If You Have to Spin It, Twirl It, or Tilt It, You’re in the Right Place

Weld positioners help to make materials easy to maneuver while reducing manual labor and promoting safety. Without the additional help of a positioner, welding can be a daunting task in today’s fast-paced industrial workplace, especially in environments with moveable items that could become potential hazards.

Positioners help to rotate pipes, tubing and solid shafts during the welding process, which increases the welder’s ability to focus his or her attention directly on creating the weld, leading to higher efficiency.

The History of Weld Positioners Is the History of Welding Itself!

Remarkable! That’s the only way one could describe the history of welding, once you get immersed into the story. Many people might not realize that welding metal goes as far back as 2000 B.C. Small yellow boxes discovered from that period show an ancient method of pressure welding. During the “Iron Age” people around the Mediterranean began to weld iron together, mainly using hand tools dating back to 1000 B.C. Between this time period and the 1800’s, blacksmithing was the only way one could get something made from two pieces of metal.

Fast-forward to the 1800’s and a gent by the name of Edmund Davy discovered acetylene gas. When that was put together with his brother’s invention of using two electrodes hooked up to a battery to create the very first carbon arc, production welding was not far off. It wasn’t long before inventers began to hook up electrodes to generators so they could sustain a continuous arc and begin to weld. As we progress through the 1800’s gas welding and cutting became a viable option for joining metal together. Arc welding with carbon arc and metal arc were developed and resistance welding started to become more practical.

Carbon arc patents began to be granted to engineers seemingly from all over the world. Between 1885 and 1905, the U.S. alone issued over 120 patents for welding equipment ­suppliers. The rest of the history is current, and as always, like every other metalworking process, has evolved at a breakneck pace in the 20th and 21st centuries.

What Is Production Welding? What if I Make Big Long Tanks?

If you fabricate anything big, or heavy, or oddly-shaped, or simply just hard to reach, welding positioning equipment is right up your alley. You guys know who you are — you fabricate anything that comes through that door, big or small, you do ’em all. From a small pressure vessel to a 1" thick walled tank the size of a railroad car, somehow you get it done.

The interesting thing about the BMT weld positioning equipment available from Bud's Machine Tools is the fact that every full-service fabrication shop needs at least one of everything we sell! If you think about it, a well-equipped shop would have to have the ability to turn a tank, so they would need either a conventional tank roll (or, if the budget allows, self-aligning tank rolls). Every shop should also have rotational welding positioners, as they help make materials easy to maneuver while reducing manual labor and promoting safety. Even big welding manipulators serve a function in the most comprehensive fab shops.

Bud's is your source for finding quality manufactured welding rotators, welding manipulators and tank turning rolls for sale. To produce a high-quality weld, the work piece must be positioned at the correct angle to the welder. This often requires the welder to change positions, or to move the part around, which can be both time consuming and difficult. Bud's Machine Tools offers several weld positioning solutions, three different types of machines that position parts for welding depending on your application:

  • Our turntable welding positioners rotate, tilt and elevate work pieces giving the welder easy access to the weld joints.
  • Our boom style weld manipulators can reach into tight places where the human arm cannot, making it easy to weld even the most difficult parts.
  • Our tank turning rolls are available in either self-adjustable or manually adjustable styles and are designed to rotate cylindrical parts at the speed you desire, from small diameter tubes to very large tanks.

How Do You Produce Large Fabricated Parts without Positioning Equipment?

Without the additional help of a positioner, welding can be a daunting task in today’s fast-paced industrial workplace, especially in environments with moveable items that could become potential hazards. Welding rotators provide a better way to weld work pieces, rotating a full 360° at a steady speed of your choosing, so you can weld safely and quickly. In addition to rotating, they also can also be pitched up to a 90° angle, offering enhanced access to the work piece.

These revolving welding positioners help to rotate pipes, tubing and solid shafts during the welding process, which in turn increase the focus of the operator on functions leading to higher efficiency. Our models vary in application and can manage weights that range anywhere from 220 pounds to 11 tons, and they allow the weldment to be anchored securely in place, despite the size. Our line of positioners includes manual and NC-controlled elevating machines which adjust table height as well as rotation and pitch. For everyday welding in a busy environment, our quality line of positioners ensures maximum usability and lightening quick production.

For projects with hard-to-reach seams and joints we have our welding manipulators. We offer three types: fixed type, fixed with rotation, and traveling with rotation. On every model, the torch is fitted to the arm, which then raises, lowers, and moves along the axis of the boom.

One of our popular offerings is our line of turning rolls for cylinders, or tank turners as they are often referred to. Capacities range from as narrow as a 9" diameter to as large as 216", providing access to a wide array of different types of work pieces.

When It Comes to Production, See the People Who Have the Knowledge

Bud's Machine Tools is staffed with the people who can help you make that most important machine purchasing decision. Which welding positioning machine should you buy? How big? Will the manipulator need special capabilities? These are all the questions we are familiar with and have been assisting customers with for years. At Bud's, we listen to what our customers want and then get it for them. For us, a happy customer is a necessity in our world; that’s why we work hard every day to make it happen.