Page 3 - HIWT Summer 2013 World of Welding

hiwt@welding.org HOBART INSTITUTE OF WELDING TECHNOLOGY

TEACHING A ROBOT HOW TO WELD

By Andre A. Odermatt
President
Hobart Institute of Welding Technology

Kiplinger’s year-end
2012 letter, “Forecasts for
Management Decision-
making,” was entirely
devoted to industrial robots
of which about 1.4 million
are already in use worldwide.
Kiplinger also mentioned
the welding application.
According to Kiplinger, in
2012 about 180,000 industrial Teaching the student by the guiding hand of an instructor.
robots were shipped, roughly
50% more than in 2010. The learn all this. It needs a teacher and preferably one that knows
cost of hiring and training how to weld…a programmer.
workers rises each year and the cost of automation declines.
For many firms, investing in automation has a good payoff. ONLY A WELDER TURNED PROGRAMMER HAS
THE FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING OF ARC
Kiplinger and other forecasters indicate a continuing increase BEHAVIOR, WHICH ALLOWS HIM TO PROGRAM A
in industrial robot sales, including sales of arc welding robots WELD WITHIN THE CAPABILITIES OF THE SYSTEM
that account for about 20% of industrial robot applications. CLOSEST TO DUPLICATE THE HUMAN WELDER.

A quality training program will help customers
get the most out of their automation. Teaching the robot in a pre-engineered work cell.

Robots create jobs! It is just not possible to purchase a robot Since a robot cannot weld without being taught, it creates a
that can weld like a human welder. A robot can handle jobs job…the programmer. The AWS® D16.4 American National
with more consistency, accuracy and endurance than a human Standard, Specification for the Qualification of Robotic Arc
welder and can be much more productive. However, it (the Welding Personnel, sets the principal requirements for taking
robot) needs to be taught how to weld. There are millions of the Certified Robotic Arc Welding (CRAW®) examination.
different welds, depending on the industry, the materials used, The standard addresses in three levels: operators, technicians
the type of welds to be made and much, much more. The robot and maintenance support personnel functions. For Level
needs an instructor. Just as an experienced instructor takes 1 certification, a minimum of 1000 hours manual or
the hand of a student and teaches all the proper movements, semiautomatic arc welding experience is required.
geometries of the puddle, reading the puddle, making
adjustments, and explaining body positions, a robot needs to
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