April 15, 2024 How OLP Can Solve the Welding Skills Shortage in U.S. Manufacturing

Manufacturers in the U.S. can navigate the welding skills shortfall and empower current staff with OLP-driven robotic deployments.

By Mikko Urho, CEO, Visual Components

There’s a growing crisis in welding. Recent figures from the American Welding Society (AWS) suggest that 360,000 new welding professionals will be needed to join the U.S. workforce by 2027, and it’s a very urgent need. 70% of all manufactured products require some form of welding during their creation, so a failure to fill the gaps could impact on the continued production of the essential products and services that businesses and consumers rely on. Rather than hope for a surge in new welders entering the market, manufacturers will need to take proactive steps to prevent the risk of any slowdowns in production or even their lines grinding to a complete halt.

The caveat with robot deployments

In the midst of a welder shortage, more manufacturers are exploring a strategy involving robotic welding deployments to fill the void. Modern-day robot technology offers highly accurate and infinitely repeatable processes that are completed faster than human expertise. In certain industries, they’ve become vital to help streamline the creation of a final product. A car for example can be made up of 30,000 different components, so it would involve numerous welding tasks for a professional to complete in a rapid timeframe.  

The caveat with robot deployments is that for them to complete a specific task, they need to be programmed correctly. Take for example the specific process of moving a welding torch in a circular 3D arc around a metal workpiece. The manual programming process needed for this type of complex robot motion can take a significant amount of time, and even longer if it needs to be replicated across a number of robots. According to research by Visual Components, one-in-four (26%) U.S. manufacturers are making use of three or more robot brands in their factory environment, each with their own unique differences.

Additional research figures reveal the true scale of the issue. Figures show that for almost three-quarters (73%) of U.S. manufacturers it takes between a week and an entire month for a robot to successfully be applied to welding and other tasks, such as in the production and rollout of new items. Of course, this kind of timeframe offers little reprieve for organisations struggling to source welding talent, but it also results in a delayed return on investment. Robots are not cheap acquisitions. To ensure the investment is paid back quickly, the programming process needs to be streamlined.

The solution to the welder shortage

Robotic deployments form just one piece of the welder skills shortfall puzzle. To ensure they don’t sit idly by during the manual programming process, robot offline programming (OLP) moves this into the digital space. OLP’s value is its replication of a highly accurate digital model of a robot and its work cell. Via simulation, movements and workflows can be fully replicated and automated programming becomes a reality.

OLP brings a number of benefits to factory floor operations. The programming process can be completed concurrently as the robot is being deployed, rather than in a much slower sequential process. Engineers can set a robot a welding task almost as soon as it’s brought into the business. There’s also the option to validate an item design before sending it into production, bringing a concept to reality much faster. Welding requirements can be identified ahead of time in a virtual sandbox, where potential errors can be eradicated before a real-life deployment.

With this technology, manufacturers can also benefit from automated capabilities which solve typical programming problems such as collision avoidance and joint-limit violations, ensuring that these issues don’t occur in reality once the program is deployed in the robot. Software can recognise various features of a workpiece or component, such as holes, pockets or contours, and factor this into programming procedures.

Where welder skills shortages prevail, OLP offers the chance for engineers to upskill in programming robots to do the job, all in a flexible way. Different robot brands with varying capabilities can be deployed with ease, even from remote locations. Engineers can build their expertise and fill the knowledge gaps in the event of experienced welders leaving or retiring from the business. A look at the stats reveals that this is fairly likely to happen in the coming years, with one-in-five (21%) welders in the U.S. aged 55 or over.

Securing the future of manufacturing

The welding skills shortfall is a significant threat to the manufacturing sector in the U.S. As the potential impact on the production of essential goods looms large, robotic welding deployments present themselves as a viable solution to maintaining productivity levels. However, their integration brings its own challenges, particularly in terms of the time and expertise required for effective programming.

Robot offline programming (OLP) offers manufacturers the golden opportunity to significantly streamline the process of deploying robotic welding solutions. OLP not only mitigates the immediate effects of the welder shortage, but allows existing engineers to expand their skill sets, ensuring that the workforce evolves alongside technological advancements. Welding woes may continue over the coming years, but with technology-driven strategies in place, manufacturers can successfully navigate the ongoing skills squeeze.

Mikko has an extensive career at Visual Components, dating back to the year 2000 as a summer trainee. He became CEO on the company in March 2021. His vast experience includes direct sales, building a world-wide partner network, and managing reseller channels. He is well known and respected by many of Visual Components’ partners and customers around the globe

Subscribe to Industry Today