Models & specs
BotX welder: the cobot welding cart from Hirebotics
BotX is a Universal Robots-based MIG welding cart made by Hirebotics of Nashville, Tennessee, sold and rented through partners Red-D-Arc and Airgas. It targets small fab shops with no robotics experience, taught through a smartphone or tablet app rather than traditional robot programming, and is historically offered on a pay-per-hour-welded rental model rather than an upfront purchase.
BotX is one of the more distinctive products in the welding cobot market, and it is also one of the most commonly mixed up. Buyers researching “BotX welder” frequently land on a different company’s product by mistake, because at least two Universal Robots-based welding carts aimed at the exact same small fab shop buyer exist under similarly styled branding. Getting the company right matters before you request a quote.
Who Actually Makes BotX
BotX is made by Hirebotics, founded in Nashville, Tennessee in 2015 by Matthew Bush and Rob Goldiez. Hirebotics developed BotX in partnership with Red-D-Arc, the welding equipment rental arm of Air Liquide, and launched the product publicly at FABTECH Chicago in November 2019. Airgas, another Air Liquide company, is the other channel that distributes and rents BotX. Trade coverage at the time of launch, including The Robot Report, Robotics Business Review and Universal Robots’ own news centre, all confirm this timeline and the Red-D-Arc partnership.
It is worth flagging clearly: BotX is not made by Vectis Automation, a separate Colorado-based company that builds a similar Universal Robots-based welding cart under its own brand and publishes its own pricing on its website. The two products get confused constantly because they target the identical buyer, small and mid-size fabrication shops with no robotics experience, using the same underlying UR arm platform. If a supplier quote references “BotX” but the company name on the paperwork is Vectis, you are looking at a different product.
What BotX Actually Is
BotX is a cobot-based MIG welding cart, built around a Universal Robots arm, positioned as a rent-or-buy solution rather than a bare robot arm you integrate yourself. Per Red-D-Arc’s own product listing, BotX comes in two configurations:
- BotX XHR, built on a UR10e arm paired with a Miller XMT 350 or 450 MPa MIG power source
- BotX XSR, built on a UR10 or UR20 arm paired with an OTC P402L or P502L MIG package, with aluminium welding included as standard rather than optional
Cart and table configurations range from a compact 4 by 4 foot single table up to an 8 by 8 foot table on the XSR, plus a smaller 4 foot by 2 foot 6 inch mobile cart option, according to Red-D-Arc’s specifications.
The defining feature of BotX is how it is taught. Rather than conventional robot programming through a teach pendant, BotX uses a smartphone or tablet app, aimed squarely at shops with no in-house robotics staff or dedicated programmer. A published Hirebotics and Universal Robots case study describes a named customer, Wisconsin fabricator PMI LLC, programming a new weld in roughly 30 minutes using the app, a specific customer-reported figure rather than a general company claim.
How BotX Is Actually Sold: Rental, Not a Standard Purchase
BotX’s business model has historically been rental rather than outright purchase. Red-D-Arc markets it on a pay-only-for-hours-welded basis, with a minimum four-week rental term and no capital investment required to get started, according to Red-D-Arc’s own product page and Hirebotics’ company blog. No official purchase price for the BotX unit itself turned up in trade press or the companies’ own published materials during this research, which is consistent with a product built around a rental relationship rather than a one-time equipment sale.
For buyers weighing rental against ownership, it is worth noting that Hirebotics separately sells a different, newer product called Cobot Welder Powered by Beacon, offered for outright purchase with a starting price published at around 105,000 dollars on Hirebotics’ own site. This is a distinct product line from BotX, not a renamed version of it, so do not assume that price applies to a BotX quote. BotX itself remains actively marketed through Red-D-Arc and Airgas, including a related plasma-cutting cobot variant that appeared at FABTECH 2025, confirming the product line is still current.
Who BotX Actually Fits
The clearest documented case for BotX is a small or mid-size fabrication shop that wants to add automated welding capacity without a large upfront capital outlay, without a robotics programmer on staff, and without committing to a multi-year integration project. The rental model in particular suits shops testing whether automated welding fits a specific job or contract before deciding on a longer-term investment.
Shops that already know they want to own the equipment outright, or that need welding processes beyond MIG (BotX does not appear to offer TIG per the sources checked), are better served comparing it against a purchased cobot package built on a KUKA or FANUC arm instead. For the broader tradeoff between renting a cart-based cobot and owning a full welding cell, welding cobot vs industrial robot covers how the categories differ on speed, guarding and integration timeline.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
- Who actually makes the BotX welder?
- Hirebotics, a company founded in Nashville, Tennessee in 2015, developed BotX and launched it publicly at FABTECH Chicago in November 2019. It is distributed and rented through two Air Liquide companies, Red-D-Arc and Airgas, rather than sold directly by Hirebotics to end users.
- Is BotX the same product as Vectis Automation's welding cobot?
- No. Both build Universal Robots-based welding carts for the same small-shop market, which causes the confusion. BotX is made by Hirebotics, distributed through Red-D-Arc and Airgas. Vectis Automation is a separate Colorado company with its own product line and its own published pricing.
- What robot arm and welding equipment does BotX use?
- BotX comes in two configurations per Red-D-Arc's product listing. The BotX XHR uses a Universal Robots UR10e arm with a Miller XMT 350 or 450 MPa MIG power source. The BotX XSR uses a UR10 or UR20 arm with an OTC P402L or P502L MIG package, and includes aluminium welding as standard.
- How is BotX actually sold or rented?
- BotX has historically been offered as a rental, with Red-D-Arc marketing it on a pay-only-for-hours-welded model, a minimum four-week term, and no upfront capital investment required for installation. No official purchase price for BotX itself was found in this research; treat it as a rent-first product rather than an off-the-shelf purchase.
- How do you program a weld on BotX?
- BotX is taught through a smartphone or tablet app rather than conventional robot programming, aimed at shops with no dedicated automation staff. One named customer, a Wisconsin fabricator called PMI LLC, reported programming a new weld in roughly 30 minutes using the app, according to a published Hirebotics and Universal Robots case study.
- Does Hirebotics still make BotX, or has it moved to a new product?
- Hirebotics also sells a separate, newer product called Cobot Welder Powered by Beacon, sold rather than rented, starting around 105,000 dollars per Hirebotics' own site. BotX remains distinct and currently marketed through Red-D-Arc and Airgas, including a related plasma-cutting cobot shown at FABTECH 2025.