Increase Productivity with Collaborative Welding Robots

Collaborative robots (or cobots) are proven productivity boosters, working together with humans to optimize both efficiency and output in manufacturing. Digitization and automation in this sector have been accelerating at an exponential pace, transforming plants into smart factories. Traditionally, robotic systems seem to have been reserved by the largest factories and plants, while smaller manufacturers have not reaped the same benefits of automation. However, cobots are promising to be a game-changer for manufacturing operations of all sizes. 

 

Welding cobots, in particular, are revolutionizing manufacturing processes, working alongside human welders in industries such as automotive, aerospace, and electronics.

 

Benefits of cobot welding

Cobot welding has many advantages compared to traditional welding performed manually:

 

Quality

Human workers are prone to tiring out and loss of concentration, which has the potential to impact the quality of their welding work, whereas welding cobots deliver the same quality work consistently regardless of how long they are in operation. The quality of their work is determined not by their perseverance but by their programmed parameters.

 

Efficiency 

Welding cobots allow manual laborers to free up their time, alleviating them from repetitive work. This affords them the opportunity to focus on more specialized welding tasks by allocating the repetitive tasks to the welding cobot.

 

Safety

Operational hazards, such as injuries and toxic fumes are just a few examples of the safety issues faced by human welders. By placing a welding cobot on the front line, its human operator can work from a safe distance and eliminate these concerns.

 

And, most notably:

 

Productivity 

Welding cobots continue to produce the same quantity of output, regardless of how long it takes, while humans naturally slow down the longer they work.

 

How welding cobots contribute to productivity

 Welding robots' impact on a manufacturer's productivity is plentiful. In particular, they:

 

• are easy to use and existing workers or operators can be trained specifically to program, maintain, and repair them, reducing downtime during production.

• are much cheaper than industrial robots and require less space on the factory floor.

• can be used to upskill manual workers. In this way, workers can be trained to operate the cobot welder for repetitive and potentially hazardous tasks or reallocate their (workers) time to other more valuable and fulfilling tasks.

• can be used to attract prospective staff by demonstrating better working conditions and learning opportunities for career growth by learning and working with new technologies, which is also a competitive recruitment advantage.

 

Do welding cobots replace human welders?

A cobot does not replace welding staff. If anything, they have the potential to increase procurement (as mentioned above). Welding cobots require experienced welders trained to program and oversee them during the manufacturing process.

So, instead of spending hours welding manually, repeating the same monotonous task, workers spend a short time setting up the cobot and then supervising it from time to time, freeing up time for them to concentrate on more advanced welding tasks.

 

Conclusion

The advantages of incorporating a welding cobot into manufacturing processes are tenfold. Not only do they help keep up with welding demands within production, but they also increase output quality, productivity, and efficiency, and provide favorable working conditions and opportunities for current and prospective employees.

 

Yaskawa

We are a trusted partner and leader in the manufacturing of robotic solutions for palletizing and depalletizing. Our offering involves flexibility through 2D and 3D vision software as well as specialized software and tooling to enable customization for speed, safety, accuracy, and maximum productivity. We can also provide you with the necessary training to use your robot to its full potential. Contact us for more info.