What Are the Benefits of Automatic Welders vs Manual Welders?
If you’re a newcomer to the world of welding or your business only deals with small-scale welding tasks, you may have only experienced manual welding. As the name suggests, this is where welding operations are performed by a human welder. The success of welding projects relies heavily on the skillset of the individual completing the tasks.
In recent years, however, more and more companies are opting to go with automatic welding . What was once only used by major organizations for large-scale welding projects – think the mass production of cars – small and medium businesses have now adopted to use welding automation.
What is automatic welding?
It may come as a surprise, but automatic welding – also known as automated welding – has been around since the 1960s. First used in the automotive industry, automatic welding technology is now utilized by many other manufacturers.
Automatic welding means the welding is completed by a machine that handles most of the work, although human presence is needed for one of two roles. The first role is to operate the machine, which is when semi-automatic welding is utilized. The second role has a human observing the welding process and enduring the machine is working correctly.
So how does the automation of the welding process help you and your business? To answer that question in full, here are the main benefits automatic welding has over its manual counterpart.
Added productivity
If you’re taking on a large number of welding operations each day, it makes a lot of sense to go with automatic welding in terms of productivity. Even if you have skilled welders working on tasks manually, they won’t even be able to get close to the production levels gained from automation.
The reason for this is simple: automatic production provides the opportunity to continually repeat the welding cycle. The machine can keep operating throughout the day without any slowdown or drops in quality.
The same cannot be said when it comes to manual welding. When going the manual route, you have to account for the limit a human welder can reach. While they might be able to keep going for hours on end, all employees have a threshold – and if this is surpassed, they will become strained, and the quality of their work will plummet as a result. You also can’t account for a welder getting sick and having to take time off from work.
No drop in quality
As highlighted in the previous section, you don’t have to worry about the welding operations varying in quality. Due to how an automatic welding machine works, every product which is produced has the exact same quality. There’s no difference with how one weld looks compared to the other.
This type of consistent quality is impossible for even the most skilled welders to achieve. No worker is able to match the 100% consistency that a machine produces. Human error is always going to crop up at some point, whether it is due to complacency or a genuine mistake.
Aside from human error, there are other quality problems that can crop up during manual welding. These problems include shallow penetration, porosity, and the formation of weld splatter. With an automatic welding machine doing the job, however, issues like these are not a concern.
A flexible system
When matched up against manual welding, there are advantages for both sides in terms of flexibility. For instance, a human welder has the freedom to move from one workstation to the other with ease. This means they can complete several different welding tasks within a limited timeframe – and generally at a faster rate than with an automatic welding machine.
However, don’t underestimate the flexibility of automation. These welding machines are built so they can handle any possible adjustment you require to match your welding operations. Add in their easy mobility, and automatic systems deliver a high level of flexibility.
Less demand for employees
Okay, no business likes to see people lose their jobs. However, employees are expensive. This is particularly the case when it comes to highly skilled welders. Plus, not only do you have to cover their wages, but you also have to factor in other benefits and expenses which need to be covered for full-time workers.
With an automatic system, you can reduce these costs significantly. While you’ll still need to hire someone to operate the machine, they don’t have to be an expert welder. They simply need to learn how to operate the machine as required.
Furthermore, production costs will also be dropped by a large margin. As human errors are generally taken out of the equation, the amount of production waste is lowered to a drastic degree. You also don’t have to worry about employee injuries due to a welding accident.
A wise long-term investment
When you look at the prices for an automatic welding machine, you may feel these are too costly for your needs. This is especially the case for a startup business that is searching for cheaper equipment – aka manual welding tools. Even though you can find budget-friendly welding automatic machines, some may still feel manual welding is the more cost-efficient option.
With that said, welding automation supplies cost-efficient benefits in the long run.
It’s true: the investment for a manual welding setup is cheaper initially. This is even the case when you account for welding materials and the need to hire a skilled welder. Yet this approach can end up being more expensive on a long-term basis. As mentioned before, there are continual labor and production waste costs to consider. These soon mount up, which gives the edge to the automatic welding machine in the long run.
Even with all of these advantages in favor of automatic welders, the decision about which option is best is ultimately dependent on your plans. Yet if you want to increase production, maximize quality, and lower costs, automatic welding is the path to take.
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