The Future of Robotic Welding as Seen at FABTECH 2023
Posted: September 22, 2023
Another FABTECH is in the books! The show floor in Chicago, IL (the size of 14 football fields!) was packed with people exploring booths and chatting about the latest technologies in welding and fabricating. This year's show was busier than ever with attendees looking for innovative technologies to help solve their current production challenges.
Here are some things we noticed during our time at FABTECH 2023:
Cobots for Welding Automation
Walking through the show, we saw several exhibitors highlighting how cobots can be used for welding and fabrication work.
Many exhibitors were utilizing cobots to aid in teaching robot/weld paths. An experienced welder can teach the collaborative robot weld paths for different tasks to help train new welders. The result of having cobots handle welding work has helped to create more consistent products with higher quality welds.
There were vendors marketing cobot welding as easier to implement than other automated solutions. While it can be easier to program and introduce a cobot into your processes than a large robotic system, by no means is it easy to implement. Introducing automation into any industry requires effort and well thought out ideas on the processes you wish to automate.
Automation is Continually Growing
While it isn’t new, more companies in the past few years have turned to automation to solve their labor struggles. Companies across the globe are challenged daily to find skilled workers who can meet their production needs.
We spoke with people in various industries who were new to automation. They were interested in learning about how automation could tackle work in places they were having a tough time finding employees, or with the ability to keep up with increased product demand.
Companies of All Sizes are Considering Automation
It isn’t just large companies who are looking for solutions to solve the need for increased production rates or product quality. Smaller companies, too, are looking for ways to introduce automation into their production processes to deal with workforce struggles. No company is immune to labor issues.
We noticed an increase in smaller (5-15) person companies in attendance at FABTECH this year. Small companies are also looking for ways to better utilize the staffing they have while considering automation for handling repetitive processes and work tasks.
Our team had a great time at FABTECH 2023! We enjoyed talking about robotic welding and how we could partner together to create a custom solution to match your project needs. Are you ready to explore the world of custom automation? Contact us to get started!
