The welding industry is undergoing a dramatic change due to advances in automation, including significant advances in robotics. Specifically, one of the most progressive steps is the introduction of collaborative robots, or cobots, into welding applications. These changes will forever change the way welding and machine processes operate now and into the future, with greater productivity, flexibility, and safety on the horizon.
The Evolution of Welding and Machine Automation
Historically, welding was done by hand, which, while acceptable, was slow, tedious, and produced measurable inconsistencies in terms of quality and accuracy. As automated welding machines advanced, the advancement of process and automation improved, and efficiency has been above that of manual welding. Automated welding machines can weld on a more continuous basis, provide a larger return on investment, decrease material waste, and provide consistency on each weld or connection in the welded structure. With these improvements in technology, increased efficiency has been achieved; thanks to automation systems have made it easier to accommodate for their greater demands in the work environment.
The introduction of cobots in the welding arena
Cobots is evidence of the transition from traditional welding operations to automation. Cobots are designed to work in conjunction with an operator, which dramatically improves workflows and application processes by enhancing the capabilities of traditional welding setups. Cobots are unlike rigid industrial robots, they are a smarter automation system, flexible enough to handle various welding tasks and adaptable, this allows cobots to adapt more easily to other welding systems due to ease of use. Their introduction into welding processes indicates a shift toward environmental factors in responsive manufacturing.
Benefits of Cobots for Welding
- Safety: Cobots have advanced sensors and safety features which enable them to operate collaboratively and safely near their human coworkers. A Cobot will automatically turn itself off if a human worker approaches, thus reducing the overall risks of workplace accidents and ensuring a safe working environment.
- Production Efficiency: Cobots do not fatigue and can thus increase your production speed significantly. That can be especially useful if you have tasks where time is of the essence, such as returning a weld.
- Quality: Cobots provide exceptionally accurate welds, with little error variance while also providing consistent production. In essence, almost no rework is required depending on the ease of operation human mistakes.
- Flexibility: Cobots can easily be programmed to achieve a variety of tasks and can be beneficial in a small-batch production environment, or for custom aspects of a project.
- Cost: Cobots will not save you money upfront; however, by allowing you to fully automate boring and repetitive tasks, Cobots will reduce labor costs and increase overall efficiency.
What is in a Cobot Welding Package?
A Cobot Welding package will typically contain a collaborative robot arm, along with the required welding equipment and user interfaces. The interface usually means software that is easy to interact with, learn, and implement into pre-existing workflows. A Cobot package will hopefully minimize the learning curve and costs of changing technology since it allows you to quickly implement automation into your processes with very little reconfiguration, because the existing welding operation need not change. Most if not all, of the programming user interfaces will provide intuitive programming. This means you will be able to program a welding operation with very little training and understanding of programming.
Practical Examples and Achievements
Countless companies have been effective in deploying cobots in welding operations in true working applications, realizing remarkable returns on investment in productivity and welding quality. Many non-cobot welding manufacturers are reporting decreasing cycle times and increased weld uniformity by adding cobot welding packages within their company. Actual working applications of machine automation illustrate the true benefits of accepting welding machine automation.
Problems and Factors
The upside is obvious, but initiating cobots into the welding process creates challenges. Initial cost of machine installation, workers being trained on cobot, and workers dependent on machine maintenance, all representing cost factors. While the cost of investments will certainly be included, the payback with the ongoing production rate and consumption of cost is substantially reduced.
Forecasting a Path for Welding and Machine Automation
The path of welding and machine automation indicates a convergence of automation as more technologies develop. Advances in artificial intelligence, machine learning and sensor technologies will increase the abilities of cobots further, improving processes and efficiency. As technological advances and adaptations optimize, the commercialization of cobots within welding operations may make sense for any company.
Conclusion
The introduction of cobots to welding and machine automation is a major step within the sector. With increased safety, efficiency, and quality, cobots can overcome many of the issues associated with traditional welding methods. As technology continues to expand, taking advantage of cobots for welding will become necessary for businesses to remain competitive and meet the changing needs of manufacturing.
