Orbital welding controls arc travel around a fixed joint, so circumferential welds repeat far better than manual TIG work in high-count or tight-access applications. Most articles stop at cleanroom tubing, but the same heat input control matters on industrial pipe spools, heat exchanger circuits and boiler panels. In our work planning automated welding lines, I […]

Linear porosity in welding does not always announce itself until radiography returns a row of rounded or elongated discontinuities along the weld axis. On long seam welds, the defect tends to appear as a line of gas pockets rather than isolated spherical pores, which changes how engineers should diagnose and control it. The distinction matters […]

Welding inspection is the only reliable way to confirm that a welded joint will carry the loads and pressures the design assumes. A visually acceptable bead can hide lack of fusion, cracking, or porosity that fails later under service conditions. Practical inspection planning means deciding which methods to use, what acceptance criteria to apply, and […]

A fitting that will not line up, a flange pulled out of round by weld shrinkage, a heavy shell course that needs walking into position. On repair floors and small fab shops, heat and beat welding is still the default fix: heat the steel, beat it with hammers or pull it with come-alongs, then weld […]

The TIG welding timeline began in an aircraft plant during World War II, but its real starting point was a material problem: magnesium and aluminum burn when exposed to air at weld temperatures. In 1941, Russell Meredith at Northrop Aircraft solved that problem with a non-consumable tungsten electrode and an inert helium shield. The process, […]

Gas Metal Arc Welding history is not a dated list of inventions. It is a sequence of decisions about shielding gas, power control, and wire delivery that still determines which equipment a fabricator should buy today. From the first aluminum welds made under inert gas in the late 1940s to modern pulsed GMAW systems, each […]

Solid-state welding processes join metals through pressure, friction, or ultrasonic energy rather than bulk melting. Heat input stays below the solidus, so the base material never turns liquid. That difference changes weld quality, equipment sizing, and production cost. As a welding automation engineer, I evaluate these processes less by what they can do in a […]

Sheet metal MIG welding looks straightforward until material thickness drops below 3 mm. Heat moves faster than the operator can react, so burnthrough and distortion become the real quality controls. Most guides stop at machine selection and basic benefits. In production, the outcome is decided earlier: joint design, fit-up, and heat management. I have spent […]

A welding robot, called a Schweißroboter in German, is an automated system that positions a welding torch along a programmed path while coordinating motion with the workpiece. In heavy fabrication, the robot is only one part of the result: the positioner, rotator, fixtures, and welding power source must all work together. My experience with tank, […]

Choosing a cobot company without first checking how the robot will hold and move your workpiece often produces a cell that welds clean in a demo and stalls on your parts. A cobot company should show more than payload and reach; it should explain how the robot, torch package, positioner, and operator work as one […]