Top 5 in 365—Articles about automation and robotics

A material handling system picks up the workpiece after it exits the beam line and positions it for automated welding

The previous installment of Top 5 in 365 focused on assembly and joining, a key component of many fabrication operations and applications. These tasks and any others can be performed with automation and robotics. Here are the top articles published within the last year on thefabricator.com in the “Automation and Robotics” category. Note that four focus on robotic welding, which makes sense when you considered the much-touted shortage of skilled welders. And one touches on the sensitive topic of introducing robotic welding in the workplace where workers are worried about losing their jobs.

5. Tips for successful robotic aluminum welding
Process considerations for lightweighting
While welding steel is routine, a growing number of companies, especially truck trailer manufacturers, are transitioning to the use of aluminum parts to meet customer demands for more efficient, lightweight vehicles. Finding success with robotic aluminum welding requires special considerations to maintain the welding operation.

4. Automated fitting and welding becomes reality in structural steel fabrication
Prospect Steel achieves new levels of productivity with recent capital equipment investment
Some might argue that the domestic construction industry has never recovered from the Great Recession. Many shops have held on since then, but they aren’t prospering like they were prior to 2009. Prospect Steel, Little Rock, Ark., was in that position—at least until recently. It’s taken the leap into automated fitting and welding, and the robotic investment has reshaped the structural steel fabricator’s future.

3. Welding automation gets heavy
Accounting for process variation is key
Implementing well-thought-out automation boils down to two steps. First, design out all the variation you can, through smart part and fixture design. Second, use available tools, like seam tracking and adaptive fill, to account for the variation that remains.

2. How welding robots affect shop culture
It’s a subtle, complex issue, but the net result should be positive
Bring in a welding robot, and people think their job is at risk. It’s an old story, and perhaps not quite as common today, but bringing in a welding robot still has a cultural impact. If done right, though, the net result should be positive.

1. A brief history of structural fabrication technology: The road to full automation
How structural fabrication evolved from the 1970s to now
Structural fabrication has evolved from a largely manual operation to one in which virtually every manufacturing step can be fully automated. Few if any metal manufacturing sectors can make such a claim.

Next up? Consumables.