TIG Welding Robots Boost Speed and Quality

Robot­ic weld­ing began in the 1980s and has steadi­ly grown to become the dom­i­nant appli­ca­tion for indus­tri­al robots. Of the many dif­fer­ent weld­ing process­es, tung­sten inert gas weld­ing, or TIG weld­ing, is the most com­mon. TIG weld­ing involves using an elec­tric arc between a non-con­sum­able tung­sten elec­trode and the met­al being weld­ed, all while pro­tect­ed in an inert gas environment.

TIG weld­ing robots have recent­ly made great strides in con­trol pre­ci­sion, repeata­bil­i­ty, speed, and range of motion. These improve­ments allow unit costs to be kept low with­out sac­ri­fic­ing qual­i­ty, which is key to thriv­ing in the mod­ern ultra-com­pet­i­tive marketplace.

Among the mak­ers of robot­ic TIG welders, Fanuc Robot­ics, KUKA, and Motoman Robot­ics stand out as the indus­try lead­ers. All three com­pa­nies have con­tin­u­al­ly improved their offer­ings in the TIG weld­ing robot mar­ket, lead­ing to cut­ting-edge designs like the Fanuc Arc Mate 100i, the KUKA KR‑6 and KR-16 L8‑3, and the Motoman MA1400 and VA1400.

The Fanuc Arc Mate 100i TIG weld­ing robot incor­po­rates desir­able fea­tures like a reduced wrist size to allow it to reach and weld more areas. It also fea­tures inter­nal rout­ing of elec­tric cabling and gas lines inside the robot arm. The Arc Mate 100i’s patent­ed Tur­bo­Move advanced ser­vo con­trols allow it to move more quick­ly and smooth­ly to dif­fer­ent areas of the prod­uct, fur­ther reduc­ing prod­uct cycle time with­out sac­ri­fic­ing quality. 

KUKA has also devel­oped mul­ti­ple options for TIG weld­ing robots. Options range from the reli­able yet com­pact and eco­nom­i­cal KR‑5 ARC to the top-of-the-line KR-16 L8‑3 ARC with out­stand­ing .04mm repeata­bil­i­ty and large 8kg pay­load capac­i­ty. The KR-16 L8‑3 TIG weld­ing robot also fea­tures a hol­low-wrist design, allow­ing the TIG weld­ing tool­ing to be housed inside the robot arm, pro­tect­ing it from dam­age and reduc­ing unde­sir­able ​“whiplash” effects from the robot moving. 

In the Motoman Robot­ics line of TIG robot­ic welders, the most notable are the MA1400 and VA1400 mod­els. Like their com­peti­tors’ mod­els, both of these Motoman TIG weld­ing robots fea­ture inter­nal elec­tri­cal cabling and gas lines as well as indus­try-lead­ing pay­load and repeata­bil­i­ty specs. How­ev­er, only the VA1400 fea­tures a unique elbow-like joint, allow­ing 7‑axis mobil­i­ty as opposed to the 6 axes offered in all oth­er com­pet­ing TIG weld­ing robots. The increased mobil­i­ty of Motoman’s VA1400 weld­ing robot allows it to reach more areas, reduc­ing the num­ber of robots need­ed to com­plete a spe­cif­ic TIG weld­ing application.

For more infor­ma­tion on TIG weld­ing robots, dif­fer­ent man­u­fac­tur­ers, and spe­cif­ic mod­els, click on the fol­low­ing links for Fanuc, KUKA, and Motoman TIG weld­ing robots. If you have any ques­tions about TIG Weld­ing robot­ic inte­gra­tion, con­tact Robots​.com online or at 877−762−6881.