Its no longer just about volume production where robots are considered, in fact for many years its been more about employing robots to provide the skills and assure consistent quality. Industrial robots, now more than ever before, are playing a critical part in maintaining a manufacturing capability within the UK. It is well documented that the migration of manufacturing to Eastern Europe and Asia is without doubt cost driven and to stay competitive must be a major consideration for any business. However, those businesses that have driven manufacturing demands up the technology ‘food chain’ are reaping the benefits of investment in advanced equipment.

Today’s robots come up towards the top of the advanced technology equipment list because application specific robots and systems are now so well proven and effective in a wide range of complex human tasks. For example welding robots typically work at a rate equivalent to three welders therefore in a full day that equates to nine welders. In addition there is the justification that welding robots are now more cost effective than ever before and so there is no longer an argument for any volume manufacturer that uses welders, not to invest.

A fabrication business that recently invested in three Fanuc System 100 welding cells had found it difficult to employ skilled labour. , recently commented, “We have noticed that slowly ‘offshored’ work is coming back to us – generally because of quality issues. Operating as an ISO 9001:2000 certified business we offer a consistent level of high quality.

“Of course we welcome any pick up in our markets – we operate mainly in the ‘yellow goods’ or heavy construction sector – but it presents potential problems principally in skills shortages. People that leave when business is quiet increasingly move out of the manufacturing sector and when you look to re-employ they aren’t there any more.”

Mason and King is able to weld the majority of its production on the FANUC systems and ensures accurate control of component fit in-house by manufacturing its own tooling. CNC laser cutting equipment and punch presses provide dimensional consistency of parts and avoiding the need for seam tracking.

Mason continues, “Addressing the skills shortage issue, the System 100 Weld Cell has a lead time of up to six weeks and although it could be producing within a couple of hours of being unloaded from a lorry, in reality it takes us about a day and a half to position, supply services and fix down.

“Programming and maintaining FANUC’s System 100 is very straight forward and involves no specialist robot or computer skills – operators have one day of training to become proficient. Output of the robot can be the equivalent to three times of a human welder and consistent in quality. The final issue confirming the efficiency of the system is that costs have dropped dramatically with the FANUC system costing about half that of our original investment over twelve years ago.”

By capitalising on technology developed from thousands of FANUC welding systems installed world-wide, the System 100 Weld Cell can typically show a return on investment (ROI) within six months – over three shifts ROI is reduced dramatically.