Cantilever Welding Robot Workstation

A welding robot that writes its own program. Instead of an operator jogging the torch to each point with a teach pendant, the software takes the seams from a 3D model or from a 3D scan of the part, chooses welding parameters from a process database, plans the path, checks it for collisions and sends it to the robot.

No. With a STEP, IGS or IFC model (Tekla exports IFC) the software reads the seams from the model. Without a model, the global camera scans the tacked part, rebuilds it from the point cloud and finds the seams itself. Several parts on the station can be recognised in one scan.

The operator’s work is loading the part, starting the scan or selecting the model, and checking the path in the 3D simulation. There is no point-by-point teaching, so a new part does not stop production the way pendant teaching does. Cycle time and collisions are calculated in the simulation before the robot moves.

A welding cell in which an industrial welding robot hangs from a cantilever arm that travels along a floor track. The arm reaches over the part from one side, so the robot welds long structural parts from above while the other side stays open for crane loading. It costs less and needs less space than a gantry, and suits parts up to about 3.5 m wide.

Six axes in the robot arm, plus two travel axes: X along the 14 m floor track and Y along the cantilever arm. All eight are coordinated, so the robot reaches every seam on a 12.5 m part without the part being moved.

12,500 x 3,500 x 500 mm (length x width x height) on the standard 14 m track. The track length sets the part length, so a longer track welds longer parts. For parts wider than 3.5 m, see the gantry welding robot.

The robot repeats to ±0.08 mm and the travel axes position to ±0.5 mm. What matters more for weld quality is that the 3D seam camera measures each joint before welding (0.02 mm repeatability at 300 mm), so the robot welds where the seam really is, not where the drawing says it should be.

Flat and vertical fillet welds, polyline fillet welds in one plane, wrap-around welds at plate ends, lap welds and curved welds in one plane, on H-beam columns, roof beams, crane beams, corbels, purlin supports and bridge diaphragms. Thick joints get multi-layer, multi-pass welding with arc tracking.

The camera and torch need room. Keep stiffeners at least 200 mm apart (for stiffeners and flanges 200 mm high) and the angle between plates at 70 degrees or more. The software checks the space for each seam and flags any it cannot reach.

Yes. A teach pendant is included. For a seam in a tight corner, the operator teaches a few points and the robot welds it with the matched parameters from the database.

Gas-shielded MIG/MAG welding in DC and pulse modes, with solid or flux-cored wire, on carbon steel and stainless steel. Seven weave patterns, stitch welding and fish-scale welding are included.

Yes. Two cantilevers can share one track. The software and hardware keep them apart, so they can weld one long part from both ends or work on two stations while parts are loaded.

About 20 working days after the advance payment for the standard station. The shop needs about 14 x 6.5 m of level floor, three-phase power, shielding gas and dry compressed air, and crane access for loading. The robot runs between -10 and 45 °C at 20-80% humidity.

Penetration is set by current, voltage, travel speed, torch angle and stick-out. The robot keeps all five constant along the seam, and the 3D seam camera and arc tracking keep the torch on the joint root, so penetration stays even from one end of the beam to the other. For deeper penetration on thick joints, DC spray transfer and multi-pass welding are used.

For carbon steel, 1.2 mm solid wire (ER70S-6 / G3Si1) with 80% Ar / 20% CO2 mixed gas is the usual choice: stable pulse and spray transfer with little spatter. 100% CO2 lowers gas cost but adds spatter. Flux-cored wire gives higher deposition. Stainless steel uses matching wire and Ar-rich gas.

Yes. Groove (bevel) welds are filled with multi-layer, multi-pass welding: root, fill and cap passes laid out from the joint size, with arc tracking correcting each pass. Complete and partial joint penetration welds follow the groove preparation and backing given in your welding procedure.

The robot welds to your WPS. Procedures can be qualified to AWS D1.1, ISO 15614-1 or class society rules, and the station suits shops certified to EN 1090 and ISO 3834. Stored parameter sets mean a qualified procedure is repeated exactly.

The welding robot price depends on the layout and size (track or span length), the number of robots, the vision package, the welding power source brand and on-site service. Send your largest part size and production volume and we quote the exact configuration.

Yes. Send the STEP model and, if you have one, your planned assembly and welding sequence. We simulate reachability and collisions, report how many welds the robot can make and which stay manual, separate open-structure welds from closing welds, and estimate cycle time. Where a different assembly sequence gives a higher robotic share or less distortion, we propose it.

No. Very long single tracks cost accuracy and speed. For parts around 26 m we usually recommend two units of about 13 m each: they hold accuracy better, can weld at the same time, and can also run as two separate stations.