Performance in a robotic weld cell is significantly affected by your choice of robotic welding gun and consumables, including the nozzle, contact tip and liner. The right combination of gun and consumables can reduce unplanned downtime, increase lifespan and improve overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) in your weld cell.  There are three types of robotic guns to choose from, depending on your duty cycle and amperage ratings: air-cooled, water-cooled and hybrid. It’s possible for air-cooled guns to reach ratings of 350 to 385 amps at 100% duty cycle with mixed gases. Guns with this rating are well-suited for a variety of applications and help eliminate the need for water-cooled guns, which can be more complex and expensive to maintain. However, hybrid air/water-cooled designs incorporate water cooling on the front of the neck with an air-cooled cable. This design is good for applications with borderline air-cooled duty cycles that experience a higher frequency of consumable changeover. The hybrid gun is the best option to provide an additional rating boost while effectively cooling the consumables, leading to longer lifespans.   Robotic welding systems typically operate at higher duty cycles (compared to semi-automatic welding) and may use transfer modes that can be harsh on consumables. Consider using heavy-duty copper or chrome zirconium contact tips or high-quality tips designed specifically for pulsed welding. Chrome zirconium contact tips resist physical wear (or the keyholing effect) better than copper tips and are ideal for applications with long welds. Make sure to undersize the contact tip from the wire size when using 500-pound-plus wire drums to help ensure consistent wire contact with the tip due to the wire cast. Keep the tips on par with the wire size in small wire packaging.  Nozzle material also plays a factor in the application. Brass nozzles are stronger and have a lower spatter adhesion compared with copper, but brass is more brittle at higher temperatures. In short, brass handles spatter best while copper best handles higher heat. Choosing a quality liner pays dividends in reducing your unplanned downtime. The majority of time, burnback in contact tips is a direct result of poor wire feeding or a liner cut too short. An accurately trimmed, quality liner will help to consistently improve wire feeding by reducing drag. The result is longer-lasting contact tips and improved robot uptime.