Robot welding and automation in the welding trade

Welding is one of the trades where automation has grown most in recent years. That is not only due to a wish for efficiency — it is to a large extent because there is a shortage of hands. An analysis that COWI carried out for Industriens Uddannelser in 2023 shows that the green transition creates a need for just under 16,500 person-years of blacksmiths in the period 2023-2035 — equivalent to just under 1,300 full-time employees in each of the 13 years. Many companies already find it hard today to recruit enough qualified welders.

Denmark has many industrial robots relative to the number of employees in industry. The robotics organisation IFR measures robot density as robots per 10,000 employees in manufacturing. In 2024, Denmark had 329, Sweden 377 and Germany 449 — no. 6, 5 and 3 in the world. Robot welding is used especially for long, uniform series where the requirement is high and even quality from the first to the last part — something a robot by its nature delivers more consistently than a human welder who tires over a long working day.

A robot excels at repeated well-defined tasks: same part same joint same parameters over and over again. It is conversely poor at handling variation — skew parts singles repairs and tasks where the welder must continuously assess and adjust. This is where the human welder remains indispensable especially in construction repair and special tasks where each joint is unique.

• 01Robots are best suited for long, uniform series with stable parts
• 02People are still needed for variation, repair and individual pieces
• 03Collaborative robots (cobots) can work closer together with the operator than traditional industrial robots
• 04Programming and setting up the robot becomes a new competency for the welder, not just manual execution

There is also a standard for those who operate welding robots and other automatic welding equipment: ISO 14732 on the qualification of welding operators. The latest edition came out in June 2025.

Automation does not remove the welder from the equation — it shifts part of the task. The welder who previously only stood with burner or electrode holder increasingly becomes the one who programs, sets up, quality assures and corrects errors in the robot's work. It still requires a fundamental professional understanding of welding parameters, weld types and materials — but supplemented with a new type of digital competence.

Realistically, the welding workshop of the future will house both robots and manual welding work side by side. The more a company automates routine tasks, the more important it becomes that the manual welding that remains is carried out by welders with solid, certified competencies – because it is precisely the complex, awkward and demanding tasks that cannot be put on a robot.