Overview of automatic welding

Types of automatic welding

The methods of automatic welding can be grouped into automatic welding, which uses automatic welding machines, and robot welding, which is done by robots. Automatic welding is used to repeat welding continuously in a factory line. Robot welding is an advanced version of automatic welding that uses robot technology to enable a higher level of welding automatically. In order to take advantage of the processing time improvements from automatic or robot welding, inspection processes have been automated by using displacement sensors that employ laser beams.

Types of automatic welding	Application	Welding method
Automatic fusion welding	Assembly of bodies, frames and parts of cars and motorbikes or building materials	Arc welding (TIG, MAG, MIG and plasma), laser welding
Automatic pressure welding	Assembly of frames of cars and motorbikes, and metal parts	Resistance spot welding
	Tanks or pipes requiring high leak tightness	Seam welding
	Outer panels and floor materials of cars, airplanes and trains	Friction stir welding (FSW)
Automatic brazing/soldering	Electronic PCBs, electrical components	Electron beam soldering
	Cooling equipment pipes, valves, small parts of cars and motorbikes	Furnace brazing, electron beam soldering

The classifications above are just an example. There are various ways to classify the types, and some may differ from the table above.

Automatic welding in FA

Automatic welding is a generic term for welding processes using equipment that continues welding without the need for an operator for it to run continuously.
In FA (factory automation), inline automatic machines replace manual welding and weld according to programs to improve processing time and mass production efficiency. Automatic spot welders and automatic contact welding machines are used for quick welding in the manufacturing lines of connectors and other electrical components.

Robot welding