The Future of Robot & Welding

As children we were all fascinated by the predictions of robots being used for all sorts of futuristic uses. Even today, robots imbued with human characteristics feature in some of our most popular fiction and movies and still capture the imagination of audiences across the world.

But far from those fantasies, the reality is that robots are increasingly being used in many of our manufacturing processes and one growth area is Robots and Welding. Researchers predict that the global robotic welding market will reach a value of €10b by 2027, with a compound annual growth rate of 8.83% from 2021. 

This growing demand is fueled by a number of reasons. Firstly, a skilled welding workforce is increasingly difficult to find and increasingly expensive. Robot welding systems are faster and more accurate leading to improved order fulfilment speed and quality. Lastly, robot systems do not tire, so there is improved uptime and savings from more efficient use of materials. 

As someone with 20 years’ experience of working in robotics, I have never been so optimistic about the potential for these Robot Welding systems to help manufacturers of all sizes in Europe. Opportunity abounds. The European automotive industry, with the need for both purpose-built custom and complete ready-built solutions, is one main focus for Panasonic. We will continue to develop our partnerships with system builders and service partners to get even closer to our automotive customers and meet their needs. 

Other areas of focus continue to be agriculture manufacturing and manufacturers that are producing locally. We also have advantages in specific robot welding solution areas too. The company has automated welding solutions for all processes, including MIG, MAG and TIG, as well as Laser welding solutions. We are leaders in the growing aluminium welding market and for stainless steel and steel.

We offer a unique integrated robot and welding solution called TAWERS, which combines the robot and controller with the welding power source and servo wire feeder into a single unit. Integrating the CPU intelligence with the welding power source of the robot means faster communication speeds resulting in much higher process quality and cycle times. As all the components of the system are manufactured by Panasonic, it also ensures optimisation and effective maintenance.

In addition, we also offer our Laser Processing Robot Integrated System Solution (LAPRISS). The system uses Panasonic’s direct diode laser, which is applicable to metal cutting and welding, as well as the rapidly growing next generation thermal processing fields such as surface processing, and multi material processing for (non) ferrous metals.

Panasonic’s patented Wavelength Beam Combining (WBC) technology produces direct diode lasers with high power efficiency and a superior beam quality. The laser has unmatched performance in welding and cutting. It also simplifies manufacturing processes by delivering wider process windows, minimising weld spatter and increasing processing speeds.