ABIBLOG USA: ABICOR BINZEL's Welding Blog

When considering the needs of your robotic welding set up, there are far more components to worry about than just the torch. Cables are an often-overlooked part of your setup, but can make a world of difference in efficiency and productivity.

Your cable decision stems from a full understanding of your robotic welding process. In this blog, we will break down the necessary steps you should take as you consider different robotic MIG torch cables.

When looking at automotive weld inspections and the applications they can be used in, the realm of possibilities are wide open. From MIG and MAG to laser brazing and welding, all of these applications (1) require inspection to ensure they meet process specifications and (2) are often suitable for automation. This is becoming more and more important as companies are realizing that when you have welds on critical automotive parts, especially very expensive parts, you cannot afford to take a nonchalant approach to executing this critical task. 

One of the first questions that we get asked in regards to 3D weld inspection is...

• How does it work?
• What are the basic principles?
• How does it understand the dynamics of what we're looking for and not looking for?

In this blog, we will discuss the characteristics of 3D weld inspection and provide the necessary information about this process to determine whether or not these systems fit your operation's needs. 

Robotic welding is all about time and minimizing the loss of it. Everything from porosity, microarcing, and spattering contributes to an inefficient welding process that requires troubleshooting and problem solving.

There are two physical elements of weld wire to be aware of in a robotic welding application. The first is the cast, which is the natural curvature of the wire. The second is the helix, which is the natural winding geometry of the wire's radial shape. 

Micro-arcing in a welding process are small arcs, usually not visible, that happen within the contact tip or wire liner. Instead of making a positive contact all the way through the tip, or at least always on the tip at some point, your wire is making inconsistent contact to the contact tip. This compromises current transfer and causes the wire to micro-arc inside the contact tip.

When you are evaluating a new robot welding torch, the ramifications of the testing is huge. Normally for large manufacturing companies, this is putting a solutions on the production for years with a high equipment investment. This makes the need to get great data to use to evaluate the right solution critical.