How nexAir’s Welding Automation Tools Improve Efficiency on the Shop Floor

Skilled welders are hard to find, and the ones you have are probably stretched thin. Meanwhile, orders keep coming in, customers expect faster turnaround, and labor costs continue climbing. If your shop is still running the same manual processes you used five years ago, you’re leaving money on the table.

Automation isn’t just for automotive plants and massive manufacturing operations anymore. The technology has become accessible enough that mid-sized fabrication shops can afford it, and the labor shortage makes it almost necessary. We supply the equipment that helps shops like yours do more with the team you already have.

Cutting Down on Wasted Motion

Watch your welders for a day and track how much time they actually spend with an arc lit. Between fetching materials, positioning parts, changing settings, and cleaning up, actual welding might only account for 30% of their shift. That’s the problem automation solves first.

Fixture tables with quick-change tooling let operators swap between jobs in minutes instead of spending half an hour with a tape measure and clamps. Collaborative robots can handle the grunt work of moving heavy components into position while your welder focuses on tack welding and quality checks. Even something as straightforward as a motorized wire feeder eliminates the constant interruptions of manually threading new spools. The goal isn’t replacing people. It’s removing the tasks that slow them down and wear them out. 

Repeatability That Saves on Rework

Manual welding depends entirely on the operator’s skill and consistency. Some days are better than others. Some welders are better than others. That variation shows up in your quality metrics and your scrap bins.

Automated systems execute the same parameters every single time. Once you dial in the correct voltage, wire feed speed, and travel angle for a particular joint, the equipment reproduces those settings exactly on part 500 the same way it did on part one. We’ve seen shops cut their rework rates in half just by automating their highest-volume welds. The initial programming takes some time, but after that, you’re producing parts that pass inspection at much higher rates.

Maximizing Your Equipment Investment

Automation tools only deliver value if your team actually uses them. We’ve walked into shops that have perfectly good robots sitting in the corner because nobody learned how to program them properly. That’s why our approach includes making sure your operators have the training and expert KnowHow™ to get the most from their equipment.

Our technical specialists work directly with your crew during installation and setup. We don’t just drop off equipment and hand you a manual. We stay involved until your people are comfortable running programs, making adjustments, and handling basic troubleshooting. If something goes sideways three months later, we’re still available to help figure it out.

The right automation setup grows with your business. Start with one positioner or a basic welding tractor, then add more sophisticated equipment as your production demands increase. Building capability gradually makes the financial side easier to manage and gives your team time to adapt without feeling overwhelmed.

Taking the Next Step

Whether you’re looking to add your first piece of automated equipment or expand an existing setup, we can help you Forge Forward with tools that make your operation more productive and profitable.

Get in touch with our team to discuss what automation solutions make sense for your shop. We’ll look at your current processes and show you where the biggest efficiency gains are waiting.