Robot welding and automation in the welding trade

Welding is one of the trades where automation has advanced the most in recent years. This is not only due to a desire for efficiency — it is largely because there is a shortage of labour. An analysis from COWI points to a need for an additional approximately 10,000 blacksmiths in Denmark by 2030 due to the green transition, and many companies are already experiencing that it is difficult to recruit enough qualified welders.

§Denmark and the robots

Danmark er blandt de europæiske lande med flest industrirobotter pr. indbygger, kun overgået af Tyskland og Sverige. Robotsvejsning bruges især til lange, ensartede serier, hvor kravet er høj og jævn kvalitet fra det første til det sidste emne — noget en robot i sagens natur er bedre til at levere konsekvent end en menneskelig svejser, der trættes hen over en lang arbejdsdag.

§What robots are good at — and what they are not

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

§The welder's role changes

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.

§A future with both

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.