Did you know that the ancient Egyptians used welding to join metal pieces together? The art of welding has been around for centuries! Over the last few decades, however, technology has led to significant advancements in welding. Today, a variety of manufacturing processes make use of welding automation. Yet, despite it's popularity, understanding the different types of welding automation (and which is best for your process) can be an overwhelming challenge.

In this blog, we'll explain and simplify the main types of welding automation to help you start to understand which would be the best choice for your manufacturing process.
Sections in this post:

• Introduction/Review:
  • What is Welding Automation?
  • The Benefits of Welding Automation
• Types of Welding Automation

• The Walk,Crawl, Run theory of Welding Automation
• How to get started with Welding Automation

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. 

In the past 5 years, the number of artificial satellites orbiting the earth has seen exponential growth as a result of the wide adoption of low-orbit telecommunications satellites for consumer internet services and the increased commercial availability of launch provider services. The aerospace industry is now facing a new challenge of scaling up their production rates to meet this new demand while maintaining the highest standards of build quality. With the large, fragile nature of these systems, and special requirements for clean room compliance, a new era of industrialization is upon us. Keep reading to find out how IRCO is leveraging decades of expertise building positioners of all sizes, with unparalleled design and customization flexibility to address these specific hurdles and help our aerospace partners reach their horizons.

IRCO Automation provides a robotic welding system for fuel cells with adaptive fill, laser seam tracking, and production monitoring.

A couple months ago, we posted Automated Welding : Myth vs Reality, an article exploring some common misconceptions about Welding Automation. As a follow-up to that post, and by special request, Matt has added to this series and provided us with a narrower look at Robotic Welding Automation: Myth vs Reality. Continue reading below to learn more about some of the misconceptions and facts about Robotic welding automation!

Automation can change a business, create new opportunities, and foster growth. However, sometimes the path to automation can be overwhelming. It is important to stay true to the fundamentals. In this post, our guest writer, Jordan, explains two key steps to getting started on the journey to welding automation. Read more below. 

Ready to "level up" your knowledge about Welding Automation? When choosing which type of system to go with, clarity to determine the best fit can come from knowing and understanding your goals and ROI. But when you have the choice between Hard or Robotic automation - a lot of questions might come up. Which is better for you? Is one type safer? Is one more expensive?

What comes to mind when you hear the term Automated Welding System? Notions of inaccessibly high-tech or financially impractical systems are a common misconception that may lead manufacturers to overlook game-changing equipment and radical process improvement.

But how can we separate these skeptical first impressions from the reality of modern-era automated systems? In this blog, we’d like to use our industry knowledge and experience to address and break-down some of the most common myths and misconceptions about automated welding systems.

The choice of whether or not to include a weld camera in the design of an automated welding system is one of the quickest and easiest decisions for some of our customers. But do you have any idea why?

In this post, we’ll explore 4 of the key benefits of using weld cameras and why you should consider integrating them onto your automated welding system.

Read further to learn about ways to help reduce the risks associated with welding automation. We break it down into two sections or "rules" :  

1. Safety built into the design
2. Training as an investment