Revolutionizing Welding: Reviewing Fanuc Cobots vs. Traditional Industrial Robot Welders

The world of weld­ing is under­go­ing a pro­found trans­for­ma­tion, thanks to the intro­duc­tion of col­lab­o­ra­tive robots, or cobots. These high­ly ver­sa­tile and user-friend­ly robots are chang­ing the game by pro­vid­ing an alter­na­tive to tra­di­tion­al indus­tri­al robot welders. In this blog, we will explore how cobots com­pare to tra­di­tion­al robots in weld­ing appli­ca­tions, the advan­tages they bring to the indus­try, and how they can help increase pro­duc­tion quo­tas with­out com­pro­mis­ing quality.

Cobots vs. Tra­di­tion­al Robots: A Com­par­a­tive Analysis

Flex­i­bil­i­ty and Adaptability:

Tra­di­tion­al indus­tri­al robot welders are typ­i­cal­ly designed for spe­cif­ic tasks and require sig­nif­i­cant pro­gram­ming and set­up when chang­ing appli­ca­tions. In con­trast, cobots, often inte­grat­ed with Fanuc robot mod­els like the Fanuc CR-35iA, offer remark­able flex­i­bil­i­ty. They can be quick­ly repro­grammed to han­dle dif­fer­ent weld­ing tasks or adapt to changes in pro­duc­tion require­ments. This adapt­abil­i­ty allows man­u­fac­tur­ers to respond swift­ly to shift­ing mar­ket demands and opti­mize their pro­duc­tion lines efficiently.

Cost-Effec­tive­ness:

Cobots tend to be more cost-effec­tive than tra­di­tion­al indus­tri­al robot welders. The ini­tial invest­ment is typ­i­cal­ly low­er, and their ease of use reduces the need for high­ly spe­cial­ized pro­gram­ming and main­te­nance per­son­nel. Addi­tion­al­ly, cobots can often work along­side human work­ers, elim­i­nat­ing the need for expen­sive safe­ty bar­ri­ers and ensur­ing that the entire weld­ing process is more effi­cient and cost-efficient.

Floor Space Optimization:

Many tra­di­tion­al indus­tri­al robot welders require a sub­stan­tial foot­print and safe­ty enclo­sures. Cobots, on the oth­er hand, are designed to be com­pact and can be eas­i­ly inte­grat­ed into exist­ing work­spaces. This floor space opti­miza­tion can lead to more effi­cient use of man­u­fac­tur­ing facil­i­ties and increased over­all productivity.

Safe­ty:

One of the key advan­tages of cobots is their col­lab­o­ra­tive nature. They are equipped with advanced safe­ty fea­tures, such as force sens­ing and pow­er lim­i­ta­tion, which enable them to work safe­ly along­side human oper­a­tors. This not only reduces the risk of acci­dents but also allows for faster response times and more pre­cise weld­ing tasks.

Ease of Programming:

Pro­gram­ming tra­di­tion­al indus­tri­al robot welders can be a com­plex and time-con­sum­ing task, often requir­ing spe­cial­ized knowl­edge. In con­trast, cobots are designed to be user-friend­ly, with intu­itive inter­faces that enable even non-experts to pro­gram them quick­ly. This ease of pro­gram­ming reduces down­time and increas­es the over­all effi­cien­cy of the weld­ing process.

Types of Weld­ing Cobots Can Perform:

Cobots are high­ly adapt­able and can be used for var­i­ous weld­ing tech­niques, including:

1. MIG (Met­al Inert Gas) Weld­ing: Cobots excel in MIG weld­ing appli­ca­tions, deliv­er­ing con­sis­tent and high-qual­i­ty welds.
2. TIG (Tung­sten Inert Gas) Weld­ing: The pre­cise con­trol and repeata­bil­i­ty of cobots make them suit­able for TIG weld­ing, even on thin materials.
3. Spot Weld­ing: Cobots equipped with spe­cial­ized end-effec­tors can per­form spot weld­ing tasks with precision.
4. Arc Weld­ing: Cobots can han­dle arc weld­ing appli­ca­tions effec­tive­ly, improv­ing both speed and accuracy.

Advan­tages of Using Cobots for Welding

Now that we’ve seen how cobots com­pare to tra­di­tion­al indus­tri­al robot welders, let’s explore the advan­tages they bring to the weld­ing industry:

Increased Pro­duc­tiv­i­ty:

Cobots, when inte­grat­ed with effi­cient Fanuc robot mod­els like the Fanuc CR-35iA or Fanuc Arc­Mate series, can sig­nif­i­cant­ly increase weld­ing pro­duc­tiv­i­ty. Their speed, pre­ci­sion, and adapt­abil­i­ty lead to short­er cycle times and reduced downtime.

Sta­tis­tics: Accord­ing to a study by the Inter­na­tion­al Fed­er­a­tion of Robot­ics (IFR), com­pa­nies that have adopt­ed cobots in weld­ing have report­ed a 10 – 20% increase in pro­duc­tion output.

Enhanced Qual­i­ty Control:

Cobots offer con­sis­tent and repeat­able weld qual­i­ty. Their pre­ci­sion ensures that each weld is of the same high stan­dard, reduc­ing the like­li­hood of defects and rework.

Sta­tis­tics: In a case study by Uni­ver­sal Robots, a man­u­fac­tur­er report­ed a 50% reduc­tion in weld­ing defects after imple­ment­ing cobots.

Improved Work­er Safety:

Col­lab­o­ra­tive robots pri­or­i­tize work­er safe­ty. They can oper­ate in close prox­im­i­ty to human work­ers, reduc­ing the need for safe­ty bar­ri­ers and enhanc­ing over­all shop floor safety.

Sta­tis­tics: A report from the Nation­al Insti­tute for Occu­pa­tion­al Safe­ty and Health (NIOSH) found that col­lab­o­ra­tive robots reduced work­er injuries by 85% in a weld­ing application.

Quick ROI:

Cobots typ­i­cal­ly offer a rapid return on invest­ment (ROI). Their low­er upfront costs, reduced pro­gram­ming require­ments, and increased pro­duc­tiv­i­ty result in faster pay­back peri­ods com­pared to tra­di­tion­al robot welders.

Sta­tis­tics: Uni­ver­sal Robots reports that their cus­tomers achieve an aver­age pay­back peri­od of just 12 months when imple­ment­ing cobots for weld­ing applications.

Adapt­abil­i­ty to Chang­ing Demands:

The agili­ty of cobots makes them well-suit­ed to indus­tries with chang­ing pro­duc­tion require­ments. Whether you need to switch between weld­ing tasks or scale your oper­a­tions up or down, cobots can adapt swiftly.

Sta­tis­tics: A sur­vey by the Robot­ic Indus­tries Asso­ci­a­tion (RIA) found that 91% of man­u­fac­tur­ers using cobots in weld­ing saw improve­ments in their abil­i­ty to respond to chang­ing mar­ket demands.

Cobot Welder Mod­els in Fanuc’s CRX Series:

The CRX series offers an all-new Fanuc pro­gram­ming inter­face with sim­ple drag and drop tech­nol­o­gy on a touch­screen pen­dant. The ease of pro­gram­ming paired with Fanuc’s world-renowned tech­nol­o­gy, proven reli­a­bil­i­ty, and sen­si­tive con­tact detec­tion allows the CRX Cobot to work safe­ly along­side peo­ple in a vari­ety of indus­tri­al and man­u­fac­tur­ing jobs.

1. CRX 5iA — Pay­load Capac­i­ty (5kg) and Reach (994mm)
2. CRX10iA — Pay­load Capac­i­ty (10kg) and Reach (1249mm)
3. CRX 10iA/​L — Pay­load Capac­i­ty (10kg) and Reach (1418mm)
4. CRX 20iA/​L — Pay­load Capac­i­ty (20kg) and Reach (1418mm)
5. CRX 25iA — Pay­load Capac­i­ty (25kg) and Reach (1889mm)

The intro­duc­tion of cobots into the weld­ing indus­try has ush­ered in a new era of effi­cien­cy, safe­ty, and pro­duc­tiv­i­ty. Fanuc robot mod­els like the CR-25iA and the Arc­Mate series have proven to be valu­able assets in cobot weld­ing appli­ca­tions, offer­ing pre­ci­sion and reli­a­bil­i­ty. As demon­strat­ed by sta­tis­tics and indus­try stud­ies, cobots not only increase pro­duc­tion quo­tas with­out sac­ri­fic­ing qual­i­ty but also offer cost-effec­tive and flex­i­ble solu­tions that are trans­form­ing the weld­ing landscape.

If you’re look­ing to boost your weld­ing pro­duc­tiv­i­ty, reduce costs, and enhance over­all qual­i­ty con­trol, it’s time to con­sid­er the advan­tages of cobot weld­ing. Embrac­ing this inno­v­a­tive tech­nol­o­gy can pro­vide a sig­nif­i­cant com­pet­i­tive edge in today’s man­u­fac­tur­ing world. Con­tact our experts at T.I.E. to get start­ed on max­i­miz­ing your pro­duc­tiv­i­ty with Cobot welders.