Automated welding processes have advanced to handle a variety of material thicknesses, including thin-gauge materials. Improved welding and sensor technologies allow factories and other facilities to efficiently produce welded components while still accounting for issues such as thermal distortion and part variability across many different types of materials.

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This form of automated welding is used to weld thin-gauge metals such as austenitic stainless steel and carbon steel. Thin-gauge materials are considered to be 18-ga. to 0.1875-in. for stainless steel and 24-ga. to 0.1875-in. for carbon steel. Thin-gauge robotic welding is typically done in short-circuit transfer (SCT) mode, as its low heat input is well-suited for thin-gauge welding. Some newer automated robotic systems are capable of pulse-on or pulse-on-short-circuit, both of which can be useful for thin-gauge welding so long as their respective heat inputs are comparable to the input achievable through SCT processes.

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Light-gauge robotic welding tends to be performed in a sequence to reduce the overall amount of heat applied to the metal, which minimizes distortion. It’s best to spread out small welds over the joint used in the welding process. The torch angle is another important part of the light-gauge welding process. Generally, the pushing torch angle is used in horizontal, overhead and flat positions to reduce the chances of the process burning through the metal material. For the SCT mode, it is best to utilize a short contact-tip-to-work distance, which is considered to be 0.25 to 0.5 in. Too much contact-tip-to-work distance can lead to increased resistance between the contact tip and the work-piece, causing unstable arcs to develop, MWES’s experienced robotic welding staff has a history of successfully integrating these techniques into robotically automated welding systems.

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For SCT welding of carbon steel, its wire diameters can include sizes such as 0.023, 0.030, 0.035, and 0.045 in. In the case of SCT welding of stainless steel, its usual wire diameters are 0.030, 0.035, and 0.045 in., but will run even smaller for thin-gauge materials.