Collaborative robotic welding for small and mid-volume runs
Our collaborative welding cell (cobot) handles small and mid-volume production runs alongside our fabrication team. It is mobile, so we can move it between welding bays as the schedule demands. The built-in graphic programming interface lets our welders set up new parts in minutes, not hours, which keeps the cell productive across a much wider mix of batch work than a fixed-cell robot could economically handle.
Volume robotic welding, engineered around your parts
Our volume welding robot, Zelda, has been on the floor since June 2020 and now welds over 50,000 parts a year. She runs across two welding bays, each equipped with a 180-degree rotating table, giving flexibility for complex and large assemblies. Every jig and fixture is designed and manufactured in-house, with input from our system integrator when new parts call for it. Zelda currently welds mild steel, and we are extending her capability into stainless steel and aluminium. The consistency is what clients notice first: the same weld, the same tolerance, every time.
Featured in the MAKE UK Innovation Monitor
Our robotic welding investment was featured in the MAKE UK Bouncing Back Smart: Innovation Monitor 2020 report. Staff are trained across both shifts, so Zelda runs up to 18 hours a day, five days a week, plus overtime when required. For UK manufacturers who currently contract large volumes of repeat welded assemblies overseas, this changes the commercial maths. With robotic welding in a UK factory, we are competitive on the contracts that used to default to offshore supply, and our clients get shorter lead times, no currency or freight risk, and no import delays. Download the MAKE UK case study.
Download MAKE UK Robot case study.
Download the full report.
Human welders, machine precision – working together
Our welding robots have not replaced our welders. They have freed them. The work a robot can do well — high-volume, repeatable, predictable — is the work we route to the robotic cells. That means our fabrication team spends its time on the work a machine cannot do: complex assemblies, low-volume fabrications, stainless and aluminium TIG work, and the judgement calls that come with new product introduction. The welders who have been upskilled to run the cells have deeper roles than they had before. Investing in robots has grown the team. That is how we believe automation should work.
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