need recalibration, reprogramming and regular
maintenance. People need to be in place to take care of these
needs.
You will also have to make sure that the robots you choose have
the right amount of motions to do the job well. You may also
have to consider having a backup system of robots in case
something goes wrong.
Although robotics seems to be an interesting and exciting way to
do welding it is something that needs to be well researched and
organized before going to the expense.
About the author: William Walley
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