How To Select Welding Manipulator

If you are a welding manipulator manufacturer of pressure vessels, or other large pieces (such as rims), you may already have some welding manipulators in your welding facility.

Alternatively, you may combine submerged arc welders with long seam welds and homemade equipment with steering rolls for circumferential welds. Either way, an investment in upgrading a manipulator or even a complete manipulator system can pay for itself quickly through increased productivity and quality.

When purchasing standard column and boom manipulators, it is important to fully understand all possible welding and production requirements. These factors will determine which option is best for your welding equipment.

If the quality of the automatic welding manipulator is not up to standard, it will not only reduce the welding quality but also affects the entire welding operation process. Therefore, when choosing an automatic welding manipulator, we must pay attention to the influence of the brand. Generally speaking, seeing the brand is equivalent to identifying quality. The quality of the equipment is the life of the production line and the guarantee of efficiency.

First of all, in the process of selecting an automatic welding manipulator, the object of consideration is equipment made by a regular brand manufacturer.

Secondly, pay attention to the product services provided by the manufacturers of automatic welding manipulators. The level of service is an important standard for customers to measure the added value of manufacturers. The more comprehensive the service system, the more secure it is during production.

The above two points are analyzed from the perspective of the automatic welding manipulator manufacturer. For the equipment itself, it is necessary to learn to judge its quality and performance, not just the blind pursuit of low-priced automatic welding manipulator equipment.

For the production industry, especially for quality management, equipment is extremely important. The choice of equipment is not good, it not only affects the delivery time but also affects the quality of the finished product. Therefore, to carry out production better and more safely, it is necessary to select the appropriate automatic welding manipulator according to the standard.

When welding pressure vessels, consider the following

What's the point: Does the manipulator standstill? Is it responsible for both long seam welding and circumferential welding? Will the base rotate to handle multiple welding stations?

Will the long seam of the pressure vessel be longer than the stroke of the manipulator? In this case, a station wagon and guide rail assembly suitable for welding on the move will be required. This will enable the manipulator to weld the outer long seam smoothly at a constant rate as it moves along the length of the pressure vessel on a track.

In order to weld the inside of the long seam, is the manipulator extended long enough to weld the required length? To control the speed of the boom, make sure you have a variable frequency drive (VFD). Linear bearings are also a good way to ensure smooth movement and repeated positioning of welded joints.

Is a soldering head required for future upgrade to a series solder or hopper mounted solder recovery system? If so, you need to consider the capability of the manipulator.

After selecting the welding manipulator, there are other options available in the fully functional welding kit.

Welding power source

DC-only power supplies based on transformers or inverters can provide cost-effective welding solutions, but inverter-based systems have additional advantages, such as increased welding deposition rates, power savings, and in some systems cloud-based production monitoring networks.

How to adjust the welding head?

The 180° pivot block can easily change the weld head from the long weld direction to the circumferential weld direction.

Manual welding sliders are durable and cost-effective, but require the operator to rotate the adjusting knob to place the weld.

The electric cross rail allows the operator to make fine adjustments by controlling the cantilever.

The combination of dynamic cross sliders and tactile seam tracking automatically ensures that the critical first weld is completed without the need for fine adjustments by the operator.

Laser seam tracking is the most expensive option, but when using root path memory on the first pass, it can track the seam until all subsequent passes.

How do you control the system?

An integrated digital control system with a human-machine interface (HMI) screen provides a single control point for all variables and eliminates the clutter of multiple manipulator control boxes.

Depending on the size of the part, the HMI can be installed at the end of the welded armor on the ground. If the HMI is mostly on the ground, an integrated welding camera should be used so that the operator can safely and easily view the welding area.

Flux recovery system selection

There are a number of flux recovery systems mounted on the funnel. However, a closed-loop flux recovery system with vacuum and pressure feed provides maximum flexibility and power and produces the lowest load on the solder head. These systems also allow the boom to enter smaller diameter pressure vessels when welding long joints in the vessel.

Buying a welding manipulator is not just a manipulator. This is an integrated system, and success or failure will depend on getting all the pieces right and working together. 

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