Rotary Welding Positioners – The Complete and Detailed FAQ Guide

Are you trying to find the top and best quality rotary welding positioners in the market? Fret not, because we’re here to help you! Like other businesses in your niche and field, we know what you came here for – so, we won’t delay things, we’ll get right on it!

We will be exploring everything about rotary welding positioners from top to bottom including all the advantages and disadvantages it has!

Without further ado, let’s hop right in and discuss rotary weld positioners more!

What is a Rotary Welding Positioner?

A rotary welding positioner is one of the most relevant and essential supplementary machines or equipment in welding. From the term, it’s easy to think through what it really is but for the benefit of everyone, it’s a machine that rotates and revolves a workpiece to give aid to welders.

The idea of a positioner is to allow the welder to stay in a single place without moving around a workpiece. This is especially effective in welding huge assembles and structures.

Are Rotary Welding Positioners the Same as Welding Positioners?

Yes and no – let me explain.

As mentioned above, rotary welding positioners are positioners where an assembly or a workpiece is rotated in order for a welder to stay put at a positioner where he or she is comfortable in. Therefore, it is a type of welding positioner, so, the question is not whether it is a positioner or not, but what type it is.

How Do You Use a Welding Positioner?

A welding positioner is a device used to hold and rotate a workpiece in a consistent position while welding. Here’s how you can properly use a welding positioner:

Step #1: First, the workpiece must be securely clamped to the positioner’s table. You must ensure that the workpiece is not loosely clamped to avoid messing up with the workpiece or weldment.

Step #2: Then, the positioner must then be adjusted to the desired angle and rotation speed. Readjust the clamps and chucks if need be or if there are any type of misalignment that you notice.  

Step #3: From there, the welder can begin welding while the workpiece is rotated, ensuring a consistent and accurate weld.

Step #4: After the operation of the rotary welding positioner for welding, you can then use it to check and assess the quality of the weld and the overall results of the project.

Step #5: When done, unmount and displace the workpiece from the rotary welding positioner and mount the next piece of component onto it. Repeat the process until the desired results have been achieved.

NOTE: It’s important to wear appropriate safety gear and to follow the manufacturer’s instructions when using a welding positioner.

What Are the Applications of a Rotary Welding Positioner?

There is a huge selection of applications of rotary welding positioner in whatever industry you may be in. For whatever assembly you might need, for instance, a colossal pipe joint, a rotary welding positioner can actually do you a good job and carry the weight of the positioner.

So, the typical applications of rotary welding positioners are:

Rotary Positioning

This is the task of positioning certain parts and components of a particular weldment or workpiece by rotating or revolving the workpiece using the rotary positioner. It’s like checking whether the parts or components have been fitted properly.

Assembly Rotation Parts

Another application would be to assemble the complete workpiece or weldment with the parts and components. The continuous rotation of the workpiece will allow the operator or the worker to be at a steady position while assembling and completing the weldment.

Welding Equipment Mounting

It can also act as a secure and stable mount for certain parts and components that are too big or too heavy that regular equipment or even people can handle. Thanks to its strong and sturdy structure, it can hold off big and specific weights you never imagined it could handle.

Big-Sized Welding

Of course, it’s primarily used for big-sized welding. It’s going to be tedious and almost impossible to weld pressure tanks and vessels without using any type of welding equipment simply because of how heavy they are. In fact, this has been the primary advantage or benefit of rotary welding positioners.

These are the ideal applications of rotary welding positioners. Just because they’re named and titled “rotary welding positioners,” doesn’t mean that they are only for welding. Some companies and operators use them as well for other purposes like assemblies, mounting, positioning, and even dismantling!

What Industries Use Rotary Welding Positioners For Their Projects?

There is a vast plane of business sectors and industries that make use of rotary welding positioners for their projects. Try imagining of businesses and organizations that have huge and mammoth-like parts, components, and equipment – those are usually the ones that could make use of rotary welding positioners.

Oil & Gas Industry

Several industrial equipment and machines in the oil & gas sector like preheaters, condensers, evaporators, vacuum and discharge pumps, as well as separators are the top equipment that you can use rotary weld positioners for. Given that these machines can be as heavy as a ton, even a team of 20 people might find it difficult to weld and work on.

Renewable Energy Sector

Wind turbines, biomass hydropower, solar thermal electric, landfill gas containers, and many other equipment are for-sure going to need rotary welding positioners. These technologies are heavy and are crucial for accuracy and precision. Working on it manually or without any supplemental machine is risky.

Aerospace and Automotive Sector

Car body kits, aircraft parts and engines, and many other components either made with aluminum or steel are heavy – they’re heavy that they can’t actually be manned by 5 people. They usually need lifting machines and equipment, as well as these types of rotators for better, faster, and more efficient assembly.

Heavy Duty Equipment Sector

From the label alone, this sector is a sector that produces and manufactures heavy industrial machines and equipment. We’re talking excavators, bulldozers, trucks, towing vehicles, cranes, lifts, scaffolding components, and many more.

Industrial Sector

This just talks about all machines used for industrial purposes. Whether they’re train tracks, train parts and components, railroad trains, mining equipment, or any other machine or product used to supplement and make industrial processes and methodologies faster, easier, and better.

Shipyard and Shipbuilding Industry

Last but most definitely not least in this list is the shipyard and shipbuilding sector. This industry is known for the production and manufacturing of gigantic anchors, decks, and other components that are far too heavy for regular men and people to work on.

Take note, though, that these are just some of the most common business sectors and industries that make use of rotary welding positioners. There are a ton of other industries that work on these, so, don’t get latched onto the idea that these are the only ones who does!

What Are the Pros of Rotary Welding Positioners

Rotary welding positioners are used by many businesses and companies because of the advantage or the benefits they provide. If you’re still unsure of how you can use these machines to your benefit, here are the pros of using rotary welding positioners:

It Improves Efficiency and Quality

Probably the most important and essential advantage of these rotary welding positioners is that they greatly improve efficiency and quality of the weld. It’s more of just an initial advantage, but continuing on, better and higher efficiency results in:

• Decreased welder fatigue
• More and better consistency
• Faster and swifter welds
• Better visibility
• Less downtime
• Less-intensive set up processes
• And many more!

It Increases Security and Safety

Another benefit that it provides would be the fact that it definitely increases the safety and security of both the welder and the workpiece (weldment) in question. This is especially what the case will be if the workpiece or weldment is bigger or heavier than what workers and operators typically work on.

Imagine working on a 1-ton pipe and you don’t have a rotary welding positioner – you’ll need to go around that component for the welding process and it will take a lot of time and risk just to get the job done, whereas if you have a rotary welding positioner, you can simply stay in one place and make minor adjustments based on it!

Rotary positioners hold and clamp the workpiece or weldment tightly and securely, allowing the welder to keep a safe distance from it in case things get rough. At the same time, it also guarantees the safety of the workpiece from chipping, folding, scratching, and even other damaging activities.

It Increases the Production Rate

What do companies and businesses in the manufacturing or production industry want for them to be seen and considered healthy and useful – speed. The faster the production rate, the more clients and projects they’ll be able to accommodate!

That is one of the main benefits of using rotary welding positioners. Take all of these advantages and summarize them – you will get faster and more efficient productivity rates.

It would, however, require a welder to be used to working on workpieces and weldments on a positioner, though, because it can entirely be confusing at first.

While using it alone, they can increase production and hasten the manufacturing process, but apart from that, partnering it with other welding supplemental machines and equipment can even double the production rate!

Unlike regular people who needs to manually work, reposition, readjust, and lift these components, rotary welding positioners can perform it seamlessly and smoothly.

It Diminishes the Need For Labor and Manpower

And lastly, the use of rotary welding positioners can reduce or entirely diminish the need for manpower and labor. The manual welding of a 12-feet component would usually require at least two (2) welders and workers so that one works on completing the weld, while the other works on balancing and ensuing that the workpiece is kept straight. With rotary welding positioners, however, this problem will greatly be taken care of.

By using a rotary welding positioner, you’ll only need a single worker or welder to work on a 12-feet – even up to 20-feet workpiece or weldment. Moreover, they’ll be able to put their focus on it entirely!

These are the top benefits and advantages of using rotary welding positioners!

What are the Cons of Rotary Welding Positioners

Now, if you thought that these supplemental welding equipment and machinery are filled with rainbows and butterflies and are perfect, think again. Like any other machine, there are also a couple of cons or drawbacks to note about them.

They Require a High Initial Capital

Rotary welding positioners are not cheap products. In fact, it’s the other way around. It can cost you to purchase one versus hiring three (3) additional people to your team. This is because the materials needed to create this are not cheap and its entire function can help systemize and improve manufacturing processes.

It Requires Skill and Experience

Since these rotary welding positioners would take the place of operators, welders, and workers, you’ll need to consider the people you will hire. Operating it wouldn’t be easy, and it would not be as complex either.

Therefore, hiring someone to do the job who has experience can positively affect the overall streamlining of the processes – resulting in faster welds, higher-quality outputs, and of course, more efficient production overall.

Extra Space Needed

Last but most definitely not least is the extra space needed in housing your rotary weld positioners. A single machine is not something that’s just the size of a refrigerator (in most cases), they can go as heavy as 800 kilos and can have a robust set of steel and aluminum in and around it.

You need to have ample space within the manufacturing plant in order to keep and maintain it properly. Usually, an extra space of about 30 to 40 square feet is enough for one, but that is only for the regular or medium-sized positioners – what more if you need those gigantic ones?

What to Look For in a Rotary Welding Positioner?

In choosing your rotary welding positioner, it is imperative that you know the most crucial and critical factors you could choose from and decide on. Just like in purchasing smartphones and computers, you’ll need to look at a few different specifications and factors to see whether the machine befits your purpose or not.

Without further ado, here are some of the top things to look for in a welding rotary positioner!  

Positioner Exterior

The exterior or the outer covering of a rotary welding positioner is usually the primary determiner of whether it will last long or not. So, ensure that the rotary welding positioner you’re considering to purchase is made of high-quality, robust steel or aluminum with the surface soft enough for the weldment or workpiece not to have scratches and abrasion.

Load Capacity

Load capacity is the total weight that the machine is able to hold and handle while it’s operating. Most of the time, the amount of weight that a positioner can handle will be related to its size – so, the bigger the positioner, the more load and weight it’ll be able to handle.

Choose one that just sits right above what you need. It wouldn’t make sense to have a rotary welding positioner that has a load capacity of one (1) ton if you’ll only work on components that are about 100 to 200 kilos – it would be a waste of money.

Surface Diameter

Surface diameter or the total diameter of the rotary welding positioner’s working area. Like the load capacity, this factor can also be determined by the size of the positioner – but that’s not always the case. Sometimes, there are rotary welding positioners that are small in size but have large surface diameters, and vice versa.

Pick the one that you will be able to use appropriately and another one that can supplement the entire welding positioner process!

Tilt Range

The tilt range is the measurement of how much the surface or the working area can be tilted. As most of us know, welding is an extremely tedious process and it sometimes require a wide array of angles for the weld to be complete. So, if you are anticipating complex workpieces and weldments, you need to choose a rotary welding positioner that has the tilt range that would be able to accommodate the angles you’re looking for.

What You’ll Be Working On

Another thing to consider would be the range of materials and workpieces you’ll work on for your project. If you’re going to work on heavy-duty steel, you don’t want to make use of plastic material because it wouldn’t be able to hold the weldment or workpiece in place.

Electrical and Mechanical Components

Last but most definitely not least of the considerations to note would be the mechanical and electrical components of the positioner you’re going to manufacture. You can consider these “needs” simply because they would be the ones responsible for the operation of your positioner.

Choose a positioner that won’t cause a nuisance in terms of mechanical and electrical factors. You might think of it as something that’s just minor, but it makes up a whole!

Is a Rotary Welding Positioner Similar to a Welding Turntable?

Yes, a rotary welding positioner and a welding turntable is just the same. They are just different terminologies and are used interchangeably. So, don’t confuse yourself when you encounter the term welding turntable when all you think of it is a rotary weld positioner!

Why Do Companies Use Rotary Welding Positioners?

The vast majority of businesses, companies, and organizations worldwide make use of rotary welding positioners because of the advantages and benefits they have. For one, they

Where Can You Purchase High-Quality Rotary Welding Positioners?

If you are trying to go after the best and highest quality of rotary welding positioners in the market, going with a Chinese manufacturer will be key to your success. A lot of people are trying to get good-quality machines but aren’t willing to put in the investment to it, which is a big no-no.

Good news, though, because there are Chinese rotary welding positioner manufacturers that offer the same quality as those American brands without the lucrative cost. Yes, you read that right, since materials are cheap and extremely affordable in China, so would the final products be!

Why MISA Welding is the Best Rotary Welding Positioner Manufacturer in China

MISA Welding has been one of the few-best and most trusted manufacturers of welding equipment in China. We have provided all the good stuff businesses and companies are looking for without burning a hole inside pockets.

Being an excellent rotary welding positioner supplier, you can place your complete trust in us for this type of machine wherever you are in the world.

From the basics and simple rotary weld positioners that need manual action to the automatic, highly-advanced modern ones that are multifunctional, MISA Welding has just what you’re looking for!

• MISA Welding focuses on consistency, efficiency, and quality and since 1992, we’ve been labeled as one of China’s best welding equipment manufacturers
• We work with all different types of businesses and sectors from Oceanic Engineering, Shipyard and Shipbuilding, Wind Turbines, Pressure Vessels, and many more!
• All our licenses and certificates are taken and granted to us through our years of experience in the industry
• All our rotary welding positioners have a strict 1-year warranty

Wherever you are in the world and whatever business you are currently under, you can bank and rely on us to get you the rotary welding positioners you want and need!

Whether you’re looking for welding turntables, column & boom welding systems, welding manipulators, and even tank turner rolls, MISA Welding can be your best bet!

Contact us and we will go over the complete list of things and steps you’re looking for so you land on the best rotary welding positioner you can!