From cars and trucks to appliances and electronics and beyond, many manufactured products involve welding. In many applications, traditional manual welding can be successfully augmented or replaced with robotic welding. Learn how it works, what the advantages are, and how Ohio Valley Manufacturing’s robotic welding services can boost product quality and throughput.
What Is Robotic Welding?
Robotic welding is performed with articulated robot arms fitted with end-of-arm weld guns. The arm or arms are programmed to repeat the same precise movements every cycle, which results in little variation in weld quality and few errors. The robots are usually enclosed in a cage or other secure space to ensure safety. Welding centers include fixturing to hold components in place, as well as material handling machinery, such as pick-and-place and conveyance equipment to facilitate infeed of workpieces and outfeed of completed weldments. Most robotic welding operations are largely or fully automated; however, they are still overseen by experienced welders who can troubleshoot, adjust welding parameters, and maintain the flow of materials and consumables.
Advantages of Robotic Welding
While robotic welding can be compatible with many projects, materials, and types of welding, it excels with welding tasks that are prone to errors, highly repetitive, and that divert welding personnel and their valuable skills from higher-value work or more complex manual welding tasks. Identifying tasks and parts that are suited to robotic and automated welding processes has several advantages that result in lower costs and higher quality, including:
1. Consistent Welding Workflows
Human error is a big risk in precision manufacturing. Even experienced professional welders get tired, make mistakes, and produce inconsistent welds, especially with the pressure of high-volume orders. Automated and robotic welding solutions can eliminate these manual welding problems:
- Non-compliance with standards.
- Poor penetration of filler and base material.
- Undercutting that prevents sufficient fusion.
- Slag from flux materials and electrode coating.
- Inconsistency.
Robots can consistently perform hundreds or thousands of identical welds, each within tolerance. This consistency in use of filler and penetration may also require fewer welding passes overall.
2. Increased Weld Quality and Efficiency
Robotic welding equipment performs every weld based on programmed work instructions, with no deviations, skipped steps, or inconsistencies. This precise execution results in higher-quality welds that hold fast throughout the life of the product. It also means fewer mistakes that result in wasted materials and production delays. Robotic welding can also reduce spattering and clean-up time, resulting in cleaner products and work sites. And in many cases, robots can run 24/7, unlike human welders who become fatigued and require breaks. All of this improves your ability to complete products and supply them to customers more quickly.
3. Conservation of Raw Materials
Because robots produce fewer mistakes, less base material, filler, and other consumables are wasted. This also greatly reduces components that must be reworked or scrapped. Because robots can be programmed for 24/7 operational cycles, they reduce the amount of material that may be wasted during start up cycles.
4. Reduced Labor Costs
Robots reduce labor-related costs because less human labor is required for repetitive welding tasks. Costs and downtime associated with shift changes, variations in the work of different welders, and potential injuries also result in lower overall production costs, which can be passed on to customers.
5. Safer Operations
Manual welding can be dangerous. In fact, according to the US Department of Labor, 28% of injuries recorded in the category of metal and plastic work are associated with welding and welders. Robotic processes significantly reduce or completely eliminate these injuries:
- Welder’s Eye and vision damage due to strong UV light.
- Cancers and respiratory conditions due to carcinogens in welding materials.
- Burns.
- Electrocutions or electrical injuries.
Ohio Valley’s Robotic Welding Capabilities
At Ohio Valley Manufacturing, we provide comprehensive robotic welding capabilities for large and small welding production orders, as part of our end-to-end manufacturing services. The advantages of robotic welding services from Ohio Valley include greater efficiency, reduced costs, and high-quality weldments.
Our free-hand robotic welding equipment is used for a variety of applications including trailer parts, outdoor power equipment, agricultural equipment, automotive components, truck parts, and more. We work with aluminum, carbon steel, stainless steel, and other metals.
Our in-house robotic welding capabilities include:
- Robotic MIG Welding. Metal Inert Gas uses a continuously-fed electrode and shielding gas to create an arc for welding. It is generally a fast, cost-effective choice for simple welds.
- Robotic Resistance Welding. Resistance welding processes use an electric current to create heat and fuse metal components together without a filler material.
- Robotic Spot Welding. This is a type of resistance welding in which two electrodes are used to create circular welds to join components.
- Robotic TIG Welding. Tungsten Inert Gas welding uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode and argon shielding gas to create electrical arcs for welding components.
Fast and Reliable Robotic Welding From Ohio Valley Manufacturing
Robotic welding is a reliable option for manufacturing components efficiently and cost-effectively. At Ohio Valley Manufacturing, we provide in-house robotic welding services along with design support, heavy gauge stamping, tool and die manufacturing, and quality inspection. We also incorporate material handling robots throughout production for greater efficiency and precision.
Contact us to learn more about our robotic welding and other services, or to start your order.