Universal Robots A/S

Rather than fear the worst from the cobot revolution, tube and pipe fabrication shops should consider the benefits to current employees and their final products.

A small investment in welding automation has led to big changes for this turnkey supplier of store fixtures and retail displays.

For manufacturers and job shops with a high-mix, low-volume production portfolio, there's likely a collaborative robot that fits a need. Editor-in-Chief Dan Davis saw it on full display at Automate 2023 in Detroit.

Collaborative robotics are commonly seen as inherently safe in the manufacturing industry. In truth, how safe cobots really are depends on the application, a fact any risk assessment should take into account in a metal fabrication shop.

Find out how to decide whether stamping automation done by cobots is a good fit for your metal manufacturing company from the experts at FMA.

Whipsaw moves in supply and demand require fabricators to be agile, so much so that automation tied to specific processes doesn’t always make sense. They need to move automation to where it’s needed.

Full-penetration, single-sided pipe welding with conventional V preps have been a bear to automate. A combination of technologies, including artificial intelligence, have changed that for metal fabrication shops looking to augment pipe welding processes.

The modern welding cobot can be used as a flexible, smart tool, and exemplifies a new kind of automation in the sheet metal shop. Learn how from our experts.

The skilled worker shortage is nothing new, but the pandemic made the situation much worse than before. Tube and pipe fabricators are seeking ways to produce more with less reliance on workers.

Metal fabricators continue to be enthusiastic adopters of press brake automation, and their enthusiasm has increasingly turned toward collaborative robotics.