MIG Welding Aluminum Tips.

In the nineteen nineties, Ed set the first multi-robot robot line in North America, to weld a large aluminum application as seen with ABB robots welding aluminum golf cart frames, (above photo). Ten years later, in contrast to more than 80% of the robots in the auto industry welding "carbon steel" parts, the four robots welding aluminum frames achieved much greater robot production efficiency, less down time and less weld rework. In 2008, the robots and the MIG weld equipment have far surpassed the welding needs of today's applications, with this in mind, one can only wonder how much robot MIG weld quality and productivity improvement could be made in the auto / truck industry, if management focussed on process MIG welding training expertise and materials as provided in Ed's robot weld process control training resources.


    When one robot has a weld issue that has to be rectified, the other 3 will not be working.
1990s: ABB Fort Collins. CO. I was the robot weld manager for ABB robotics. The robot application had four ABB robots in a single cell working together on a complex, thin gage, aluminum golf cart frame. No push-pull guns were utilized. The customer was concerned that with the typical aluminum wire feed and arc start issues with aluminum that four robots working together involved some risk. To attain confidence in the project the customer requested a test phase with a robot producing ten thousand arc starts with no more than ten arc ignition issues.

I set the initial test data to ensure no weld start issues and after 7000 arc starts without a single burn back or arc ignition issue, the customer was satisfied. I then established the robots welds to compensate for the aluminum gage part fit and gap issues and of course provided optimum start and stop data. Each of the ABB robots produced approx. 30 to 40 welds per-frame.

ABB provided an automatic torch alignment system. The ABB system can make 3-D and angular calculation via its BullsEye automatic TCP calibration system.

The ABB Bulls Eye system automatically adjusts the TCP program to the torch, eliminating the need for touchups and minimizing down time

The ABB system also provided automatic error-handling capability-a necessary feature when robots are in close proximity the robots complete almost 130 welds on each frame.

ABB used robot I/O between all four robots. If one robot had an error, it communicated the error the other three. The other robots would then finish the weld they are doing, but will not move to the next weld until they receive a "clear to go" signal. In the meantime, the robot with the error automatically goes to a service position where an operator checks the problem.

Programming four robots to weld simultaneously on a small frame application was a challenge easily handled by ABB. Adding to the complexity was the need to program error handling as well as welding. Each group of welds had to have its own error handler program, so developers had to keep in mind the path of each robot and make sure that it wouldn't cross the path of another robot.

The robots used regular MIG guns, push pull guns were not necessary.

For optimum wire feed, we set Alco Tech dee-reelers and hard plastic liners.