Will manual welding become redundant for subcontractors?

For more than 35 years, Valk Welding has supported various subcontractors in the metal industry with reliable Panasonic cutting and welding robots, and since 1994 with expertise in offline robot programming. Because creating a new robot program requires a trained programmer, this has so far only been possible with experienced and well-trained employees. As a result, a large percentage of subcontracted products are still being welded by hand, which is something we are keen to address given the ongoing shortage of welders and programmers. Automatic Robot Programming (ARP) is a collection of user-friendly tools to develop robot programs faster and easier without intensive training.

Application and results

The software has been successfully applied by several manufacturers in the metal industry and continues to be developed to support the programming of increasingly complex products. This means that we are constantly testing, improving, and implementing new features. One of our customers already reduced their programming time by a factor of six and achieved an Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) of over 80% with their robotic system.

Do I need flexible welding jigs?

Integrators accustomed to traditional methods may be reluctant to invest in flexible welding jigs. Fortunately, there are many opportunities for ‘design for manufacturing’ (DFM), which allows us to redesign or adapt many products to eliminate the need for a jig. Many of our customers use this technique and Valk Welding is happy to advise on this.