For fastening sheet metal and other steel parts, no better choice can be made than stud welding. Stud welding operations can quickly install studs in a wide range of diameters and lengths, resulting in connection points stronger than the stud and base material put together. Stud welding also only requires access to one side of a work surface and does not require cutting a hole. Compared to other fastening systems, stud welding is leak proof, making it more resistant to corrosion, and offers a sleeker appearance. In addition to these factors, stud welding has many advantages over other fastening systems, whether it’s used by a welding technician to manually install studs or on an automated downstream production floor. For both manual work and automated applications, Northland Fastening Systems (NFS) has a complete supply of welding equipment, from tools and studs to efficient automation technology.
Welding Equipment
Any downstream production line that already utilizes stud welding or a comparable fastening system that could easily be replaced by studs will find multiple benefits with an automated system. This is especially true for fabricators working with sheet metal and steel parts.
Advantages of Welding Equipment
Some of the many advantages that automated stud welding equipment could offer your production line include:
- Energy efficiency: Automated systems are programmable to exact tolerances so they can work within the lowest energy parameters possible. Our automated equipment can reduce industrial energy consumption, saving you money and lowering your facility’s carbon footprint.
- Speed: With a programmable automated system, you will see increased production speeds in two ways. First, because it is controlled to exact degrees, the automated equipment itself will move over a part quickly, some as fast as 60 meters per minute. Second, stud welding operations can be completed as rapidly as 0.01 seconds, making them one of the fastest connector techniques.
- Reliability: With an automated system, stud welding results have an accuracy of around ± 0.15 mm for steel and ± 0.2 mm for aluminum in most cases. This makes it the most reliable system you can integrate into your production line for fastening techniques.
- Low maintenance: Most stud welders require little to no rigorous maintenance. Even automated systems that routinely install hundreds of studs only need minimal upkeep. High-quality automated designs will save you time and money, thanks to their low demand for maintenance.
- Safety: One of the biggest advantages to incorporating an automated system on your downstream production line is worker safety. With a completely self-sufficient operating system running on a controllable software program, workers avoid injury, fatigue, and other risks on the job.
Summary
These are just a few of the many benefits you’ll see when you integrate an automated stud welding system into your production line. To learn more about the automated welding equipment and other tools, studs, and accessories we provide, contact NFS at (651) 730-7770 or request a quote online.