Robotic Welding FAQs

Robotic welding offers numerous advantages over manual welding:

It minimises health and safety risks
Robotic welding improves quality and consistency in production
Greater throughput can be achieved
It is more efficient and cost effective for complex and repeating components/assemblies.

At Unifabs, we run a twin cell robotic welding setup provided by Cyber-Weld Ltd, which delivers its own additional advantages. In one cell the robot can be welding, while the operator sets up the next job in the other cell.

Robotic welding brings a host of advantages in terms of safety, quality, efficiency and productivity, but it is not without its limitations.

Some of the cons associated with robotic welding are:

Investment in equipment – Robotic welding systems require significant upfront investment. While you may recover the costs over the long term through savings in labor and materials, the short-term cost can be prohibitive.

Flexibility – Robot welders are perfect for repetitive work at medium to high volumes. However, if you need to manufacture a variety of work, reprogramming the robot takes time. For this reason volumes pose a limitation. If quantities are too small the set-up and programming time for a job could actually take longer than welding the job manually. This would make it cost prohibitive.

Risks of reliance on technology – if your robot welder breaks down, it could impact your production and deliveries while waiting for repairs.

Despite these cons, automating this process has been a positive step forward in addressing the shortage of skilled labor in this profession. At Unifabs, the twin cell Fanuc ARC Mate setup supports a team of experienced welders, enabling us to provide increased welding capacity, particularly for subcontract partnerships with regularly repeated orders.

If you think your product could benefit from robotic welding, contact us today to discuss your requirements.