How Robots Are Revolutionising Welding
- Rise Automation Ltd
- 6 days ago
- 5 min read
Introduction
Welding has long been a backbone process in fabricating metal components for automotive, aerospace, construction, agricultural machinery and many other industries. The drive for consistency, speed, cost control, and reducing human risk pushes manufacturers to explore robotic welding. In recent years, the spectrum of options has broadened: from heavy industrial robots to lightweight collaborative units, and the integration of laser welding into robotic systems. Add to that the increasingly common use of 7th‑axis motion systems (rails, linear axes, rotating fixtures) and you have a flexible, high‑throughput welding future. In this blog, we’ll explore how these technologies compare, where they’re already being used, what challenges remain, and how to choose the right path depending on your scale and type of work.
Welding Robot Types & Processes:
MIG / MAG Welding with Robots
MIG (Metal Inert Gas) or MAG (Metal Active Gas) welding is one of the most common arc welding processes for robotic automation. Robots feed a wire electrode continuously and maintain an arc between the wire and the workpiece. Industrial robots using MIG welding are well understood, robust, and widely deployed in heavy fabrication. In the UK, fabricators use robotic MIG welders on structural frames, chassis components, and other heavier steel work.
Advantages: high deposition rate, suitability for medium to thick sections.
Disadvantages: heat distortion, spatter, and often downstream finishing.
Laser Welding Robots
Laser welding involves a concentrated laser beam to melt and join materials, typically sheet metals or thinner parts, with high precision, low heat input, and minimal distortion. It’s a compelling choice for high accuracy or aesthetic welds.
One advantage is speed, laser welding can be several times faster than traditional arc welding, especially on thinner materials. However, precise fixturing, optics protection, and initial setup cost are challenges. For parts requiring multiple orientations, throughput gain may be partly offset by repositioning time.
TIG / Other Methods
While TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) offers very clean, high quality welds (especially for stainless, aluminum, thin gauge), it is slower and more sensitive to joint fit and operator skill. Robotic TIG is used in niche, high-spec applications (e.g. aerospace, food processing welds).
Industrial Robots vs Collaborative Robots (Cobots) for Welding
Industrial (Traditional) Welding Robots
These are heavy duty, six‑axis arms installed in cells, often behind guarding for safety. They tend to support longer reach, high speeds and high duty cycles. They’re suitable for high volume, continuous production environments.
Pros: robustness, speed, repeatability, compatibility with high heat, and ability to integrate with high throughput tooling and motion systems.
Cons: high capital cost, safety requirements (fencing, light curtains), programming complexity, and less flexibility in small batch or mixed model work.
Cobots for Welding
Cobots (collaborative robots) are lighter, safer by design (often with force limits, safety sensors), and intended to operate more flexibly around people. In the last few years, cobot welding has gained traction, especially for small to mid volume jobs and retrofit of welding tasks.
Cobots now support MIG, laser, and other welding techniques. Universal Robots (a leading cobot maker) promotes cobot based welding for repetitive tasks, freeing skilled workers for higher value work.
Advantages of welding cobots:
Lower upfront cost and simpler safety infrastructure
Faster deployment and reprogramming
Good fit for high mix, low volume manufacturers
Ergonomic and safety improvements
Limitations: lower payload, shorter reach, lower speed compared to industrial arms, greater sensitivity to environmental variation, and limited suitability for very heavy, thick welding work.
Also, combining handheld lasers with cobot arms is becoming a popular hybrid approach: the cobot positions the laser, but the actual weld head remains flexible.
7th Axis Rails, Fixtures, Rotary Positioners
Often, to increase coverage and throughput, welding robots (especially industrial ones) are mounted on linear rails, gantries, or integrated with large rotary positioners or fixtures. These extra axes are called “7th axis” (or more, e.g. 8th, 9th axes). The robot arm can move along a track or the workpiece can be rotated, allowing welding across a larger envelope or in better angles without reorienting the part manually.
Benefits:
Expanded reach: a linear rail lets the robot traverse along large parts.
Better angle access: fixtures can rotate or index parts during welding so the arm can maintain optimal orientation.
Higher throughput: while one station is being welded, another can be loaded/unloaded.
Optimal workspace: reduces need for multiple robots or multiple cells.
Many complex robotic welding cells combine the arm with overhead rails or linear motion platforms and rotary tables.
Industries & Use Cases
Robotic welding finds use across many sectors:
Automotive / EV / Bodyshop: high-volume body-in-white, frame welding, battery enclosures.
Aerospace / Defense: precision, thin-gauge welding, exotic materials.
Agriculture & Heavy Equipment: frames, booms, structural steel.
Construction & Infrastructure: trusses, beams, prefabricated steel modules.
Fabrication & Contract Welding: diverse component welding, prototyping, medium batch production.
Electronics / Battery & EV Components: small, precise welds (often laser) on sheet parts or battery packs.
Challenges & Considerations for Adoption
While the promise is strong, robotic welding has challenges:
Initial investment & ROI planning: even cobots require fixture work, safety measures, programming, and integration cost.
Fixturing and part tolerance: welding demands precise alignment; part variation affects performance.
Heat / warpage / distortion: managing thermal effects remains a challenge, especially in thinner gauges.
Safety & compliance: although cobots reduce some safety barriers, welding environments still involve fumes, spatter, and reflections, requiring proper shielding and ventilation.
Skill requirement & training: programming, maintenance, robot servicing demand expertise; upskilling is needed.
Process limitations: very thick sections, heavy gauge welding may still favour human or more robust industrial solutions.
Synchronization & motion integration: coordinating multiple axes (robot + rail + fixture) adds complexity.
Summary
Robotic welding covers multiple processes (MIG, laser, TIG), MIG is well established, laser is gaining traction for precision and speed.
Industrial robots excel in heavy, continuous processes; cobots bring flexibility, lower cost, and ease of deployment.
7th axis systems (rails, fixtures, turning tables) greatly extend what robots can reach and improve throughput.
Use cases span automotive, aerospace, fabrication, heavy machinery, and contract welding shops.
Adoption requires careful planning around fixturing, safety, programming, and integration challenges.
Conclusion
Welding robots are far from a novelty, they are becoming essential tools across multiple industries. The evolving landscape now gives firms more choice, whether you’re running a large scale production line or a versatile fabrication shop, there’s a robotic welding solutions that can suit your process.
Cobots make deployment less intimidating, more modular, and more accessible for smaller operations or mixed runs. Traditional industrial robots, especially when combined with additional axes, offer unmatched speed for large volumes. Laser welding, once prohibitively expensive, is becoming more competitive in the robotic domain thanks to hybrid cobot systems and precision motion control.
If you're a manufacturer in the UK or elsewhere considering automation in welding, the path is no longer linear. Start with pilot installations, test different technologies (cobot vs industrial vs laser), design flexible fixturing from the outset, and scale based on return.
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