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More companies than ever before are automating portions, if not the entirety, of their welding operations for many reasons: to address the welder shortage; improve quality; decrease waste and rework; and/or to increase productivity. However, not all companies that attempt the automation journey are successful.

In fact, those that begin without a well-thought-out roadmap risk valuable time and investments and are likely to miss the full benefits of welding automation.

On the other hand, fabricators that begin with a careful examination of their welding needs and current processes - including an accurate assessment of workflow and an evaluation of the potential return on investment (ROI) - and develop a detailed plan, with clearly established goals, are likely to achieve welding automation success.

WHAT'S THE BENEFIT?

On average, labor accounts for approximately 70 percent of any welded part's cost. An automated system can potentially reduce that cost because a robot can typically do the work of two to four people, operating without attention deficits or bad days. You cannot, however, simply purchase an automated system and let it go. A skilled welding operator is needed to program the equipment, which may involve additional training to upgrade his/her skill sets and may also require alleviating this welding operator of some existing tasks.

The proper automated system can significantly improve first-pass weld quality, reduce the need for scrapping or reworking parts, and minimize or eliminate spatter, which in turn reduces the need to apply anti-spatter or perform post-weld clean up - both labor-intensive processes. This means personnel that currently apply anti-spatter may be freed up for other, more productive uses elsewhere.

An automated system can reduce over-welding, a common and costly occurrence associated with the semi-automatic process. For example, welding operators who weld a bead that is 1/8 in too large on every pass can potentially double the cost of welding (both for labor and for filler metals), and over-welding may adversely affect the integrity of the part. Automation can prevent this problem.

Finally, robots are fast. They don't have to weld all day to be profitable; they must only weld more quickly than a manual welding operator - and they do. This fact alone increases productivity. Creating the same number of parts in a shorter time also decreases labor costs and raises profitability. While these benefits may immediately beg the question "How can our company automate?" a few questions must be answered first.

REPEAT THAT?

One of the initial things to ask when considering welding automation is: "Do we have a blueprint, preferably an electronic blueprint, of our parts?" If not, you probably won't meet the basic criterion necessary to ensure the part is repeatable - and repeatability is the key to automation.

An automated system, whether robotic or fixed, must weld in the same place every time. If a part's design is unable to hold its tolerances - if there are gap and/or fit-up issues - you will simply be automating a broken process. This, in turn, can lead to increased rework and scrap.

If you currently rely on your welding operators to compensate for fit-up issues, you will need to look upstream in the manufacturing process to ensure consistency. What processes will need to change to make sure uniform parts are sent downstream by these welding operators? Or, if vendors supply the components, can they guarantee that consistency?

ROBOTICS OR FIXED AUTOMATION?

No single automation solution is best for every company. The best solution depends on many factors, including the expected lifetime of the job, the cost of tooling involved and the flexibility offered.