There's no denying it - capital planning can be tricky, even for the most aligned teams. In this resource, we’ll review five key manufacturing costs every team should consider when determining if welding automation (and which type) is the right fit for them. These costs provide a foundation for crucial conversations, helping to clarify your welding automation journey. Our pro tip? Take your time and work through the tough questions. Understanding these costs reveal critical insights, allowing you to assess how you might be able to reduce manufacturing costs with automated welding.
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Investing in welding automation is a significant decision, likely driven by challenges your company faces—perhaps you’re struggling to find skilled welders, or you need to boost production throughput. Deciding if welding automation is right for you requires a deep dive into your manufacturing process.
Understanding the full range of costs in your current manufacturing process helps establish a baseline, highlighting areas where automation could yield the greatest benefits, whether in welding, material handling, or both. These costs are also essential for assessing your welding automation ROI, providing a clear guide to achieving success.
To help guide your decision-making, here are five essential manufacturing costs to evaluate, along with guiding questions to help kickstart your discussions.
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Safety is paramount in any manufacturing environment, especially in heavy industry. Consider the following:
Material handling can greatly affect time and costs in a manufacturing setup. Identifying material handling inefficiencies can reveal substantial opportunities for improvement with automation and supporting a more efficient workflow.
Understanding cycle times and labor demands is essential when evaluating automation’s potential impact. Cycle times and labor hours directly affect productivity and contribute to overall costs. Optimizing specific cycles through automation can streamline production, boosting welding automation ROI through efficiency gains.
On-arc time—the actual welding duration—plays a significant role in manufacturing costs. Achieving optimal on-arc time can impact your overall ROI in welding automation, making it a key factor for teams considering automation.
In addition to direct costs, other production expenses can impact overall expenses.
Being aware of these extra costs ensures a comprehensive understanding of your investment and its potential ROI, supporting informed decisions as you consider whether automation will effectively reduce costs in your operation.
Understanding the full range of costs in each production stage is essential for determining the benefits of automation and assessing your potential welding automation ROI. With clear answers to these questions, achieving ROI becomes more achievable. Without clear answers to these questions, you'll find it difficult to have a clear ROI. We can create the solution, but is it the best fit for you? We want it to be.
Our team at IRCO Automation can work with you to develop automated welding solutions tailored to your goals and help you evaluate the true costs and benefits. If you’re interested in more information or want to discuss specifics, contact us for an automated welding quote today to see how we can help streamline your production process.
Contact Us & Related Content
For more information about IRCO Automation's automated welding solutions, visit the Welding Automation page on our website.
Connect with our team by sending us an email at: info@ircoautomation.com
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