Cobot Welding & Cutting for Equipment Manufacturers
Cobot Welding & Cutting for Equipment Manufacturers
Backed by a Team with Decades of Combined Automation Experience
Heavy Equipment Manufacturing
Easy-to-use, flexible, and affordable Vectis tools are helping equipment fabricators achieve average productivity boosts of 3-4x while reducing rework and improving throughput & lead time.
Vectis application engineers bring "in the arena" experience with construction, agriculture, maintenance, and mining equipment, and other equipment fabrication — guiding on which applications to focus on, the best way to tackle them, and how to achieve long-term success.
Backed by a Team with Centuries of Combined Automation Experience
Proven in Real Shops
“We do 3-4 days of work in 1 shift, with greater precision and quality. The Vectis is out of this world.”
— Production Supervisor, Mining Equipment Mfg. in Wyoming
“That weld used to take us 8 hours... now we do it in 30-45 minutes.”
— Blake F., Welding and Finishing Supervisor, Sharp Iron Manufacturing
Automation Built for
Heavy Equipment Fabrication
Multipass
Designed for thick-section welds requiring multiple passes.
Manual vs. Cobot Welding
Reduces variability across extended weld paths.
Accuracy Where it Matters
Added reinforcement for high-stress, critical structural connections.
Equipment manufacturers often balance a wide variety of parts, assemblies, and production requirements. Vectis cobot welding systems lend a hand with long seams, heavy multipass welds, and can adapt to the large variety of welds common within equipment manufacturing applications. Vectis tools enable teams to complete more work with greater consistency while freeing skilled welders for higher-value work.
Long Seams
Multipass
Flexible Fabrication
Reduce starts and stops on long parts, helping improve consistency and lower defect rate.
Quickly program heavy multipass welds and calculate placement of subsequent passes with Vectis software.
Built for applications like outriggers, doubler plates, towers and much more!
What Equipment Fabricators are Seeing
Boosting per-part productivity by 3-4x on average
Freeing skilled welders for higher-value work
Reduced rework and shorter lead times
Improved weld quality on long seams and large assemblies
Equipment Manufacturers are using Vectis tools for:
Box Beams
Hydraulic Tanks
Blades
Chassis/Frames
Motor Mounts
Buckets
Rippers
Outriggers
Pump Frames
Couplers
Hydraulic Cylinders
Grapplers
Towers
Much more!
In the production of:
EXCAVATORS
DOZERS
LOADERS
SCRAPERS
CRANES
MAINTENANCE TRUCKS
HAUL TRUCKS
VACUUM TRUCKS
TELEHANDLERS
PAVERS
CONVEYORS
MIXERS
Application Inspiration
Automation That Supports Skilled Welders
Vectis tools add value on large assemblies and heavy-duty fabrication by reducing stops and starts, maintaining repeatability through complex curves, and offloading the most boring arc time to allow welders to focus on more custom tasks.
Heavy Multipass, Seam Tracking, QuickTeach, AI Path Optimization, 3D Cutting/Beveling, and other Vectis features offer heavy-duty power for heavy-duty applications.
Compatible with a range of mobile cobot-to-part and part-to-cobot deployment options:
These examples represent just a few of the many configurations available to fit your unique applications. Our team can help you identify and configure the solution that best fits your workflow, parts, and production goals. Speak with an expert to learn more & evaluate your applications.
Two Common Automation Opportunities in Equipment Fabrication:
High Volume Fabrication
Consistent parts, fixtures, and production assemblies
Consistent parts, fixtures, and production assemblies
Solutions such as Park'N'Arc™ may be a strong fit for these types of applications.
Solutions such as Park'N'Arc™ may be a strong fit for these types of applications.
Ideal For:
Fixture-based weldments, repeatable assemblies, small-to-medium weldments, high part volumes and much more.
VS.
High-Arc Applications
Long welds, multipass applications, and large assemblies
Solutions such as the Vectis Rover™, Boom™, and Slide™ may be a strong fit for these types of applications.
Solutions such as the Vectis Rover™, Boom™, and Slide™ may be a strong fit for these types of applications.
Ideal For:
Long seams, multipass welds, large weldments, structural fabrication, high arc-time welds and much more.
Built Around Application Support and Long-Term Success
The Vectis team brings centuries of combined fabrication automation experience to every automation project. We begin each project with a thorough application evaluation to determine if your application is a viable fit for cobot automation. Beyond application fit, we partner with your team to share tried-and-true best practices for successful implementation and long-term success.
Built Around Application Support and Long-Term Success
Our focused team of application experts offers lifetime support with:
Programming best practices
Layout recommendations for your parts and workflow
Ongoing guidance from our applications team as your needs evolve
Cycle time estimates using proven real-world weld parameter data
Common Questions From Equipment Manufacturers About Cobot Welding
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Yes! Cobot systems can be deployed in a variety of ways to support large weldments such as booms, outriggers, structural frames, towers, and other heavy fabricated assemblies. Mobile deployment options like the Vectis Rover™ allow the system to be brought directly to the workpiece, helping shops automate applications that extend well beyond a traditional welding table. Vectis customers are using cobot welding on everything from booms and outriggers to structural frames and other large fabricated assemblies found throughout construction, agriculture, mining, and related heavy industries.
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Absolutely. Long seams and multipass welds are common applications for cobot welding in heavy equipment fabrication. Advanced software capabilities including intelligent multipass helps manufacturers automate demanding welds while maintaining consistent travel speed, weld placement, and process control. This allows fabricators to complete more arc time with greater efficiency.
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Large fabricated assemblies often require long, multipass welds, that frequently require re-heat and significant arc-on time. Hours of holding a torch in awkward positions, managing heat exposure, and maintaining focus through long weld sequences can take a significant physical toll on even the most experienced welders.
The cobot can take on some of the most repetitive and physically demanding welding tasks, reducing operator fatigue and strain. By executing the same programmed weld path with consistent parameters every cycle, it also helps maintain weld quality and consistency across the entire assembly. This allows skilled welders to focus on fit-up, inspection, and other higher-value fabrication tasks while improving quality and throughput.
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A water-cooled welding package helps manage heat during high-amperage and high-duty-cycle welding applications. This allows for longer production run time, improved weld consistency, and less risk of overheating while providing the added benefit of better heat management around equipment and operators. While many cobot welding systems are designed around air-cooled torches, a water-cooled setup can provide the added durability and performance needed for thicker materials, higher deposition rates, and demanding production environments.