Arc Welding Robot Automation Systems

Robot automation systems are rapidly taking the place of the human work force. One of the benefits is that this change provides the human work force with the time to spend on more creative tasks. The highest population of robots is in spot welding, spray painting, material handling, and arc welding. Spot welding and spray painting applications are mostly in the automotive industry. However, arc welding and material handling have applications in a broad range of industries, such as, automotive sub-suppliers, furniture manufacturers, and agricultural machine manufacturers. The number of arc welding automation robot stations is growing very rapidly. The two most common stations are the GMAW (Gas Metal Arc Welding) station and the GTAW (Gas Tungsten Arc Welding) station. These two stations are the most common because they are so well suited to robot systems. Typically, a robot arc welding station is comprised of a robot, a robot controller, arc welding equipment, a work clamp and motion devices to hold work pieces accurately in position (considering heat deformation), robot motion devices to move around the robot for a larger working range and better weld positions, sensors, and safety devices. A typical arc welding robot station is illustrated in Figure 1.