FAQs <<< back Orbital Q & A continued... 6. How much downtime should I expect with a robotic system? Robots today are extremely reliable, downtime and repairs mostly involve the welding system itself, not the robotic arm. Torches, contact tubes, liners, wire feeders and power sources are subject to more downtime than the robot, however due to major advancements in engineering in recent years downtime on these items has also been kept to a minimum. 7. Are welding positioners only used with completely automated systems? No, positioning equipment is not limited to automatic welding. Semi-automatic and manual welding operations are greatly improved using positioning equipment. 8. How much can I expect to pay for a "turn-key" automated welding system? Contrary to popular belief, automatic systems do not have to cost $500,000 or more. Integrating a company’s existing equipment into the system can greatly reduce automation costs. Also, integrating standard equipment can also help companies solve manpower and delivery problems and keep costs down. 9. Why isn’t my positioning equipment operating properly? Most complaints about positioning equipment not operating correctly is the result of incorrect application. Pandjiris provides a full engineering staff to calculate job requirements correctly and turn them into an equipment specification. 10. What is Hastelloy C-276? Hastelloy C-276 is used in pharmaceutical piping applications that require exceptionally high resistance to corrosion. Hastelloy is a nickel based alloy containing high percentages of chromium and molybdenum. It is much more expensive than 316L stainless steel which is the most commonly used alloy in pharmaceutical piping applications. 11. What are the advantages that orbital welding of piping and tubing has over manual welding? Orbital welding has several advantages over manual welding. These advantages are quality and reliability of the weld joint, increased productivity, smoother weld bead, improved resistance to corrosion and practicality when compared to manual welding. For example, in one study 1,500 welds were performed with orbital welding equipment and 1500 were performed manually. Of the 1,500 welds performed manually, 240 were rejected compared to 7 with the orbital equipment. That correlates to a 16% rejection rate compared to .47%, a very substantial difference.