It depends on how precise control you need and how much automation?
If you are welding manually then often a foot switch is used, if you want it automatic then it is usually simple to control the table and welding start/stop.
If you want the kind of automation where you load a part and press a button, then the start and stop position is usually a precise control, i.e. servo/stepper etc.
Al.
CNC, Mechatronics Integration and Custom Machine Design
“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”
Albert E.