Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Workers

Nature of the Work | Working Conditions | Employment | Training, Other

Qualifications, and Advancement | Job Outlook | Earnings | Related Occupations
| Sources of Additional Information

SIGNIFICANT POINTS

 Job prospects should be excellent.

 Training ranges from a few weeks of school or on-the-job training for low-skilled
positions to several years of combined school and on-the-job training for highly skilled
jobs.

NATURE OF THE WORK [About this section] Back to Top

Welding is the most common way of permanently joining metal parts. In this process,
heat is applied to metal pieces, melting and fusing them to form a permanent bond.
Because of its strength, welding is used in shipbuilding, automobile manufacturing and
repair, aerospace applications, and thousands of other manufacturing activities. Welding
also is used to join beams when constructing buildings, bridges, and other structures,
and to join pipes in pipelines, power plants, and refineries.

Welders use many types of welding equipment set up in a variety of positions, such as
flat, vertical, horizontal, and overhead. They may perform manual welding, in which the
work is entirely controlled by the welder, or semiautomatic welding, in which the welder
uses machinery, such as a wire feeder, to help in performing welding tasks.

Arc welding is the most common type of welding. Standard arc welding involves two
large metal alligator clips that are carrying a strong electrical current. One clip is
attached to any part of the workpiece being welded. The second clip is connected to a
thin welding rod. When the rod touches the workpiece, a powerful electrical circuit is
created. The massive heat created by the electrical current causes both the workpiece
and the steel core of the rod to melt together, cooling quickly to form a solid bond.
During welding, the flux that surrounds the rod's core vaporizes, forming an inert gas
that serves to protect the weld from atmospheric elements that might weaken it. Two
common advanced types of arc welding are Gas Tungsten Arc (TIG) and Gas Metal Arc
(MIG) welding. Instead of welding rods, these welding systems use a spool of
continuously fed wire, which allows the welder to weld longer stretches without stopping
to replace the rod. Instead of using gas flux surrounding the rod, TIG and MIG protect
the initial weld from the environment by blowing inert gas onto the weld.

Like arc welding, soldering and brazing use metal to join two pieces of metal. However,
the metal added during the process has melting point lower than that of the workpiece,
so only the added metal is melted, not the workpiece. Soldering uses metals with a
melting point below 800 degrees Fahrenheit; brazing uses metals with a melting point
above 800 degrees Fahrenheit. Because soldering and brazing do not melt the workpiece,
these processes normally do not create distortions or weaknesses in the workpiece that
can occur with welding. Soldering commonly is used to join electrical, electronic, and
other small metal parts. Brazing produces a stronger joint than does soldering, and often
is used to join metals other than steel, such as brass parts.

Skilled welding, soldering, and brazing workers generally plan work from drawings or
specifications or use their knowledge of fluxes and base metals to analyze parts. These
workers then select and set up welding equipment and examine welds, to ensure that
they meet standards or specifications. Some welders have more limited duties, however.
They perform routine jobs that already have been planned and laid out and do not
require extensive knowledge of welding techniques.

Automated welding is used in an increasing number of production processes. In these

instances, a machine or robot performs the welding tasks while monitored by a welding
machine operator. Welding, soldering, and brazing machine setters, operators, and
tenders follow specified layouts, work orders, or blueprints. Operators must load parts
correctly and constantly monitor the machine to ensure that it produces the desired
bond.

The work of arc, plasma, and oxy-gas cutters is closely related to that of welders.
However, instead of joining metals, cutters use the heat from an electric arc, a stream of
ionized gas, or burning gases to cut and trim metal objects to specific dimensions.
Cutters also dismantle large objects, such as ships, railroad cars, automobiles, buildings,
or aircraft. Some operate and monitor cutting machines similar to those used by welding
machine operators. Plasma cutting has been increasing in popularity because, unlike
other methods, it can cut a wide variety of metals, including stainless steel, aluminum,
and titanium.

WORKING CONDITIONS [About this section] Back to Top

Welding, soldering, and brazing workers often are exposed to a number of potential
hazards, including the intense light created by the arc, hazardous fumes, and burns. In
the interests of safety, they wear safety shoes, goggles, hoods with protective lenses,
and other devices designed to prevent burns and eye injuries and to protect them from
falling objects. They normally work in well-ventilated areas to limit their exposure to
fumes. Automated welding, soldering, and brazing machine operators are not exposed to
as many dangers, however, and a face shield or goggles usually provide adequate
protection for these workers.

Welders and cutters may work outdoors, often in inclement weather, or indoors,
sometimes in a confining area designed to contain sparks and glare. When outdoors, they
may work on a scaffold or platform high off the ground. In addition, they may be
required to lift heavy objects and work in a variety of awkward positions, having to make
welds while bending, stooping, or working overhead.

Although about half of welders, solderers, and brazers work a 40-hour week, overtime is
common, and some welders work up to 70 hours per week. Welders also may work in
shifts as long as 12 hours. Some welders, solderers, brazers, and machine operators
work in factories that operate around-the-clock.
 Spot Welding: Still in the Driver's Seat
As car manufacturers explore more exotic, lighter-weight materials, robot
manufacturers are building better tooling and more efficient resistance spot
welding systems

BY WINN HARDIN

Although the auto industry has used robotic resistance spot welding for years, demands for
greater repeatability, faster production cycles, and the ability to weld lighter-weight, more
exotic materials are driving equipment development.

Spot welding is one of the most mature applications in robotics. The speed, precision,
efficiency, and resulting cost reductions afforded by automated resistance spot welding are
well documented and accepted, particularly in the automotive industry. However, industry
requires that even the most mature solutions continue to evolve. End users, including experts
from the Big Three automakers, seek ever more speed and economy from their robotic
applications. These engineers want more modular, lighter-weight systems with increased cycle
times and improved end of arm tooling (EOAT), and vendors are answering the call as new
automobile designs require more of their spot welding robots.

The Fast and the Furious

Fast-paced design, furious production cycles, and weight and cost reduction all are issues
that drive automotive manufacturing today. Manufacturers cannot afford to sit still while
consumers' tastes change. Robotic welding plays a key role in enabling car companies to
keep pace with demand for new, more technologically advanced, higher quality product.

Fig. 1 - Automakers are looking for robots with greater repeatability and weld requirements
down to±12 mm.

"Eliminating labor was the justification in the 1980s, then car builders started driving their
repeatability specs so tight that cars can't be manufactured by hand, they have to use
machines," explained Keith Crawford, general manager of EOA Systems, Carrollton, Tex.
"It's the repeatability of the robot that's prized today, with weld requirements down to±1 to 2
mm. You add to that cars becoming lighter. When it becomes lighter, you have to beef up
welds to support the lighter structure, plus requirements that the cars do not rattle as much and
the answer is to make more welds and make them more accurate so that you can create a more
stable platform for the car. These are the justifications of why automakers use automated spot
welding today." - Fig. 1.

As the demands on spot welding applications increase during the manufacture of

automobiles, end users are looking at all of the new technologies to help make
better products for their customers.

"We have a keen interest in servo guns because they potentially will allow us
more control over the spot welding process if we can provide the technology on a
cost-effective basis," said Steve Holland, director for controls, robotics, and
welding at General Motors (GM).

Fig. 2 - Big Three automakers say new lines of servo guns, such as this one from FANUC
Robotics, help to increase the density of welding machines and maximize plant floor space
while performing better on lighter-weight, exotic metals. (Photo courtesy of FANUC
Robotics.)

"One means to keep costs down is to increase the density of weld guns per station to reduce
the floor space and hence the overall cost," he continued. "Advancements in both AC and DC
(inverter-type) weld controllers and the coming of servo gun technology will all help expand
welding applications for difficult materials, such as thin or exotic metals. These new
technologies are much more capable of dealing with those materials" - Fig. 2.

At the forefront of this new technology are servo guns, which are controlled by electronic
motors rather than pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders and can be more completely
integrated and controlled through the robot interface software.

More than just servo weld guns, customers are calling for "the design of modular weld
guns to include common parts for a variety of weld gun designs, allowing for continuous
improvements to servo and hydraulic weld head designs," commented Ken Mills, retired
welding expert for DaimlerChrysler. "That's what the industry would like to see."

These demands are being answered. Industrial automation and welding systems
manufacturer ComauPICO, Royal Oak, Mich., has been redesigning its weld guns for two
years, moving away from copper cast models to aluminum machined models, according
to Hans Nickesch, director of advanced manufacturing.

"Moving to aluminum guns eliminates a lot of variations, unknowns, and manufacturing

time. Of course, it also makes it lighter, too, allowing the gun to get from spot to spot
faster. There's no value-added time between welds," Nickesch said.

Just as important to ComauPICO is that machined guns can be made faster, eliminating
the need to build new cast patterns after a few casts. Although machined aluminum weld
guns have more parts than copper cast guns, the modular approach allows users to
quickly reconfigure a gun as the customer's product lines change.

Modular EOAT for the robot means less downtime, too, according to Frank Munro,
president of international sales at Norgren Automotive, Mt. Clemens, Mich.
"Compared to the alternative - which has been to physically weld steel components and
attaching grippers and clamps to the robot - when you use modular components you can
quickly fix a problem after a crash, and crashes do happen. Fixing a modular robot cell
can be a matter of 10 minutes vs. a dedicated (welded or permanently attached) system
that could keep you down for hours," said Munro.

Another approach to addressing fast and furious production schedules is to

use single-source control for multiple robots. Motoman, Inc., West
Carrollton, Ohio, has developed the ability to control up to four robots from
a single controller and teach pendant. This lets the robots work closely
together without concerns about them colliding. It also provides a safer work
environment with all robots under the sole control of a single pendant. A
highly prized byproduct of using one controller for several robots is that
integration costs are reduced.

To further support a dense robot population in a confined space, special

robots have been developed. Shorter robots can be positioned close to the
body while larger robots reach over them. These robots are created from
modifications to a few different castings. Spare parts, like motors and
reducers, are common to the larger-volume standard robots, thereby
keeping the cost of the robot low. According to Motoman, one Japanese
automotive plant was able to reduce by half its number of spot stations by
taking advantage of the multiple robot controller with compact robot arms.

Dressing for Success: Going beyond the Weld Gun

Recent changes to spot welding solutions also extend beyond the weld gun. "Robot
companies are providing ways of integrating the dress - that's been a big plus for us,"
said GM's principal engineer of welding technology, Joe Speranza. "The robot companies
have redesigned the robot with welding applications in mind."

Although their weld guns work with many robot actuators, ComauPICO's Nickesch said,
"In our robot, all of the dressing goes through the wrist. Power goes through the arm of
the robot and reduces worries about damage and changing weld guns in the future since
the power delivery system is integrated. With these designs, your weld gun choice isn't
limited to the capabilities of the robot."

Fig. 3 - Motomanąs ES165 robot offers a 165-kg payload and an internal harness that
eliminates the need for the supports and swivels that are usually necessary with external
dress-out packages.

Motoman has introduced manipulators specifically for spot welding - the ES165 and ES200,
with 165- and 200-kg payloads, respectively - Fig. 3. These robots have utilities (air, water,
and power) routed in cable harnesses through the arm and out to the robot wrist. The standard
cable harness supports either servo-controlled or pneumatic guns. The internal harness
eliminates the need for supports and swivels associated with external "dress-out" packages.

"The internal harness for robot motors has been providing years of reliable service with
mean time between failure criteria of 24,000 hours," said Chris Anderson, Motoman Inc.
"Integrating the welding harness provides similar results and greatly reduces downtime
associated with external cables. They wear quicker due to greater flexing and rubbing on
surfaces. Quick connectors facilitate easy changing and it can be scheduled as preventive
maintenance with the main robot motor harness."
 Other advantages include reducing teaching time by 20% or more because
off-line programs can be used directly without touch-up due to cable
interference, the cables are integrated in the slim arm profile, allowing
better access into confined spaces, and OEMs like the fact the internal spot
harness is covered in the robot manufacturer's warranty.

Fig. 4 - The torch barrel of the EA1400 robot is mounted to an impact sensor in line with the
wrist instead of being offset mounted. This results in improved torch access and longer life
than with a standard torch cable.

Motoman has extended the concept of an integrated harness to arc welding with the EA1400
robot - Fig. 4. The torch cable is routed through a hollow upper arm and wrist assembly. This
design protects the cable from rubbing against parts and fixtures and eliminates sharp bends in
the cable that can interfere with wire feeding. The torch barrel is mounted to an impact sensor
in line with the wrist instead of offset mounting with a standard robot. The result is improved
torch access and 25 times more life than a standard torch cable arrangement.

Another consideration when building a welding cell is the size of the robot and weight of
the weld gun. While welding cycle times or multihead weld gun applications in automobile
frame and aircraft body manufacture can be reduced by going to a large robot, including
the new 500-kg robots from Kuka, Sterling Heights, Mich.; ABB, New Berlin, Wis.; and,
ComauPICO among others, companies are also improving standard-capacity robots so
they are faster and more efficient. "All the arms in the latest generation have been
reduced in mass and overall body size, physical size, and weight," said Michael Sharpe,
engineering manager for materials joining, FANUC Robotics, Rochester Hills, Mich.

"We've been able to do that using high-efficiency motors," said Sharpe, "so we don't
have to overdesign the arm to do a job. The advances in reducing the motor size at
shoulder, arm, and wrist make the arm lighter. That, in turn, means we can reduce the
weight of the arm and move it faster from weld to weld. We also get the weld gun closer
to the part, all of which improves weld throughput by several percent, depending on the
application."

Putting Welding on a Pedestal

Other improvements to automated welding applications are helping speed throughput
while increasing safety. A main trend that reduces the moving mass of the robot is to go
to a stationary weld gun and have the robot bring the part to the weld gun.

"There's a distinct trend toward not moving the weld gun and (instead) moving the part.
It makes sense if you think about it. The robot has the capacity for x, y, z, and rotary
axis movements. The deciding factor is often the size of the part vs. the gun," explained
Norgren's Munro. "A panel can be 30 kilograms, while a gun can be a couple hundred
kilograms."

The largest source of failure in a robot spot welding cell is the weld gun and the cabling
(robot dress) used to operate the gun. The dynamic action of the robot motion can
fatigue the robot dress, causing downtime, while the spot welding gun is susceptible to
damage from a crash. By putting the weld gun on a stationary pedestal, the robot dress
is minimized as the tool required to hold the panel uses only air and signal power. The
simpler robot dress makes for a more robust application and more cell uptime, explained
Crawford of EOA Systems.
The concept of using a robot to manipulate parts for pedestal-type welding machines has
been widely used by many of the Japanese automotive parts suppliers. Once a part is
tack welded in a fixture, it can be "passed" between stations by multiple robots.
Operations may include arc welding by other robots or part identification stamping or
inspection. The result is that finished conforming parts are placed in bins or conveyors
while nonconforming parts are separated. Part changeover is as easy as adding a new
gripper, while capital equipment, like robots, continues to be reused. One manufacturer
used automatic tool changers to have the weld line change over when dies were changed
on the press line (several different parts were run each day).

Other devices used to improve weld cell uptime include the EOA Systems Intelliflow
water saver, which monitors the temperature and coolant flow rate to the entire cell
including weld gun tips, transformer, SCR, shunts, and cable, and alerts the operator
when the system overheats or if a coolant line breaks. This approach can also reduce the
number of "closed" weld tips, which typically occur when a cell halts in midweld.

How to Stay Competitive

As manufacturers continue to explore more exotic, lightweight materials in their quest to
capture the consumer's imagination, robotic integrators and suppliers will follow suit,
building better tooling and more efficient automation systems for a highly competitive
industry.

As we've seen, aluminum weld guns are gaining ground in the North American
automobile industry. European advancements also bear watching, where the vanguard of
technology includes carbon composite, modular weld guns that use higher-frequency
transformers with less iron and, therefore, less weight. These and other new technologies
all are fighting for a place in modern spot welding applications.

WINN HARDIN is an editor at large for the Robotic Industries

Welding torch

A welding torch is used in an automatic welding system to direct the welding electrode into
the arc, to conduct welding power to the electrode, and to provide shielding of the arc area.
There are many types of welding torches, and the choice depends on the welding process,
the welding process variation, welding current, electrode size and shielding medium.
Welding torches can be categorized according to the way in which they are
cooled. They may be water-cooled with circulating cooling water or air-
cooled with ambient air. A torch can be used for a consumable electrode
welding process such as gas metal arc or flux cored arc welding, and
shielding gas may or may not be employed.

A torch can be described according to whether it is a straight torch or has a

bend in its barrel. A torch with a bend is often used for robotic arc welding
applications to provide access for the weld.

The major function of the torch is to deliver the welding current to the electrode. For
concumable electrode process this means transferring the current to the electrode as the
electrode moves through the torch.
A second major task of the torch is to deliver the
shielding gas, if one is used, to the arc area. Gas metal
arc welding uses a shielding gas that may be an active
gas usually carbon dioxide or a mixture of an inert gas,
normally argon, with CO2 or oxygen.

The welding torch is mounted to the robot flange with a

matching mounting arm. Preferably an anti collision
clutch is used to prevent damages on expensive weld equipment in case of sticking
electrode and crashes during installation and start-up.
Workpiece fixation and positioning

In order to join parts successfully in a robotic welding application, individual parts must be
aligned precisely and held securely in place while the welding is proceeding. An important
consideration, then, is the design of a fixture which holds the individual parts in the proper
alignment. The tool must allow for quick and easy loading, it must hold the parts in place
securely until they are welded together and must allow the welding gun unrestricted access
to each weld point.

One starting point for positioning the workpiece for robotic welding
may be the fixture already used for manual welding even though
specialized positioners are used to improve the versatility and to
extend the range of robotic arc welding systems. The usable
portion of a robot work envelope can be limited becuse the
welding torch mounting method does not allow the torch to reach
the joint properly. Special positioners eliminate some of these
limitations by making the workpiece more accessible to the robot
welding torch.

The positioners used with robots also have to be more

accurate than required for manual or semiautomatic
welding. In addition the robot positioner controls must be
compatible and controllable by the robot controller in order
to have simultaneous coordinated motion of several axes
while welding.
However, loading and unloading stationary jigs of the robot cell can be time
consuming and impractical. It is often more efficient to have two or more
fixtures on a revolving workpiece positioner, despite a higher initial cost.
With a revolving table for instance, the operator can load and unload while
the robot is welding. Obviously, this speeds up the process and keeps the
robot welding as much of the time as possible.
 Welding

Welding is the most common way of permanently joining metal parts. In this process,
heat is applied to metal pieces, melting and fusing them to form a permanent bond.

Arc welding is the most common type of welding. Standard arc welding involves two
large metal alligator clips that are carrying a strong electrical current. One clip is
attached to any part of the workpiece being welded. The second clip is connected to a
thin welding rod. When the rod touches the workpiece, a powerful electrical circuit is
created. The massive heat created by the electrical current causes both the workpiece
and the steel core of the rod to melt together, cooling quickly to form a solid bond.
During welding, the flux that surrounds the rod's core vaporizes, forming an inert gas
that serves to protect the weld from atmospheric elements that might weaken it. Two
common advanced types of arc welding are Gas Tungsten Arc (TIG) and Gas Metal Arc
(MIG) welding. Instead of welding rods, these welding systems use a spool of
continuously fed wire, which allows the welder to weld longer stretches without stopping
to replace the rod. Instead of using gas flux surrounding the rod, TIG and MIG protect
the initial weld from the environment by blowing inert gas onto the weld.

Welding torch

A welding torch is used in an automatic welding system to direct the welding electrode into
the arc, to conduct welding power to the electrode, and to provide shielding of the arc area.
There are many types of welding torches, and the choice depends on the welding process,
the welding process variation, welding current, electrode size and shielding medium.
Welding torches can be categorized according to the way in which they are cooled. They may be
water-cooled with circulating cooling water or air-cooled with ambient air. A torch can be used
for a consumable electrode welding process such as gas metal arc or flux cored arc welding,
and shielding gas may or may not be employed.

A torch can be described according to whether it is a straight torch or has a bend in its barrel. A
torch with a bend is often used for robotic arc welding applications to provide access for the
weld.

The major function of the torch is to deliver the welding current to the electrode. For
concumable electrode process this means transferring the current to the electrode as the
electrode moves through the torch.
A second major task of the torch is to deliver the shielding gas, if one is used, to the arc
area. Gas metal arc welding uses a shielding gas that may be an active gas usually carbon
dioxide or a mixture of an inert gas, normally argon, with CO2 or oxygen.

The welding torch is mounted to the robot flange with a matching mounting arm. Preferably
an anti collision clutch is used to prevent damages on expensive weld equipment in case of
sticking electrode and crashes during installation and start-up.