How to Achieve Good Part-Fit for Robotic Welding

Robotic welding is most useful when parts can be positioned in the same place, and with the same fit, every time a part feeder reloads the system. However, robotic welders are not always as successful in terms of quality control if the weld joints vary in size, present gaps, or vary in dimensions. The following recommendations on part fit can enable robotic welders to achieve higher quality yield:

1. For strong and repeatable welds, machined parts should fit closely together and be well within tolerances, instead of using the weld to patch up inconsistent fabrication work.
2. Place weld joints closely together with fixtures and clamps because robotic welders cannot slop weld metal into a gap like a human can, especially gaps that vary in width.
3. Train personnel and purchase better machine tools with the goal of achieving more precision parts, because the one-time cost of fabricating better components is often lower than paying for poor quality parts that have bad welds.