The adoption of welding robots ensures an increase in productivity on the welding line. The automation system can also reduce serious work-related injuries, improve the speed and accuracy of order fulfillment, and increase uptime at reduced costs.
Welding robots can improve production efficiency by 85% and reduce work-related injuries
According to Intrado GlobeNewswire, the global robot welding market size in 2018 was $5.5 million, and it is expected to reach $10.5 million by 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of 8.7% from 2019 to 2026.
With the development of the market, these numbers are by no means accidental. In Industry 4.0, manufacturers will continue to seek ways to improve operations through automation. In the absence of robot welding equipment, the huge investment in robot technology in various industries has encouraged the further development of automated welding.
Automation is a long-term investment, and cost savings are not paid in full at once, but gradually increase throughout the entire lifecycle of the robot.
Improving profitability begins with being able to calculate the return on investment (ROI) of automation systems. RobotWorx has an ROI calculator for businesses to calculate the investment payback period, which is the time it takes for investments to reach breakeven. These calculations establish expectations for system profitability, and most companies plan to achieve investment returns within 2-3 years.
Once the investment return is obtained, the system can now directly improve the profitability of the enterprise through its efficiency, reliability, and quality control. Compared to manual processes, industrial welding robots have faster speeds. Usually, the industry calculates that in terms of productivity, an automatic welding machine is equivalent to 3.5 manual welding machines. When using automated systems, this is equivalent to an 85% increase in productivity for the enterprise.
When considering the impact of automation systems on the overall quality of welds, this increase can become even more complex. Robot systems are faster than manual systems, but they can also ensure the quality of welds every time, never making mistakes, and always achieve smooth and clean results. In a manual workshop, operators may make many mistakes and usually choose to cover them up by clearing them again with a flashlight.
Although this alone is incredibly inefficient in terms of time, it also wastes resources and may mask potentially defective welds. Due to the fact that the automatic welding system will produce the correct results on the first attempt, the robot system will save manufacturers resources and funds for quality control errors, which directly affects the bottom line of profits.
Another important aspect that affects the profitability and productivity of welding is the time spent on the welding itself.
Research has shown that for manual welding machines, only 30% to 40% of the time is spent on welding. Other tasks involved in the welding process, such as handling, cleaning, heating, and cooling, occupy almost 60% to 70% of the operator's time.
On the other hand, robot welding systems require minimal downtime for cleaning, heating, or cooling purposes. This allows welding robots to spend most of their time in the production phase.
The adoption of welding robots ensures an increase in productivity on the welding line. The automation system can also reduce serious work-related injuries, improve the speed and accuracy of order fulfillment, and increase uptime at reduced costs.
This technology has also improved the effective utilization of workspace and supply chain performance in the end-user industry, overall increasing the profitability and productivity of enterprises that are capable of implementing this technology.