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 Welding Robots in Manufacturing Industrial

When following through the history of welding, in year 1988, matrix of robots are employed in the automobile industry to perform resistance spot welding on car bodies. Following that, more and more arc welding robots are being installed both in large and small manufacturing plants. Since then, welding robots are used in two ways in manufacturing -- as elements in a production line and as stand-alone units (or Flexible Robotic Manufacturing System) for batch production.

Though, robots work well for repetitive tasks on similar pieces that involve welds in more than one axis or where access to the pieces is difficult, manufacturers who have automated their welding operations request to include more flexibility to process a variety of parts with the same robot system. This results in the creation of Flexible Robotic Manufacturing System. The Robot system here possesses flexibility to facilitate quick changeover by changing the robot end-effector and modifying the robot program. In addition, material handling robots are used within welding systems to position the part while welding or also to load/unload the part into a secondary operation such as an inspection station.

Another emerging trend is the use of automated inspection of parts, including the inspection of welded joints and part dimensions. These inspection systems can be integrated into production equipment to automatically control flow of conforming and non-conforming material. Further enhancement includes the networking of factory equipments to allow sharing of information such as inspection data, production status to highlight the utilization of capital and deliver quick response to maintenance issues.

What had started out as only a tool-handling robot was now a precise networked instrument capable of vision, touch sensing, and move in coordinated motion.

 Why welding robots?

Cost Saving: Automated parts inspection dramatically reduces rework and repair costs that can occur from inconsistent or failed manual inspection.

Labour Issues: Labour challenges (including retention and training) as well as ergonomic and safety issues are some reasons for manufacturers to automate their welding operations with robotic installations.

Quality & Lead Time: New controller technology allows the motion of the welding robot to be coordinated with handling robots. This results in faster travel speeds and better quality.

Because robot welding improves weld repeatability - robots will give precisely the same welds every time on work pieces of the same dimensions and specifications, many manufacturing plants use robotics welding systems to improve productivity and product quality.

 Considerations when automate the welding operation

• Production volumes - What is the number of units? This determines the equipment utilization.
• Number of different assemblies you want to automate on a single cell - this controls the complexity of the tooling and control system.
• How often do you change-over to run different parts? This greatly effect the tooling design and cost.

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