Automated welding taking on added importance

March 7, 2019 5:34 pm

An industry analysis on what parameters goes into making welding an automated and intelligent process

Automated welding can provide large gains in productivity and profitability in the right applications. Welding is arguably the most complex manufacturing process and is frequently the least understood. However, many assemblers are implementing automated welding systems to increase quality, productivity and profitability.

Welding an automated process
Aniruddha R. Vilekar, Chief Technical Officer, MR & Head- Marketing, Ador Welding Limited states, “Companies invest in welding automation mainly to improve productivity, get consistent quality, increase efficiencies, control heat input, increase travel speeds and address the shortage of skilled welders.” There may be a change in the welding process itself that might be required to go for automation like changing from a manual metal arc welding electrode to a gas shielded metal arc welding wire.

Companies must know what they want to accomplish to make the best choice for the application and their short- and long-term goals. Continuous wire processes are must due to their distinct advantages of faster welding speeds, controlled heat input and adaptability to automation.
Vilekar confirms, “Another important step that can help hasten the shift into automation is if the jobs are repetitive in nature with dimensional accuracy being an important consideration. The Tip Tig process introduced recently by Ador Welding promises to be a game changer with three times the speeds of conventional tig.”

Rakesh Pachpor, Proprietor, Root machinery explains, “There are different parameters are taken in welding to make it automated. In coming trends, satisfaction level of quality and productivity is needed in a high scale and to achieve it, it become necessary for the industries to go into automated welding processes.
The major part to take care about the design or product is to be weld, production rate, desired quality and many more.”

According to Shailesh Mittal, Director, Mitco Weld Products Pvt Ltd, “The main parameters will be scale of work and quality expectations. Automation is generally feasible at higher scale of work. At small scale, the cost are not bearable. Also when consistent quality and higher speed is required automation is recommended.”

Innovation to intelligent welding
Innovation and intelligent welding are two sides of a coin. Both have to go hand in hand. Mittal explains, “Actually there are three things other being education. Welding is engineering line so a person should know which welding process should be used for a particular task. This is where education is required. Also best quality equipments should be used since welding is a risky job and also raw material used are expensive. This is where innovation becomes important.”

Vilekar affirms, “Industry 4.0 is the new industrial revolution that everyone is talking about today. The new innovation in welding is about collecting big data at various stages of welding collect the data, analyse it, correct it in real time thereby reducing the requirement of exceptional skill levels in welding thereby reducing human intervention greatly, improving quality and productivity while reducing costs.”

Industry 4.0 is changing the world of welding. Global trends like bio-engineered and non-metallic materials, quantum computing and blockchain, virtual and augmented reality are challenging convention in the industry.

Vilekar concludes, “Innovation has led to welding power source that can be programmed to think on own, and decide on the ideal arc gap. The machine programme can be controlled remotely from any location in the world using internet. Such welding operations carried out using the digital enablers are often called intelligent welding.”

Automation is generally feasible at higher scale of work. At small scale the cost are not bearable
Shailesh Mittal, Director, Mitco Weld Products Pvt Ltd

Industry 4.0 is the new industrial revolution that everyone is talking about today
Aniruddha R. Vilekar, Chief Technical Officer, MR & Head- Marketing, Ador Welding Limited

The major part to take care about the design or product is to be weld, production rate, desired quality and many more
Rakesh Pachpor, Proprietor, Root machinery