Recommendation for robotic spot welding

[grayseal]

I am looking for advice on a robotic resistance spot welding application. We will be welding 18 gauge to 18 gauge cold rolled, draw quality carbon steel sheet. There will be approximately 50 welds per unit and 40,000 units per year. The welds need only be of Class B quality but marking of the outside sheet must be minimized. Weld gun accessablity will not be a problem.
Questions I have include:
Who are the domestic industry leaders in this area?
Should I be looking for an AC power supply of a DC inverter?
What type of gun should I specify - air, hydraulic, or servo?

Any help is appreciated,
grayseal

 

[CoryPad]

A leader is Fanuc at:

http://www.fanucrobotics.com/Products/application.asp

Regards,

Cory

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.

 

[28021973]

Yes I agree with CoryPad Fanuc are probably the best choice they have an obara servo gun which is excellent for robotic spot welding. I would'nt touch pnuematic guns anymore, there to slow.
Comau also can supply a robot and servo gun. The big key point with using a comau H4 or the new NH4 robot is that the loom is internal to the robot so programming offline is excellent and also down time due to loom failure and damage is virtually nil.

http://www.comau.com

You will also be better using medium frequency welding the control is far superior.

http://www.bfentron.co.uk