Can tube welding be automated?

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Just curious on how they weld trusses and other mass produced tube structures.Do they just manually weld every tube one by one?Is there a machine that does the job? If so which ones?
Reply:I have only seen semi automated jigs, manually welded.
Reply:On this forum someone adjusted their turntable,  strapped the trigger on the mig gun and let it weld.  Might have been DavidR,  not sure though.
Reply:A lot of that stuff is welded on rollers in the flat position (sub arc, dual shield, etc.)Welding/Fab Pics: www.UtahWeld.com
Reply:I've used machines to auto weld ss tubing and know welders that have done heavy wall pipe. sent while goofing off at workLong after the price is forgotten, the quality will remain.Both of my Poppy's 1954 Short Hoods -Third generation to weld with it and teaching a fourthSA 2## - Bought and sold more than I can remember or care to list, 8 in the shop right now
Reply:Found the video here:  http://new.abb.com/products/robotics...ots/irb-1520idTim
Reply:That's not a robot welding a bike frame... that's an animation. lolThat kind of stuff is very limited in ability in actual use. Those would be some really ghetto bikes.Welding/Fab Pics: www.UtahWeld.com
Reply:Hi Im metal structure fabrication only cutting and drilling is automated. Welding is still manual. Its sum small step to automate hall proses with some new software.
Reply:https://www.google.com.cy/url?sa=t&s...fTNOHbQHGI5O4g
Reply:There's all different kind of tube welding, some can be auto and some not. What specific type of tube are you talking about?
Reply:Originally Posted by TimmyTIGThere's all different kind of tube welding, some can be auto and some not. What specific type of tube are you talking about?
Reply:I run a robotic work center that welds mild steel tubing structures (I design the fixtures, program, and run the robot) .  Material thicknesses range from 1/8" to 1/2", but it would be easier to go thinner.  The key to being able to automate the welding to anything is to have consistent parts with good fixtures.  Automated welding isn't very tolerant of inconsistent fit ups or inconsistent parts, which I have found it the biggest difficulty when switching from manual welding to automated welding.
Reply:Orbital welding is used in many applications. Mostly pipelines and some prefabrication.Here is some orbital GMAW welding a pipeline.some tube to tubesheet orbital weldingand finally some orbital TIG weldingThe first two appications are considerably faster compared to manual welding in my experience.As far as the last video is concerned, I have seen orbital TIG welding used only in one project I was involved, most of it was prefabricating pipe spool pieces 4" schd 40. It seemed slow to me compared to a good TIG welder even without counting the extra time required to setup the machine.
Reply:Hi see struCIM is a powerful software for general use. cutting and welding