Welding Robot Costs: Making the Most of Your Investment

Lindsay Snider, Marketing Manager

When choosing a robotic welding system, manufacturers must consider many factors:

1. What type of welding process is suitable for my application?
2. How does it affect welding productivity?
3. What costs will I incur, and what will be the return on my investment?

Most industries nowadays adopt modern welding technologies to leverage their advanced features and versatility. Automated systems like orbital welding have become a primary choice in welding. And while these technologies require an initial investment, they provide higher quality, more precise, and faster welds. For manufacturers, the resulting bottom line reflects an increased return on investment (ROI).

To further maximize profit, welding technology is advancing toward robotic welding and advanced offline programming capability. With robotic arms performing the weld while the programmer sets up the parameters for the upcoming welding process, industries can significantly reduce downtime. As manufacturers increase efficiencies through robotic welding, they can likewise increase their productivity and profit.

Investing in Welding Robots

While welding robots require an upfront investment, the benefits provided by robots can outweigh the initial cost. Welding robots offer greater consistency in temperature, arc length, power supply, and other parameters resulting in higher productivity. Additional benefits of welding robots are described below.

• Robotic arms ensure precision and eliminate human error. Operators can program arm movements to perform specific welding tasks with high-quality, reliable results.
• Automated welding systems operate continuously and at a much greater speed than possible for manual welders. Although a welding robot costs more initially, the resulting productivity gains can make welding robots a prudent investment compared to traditional manual welding.
• With optimizable robot weld parameters, operators can reduce industry material costs and waste.

Achieving the optimal results with welding robots will depend on accurately programming and optimizing parameters. By choosing the right programming capability, industries can reduce their costs further and ensure high-quality, efficient, and cost-effective welds.

Maximizing Returns With Offline Programming

Robot programmers train the robot’s movement and set up optimal welding parameters. However, this process often renders the robots inoperable during programming. With offline robot programming, manufacturers can keep their robots online and maintain operations throughout the programming process.

Offline robot programming allows robots to continue welding in the cell while programmers code offline for the next configuration of weld parameters. By keeping the production line running throughout the time-consuming programming process, manufacturers can reduce downtime. Innovative offline programming software can adapt to a wide range of robotic arms and provide a 3D model to help accurately calibrate the arm movement, positioning, and time. The simulation model also enables pre-service parameter testing to reduce the chance of weld errors. By increasing accuracy, precision, and productivity with offline programming software, manufacturers realize savings that can rapidly outpace initial welding robot costs.

Achieving High Quality With Less Cost

Investing in welding robots represents a significant decision for manufacturers. It requires considerations about the ideal power supply system, programming software, and compatible weld heads. Offline programming software such as OCTOPUZ can support industries by helping balance their welding robot cost with greater productivity. With the right welding tools, equipment, and strategy, manufacturers can leverage automated welding systems to make the most of their investment.