Above: Job shop uses Blaze robotic welder to automatically perform repetitive welds
April, 2025- A high welder attrition rate continues to push fabricators and job shops to embrace technology advances like automation. The use of technology to control and monitor processes with reduced human intervention is transforming welding into a sustainable process that can raise productivity without sacrificing precision.
“We’re seeing more job shops and small to midsize fabricators embrace the use of automated robotic welding systems for a couple of reasons,” says Jonathan Lebo, account executive for Productive Robotics. “Companies need skilled labor. There just aren’t enough people, so market demands have begun to outweigh the hesitation some feel about working with collaborative robots.
“Secondly, although the MIG welding process itself hasn’t changed much, the tools have improved significantly. Companies are finding that they can produce higher quality welds and deliver them on time. The overall cost of manufacturing per part is also reduced,” Lebo says.
Determining the right robotic welding system though often boils down to software and ease of use. Without the right OEM, manufacturers can find it problematic to navigate terrain that is often unfamiliar. Recognizing the need for a simple approach, Productive Robotics introduced a suite of zero programming, 7-axis welding cobots. Designed, built and serviced in the U.S., Blaze automated welding systems require no complex axes, reference frames, re-fixturing or integration. The line is based on a 45-year legacy of engineering that produced the company’s foundational 7-axis, zero programming cobots the OB7, OB7 Stretch model, MAX 8 and MAX 12.
DRAG AND DROP
“Some of the chief complaints we hear from customers is that their welding cobot isn’t operational because every time they need to reprogram it for a new job, they are at risk of voiding their warranty if they make the changes themselves,” says Lebo. “That means waiting for an integrator to make the necessary adjustments. Terms like easy programming or no-code programming describe an interface designed to be more user friendly, but there is a big difference between that and zero programming.”
A new employee or experienced welder simply uses the cobot’s control to physically teach Blaze to weld without programming. The collaborative robot works safely next to its human coworkers.
“Everyone knows how to use a smartphone,” says John Trengove, director of design for Productive Robotics. “Users can just as easily maneuver around OB7’s drag-and-drop tablet.”
Loaded with an unlimited library of welding recipes, the controller allows the robot to learn any job in minutes, from simple to complex paths. A user can quickly and easily change angle, voltage, material type, wire speed, weave patterns and other parameters.
Blaze, fitted with IPG LightWeld, performs a fusion weld on thin-gauge stainless steel for a box assembly.
“A skilled welder can change job criteria in minutes,” says Lebo. “For an employee who has never used a cobot welder, it could take anywhere from 30 to 40 minutes the first time.”
Blaze welders also have a manual weld trigger. “A welder can detach the torch from the cobot and use it manually for quick tack welds, for example,” says Trengove. “The feature speaks to putting the welder first in our ground-up design. We’re here to multiply the skills of the welder by providing total control to create the weld they want, then have the cobot repeat it. It’s like a super power tool for welders. A welder can walk away from it while it does a thousand repetitive welds, needing only an operator to place the parts. Plus, you can easily add automation to your existing table and welder.”
Blaze’s drag-and-drop function makes loading weld parameters as easy as using a smartphone.
FUSION OR WIRE
Productive Robotics recently engineered its cobot technology to handle lasers. The Blaze robotic laser welder is available in two options. One is equipped with a Miller Electric Manufacturing Co. Optx 2000W laser; the other is an IPG Photonics LightWeld. Both have wire feeders. Th e IPG also off ers the capability for fusion welding.
Wire-assisted parts with gaps that must be filled, like pressure vessels or pharmaceutical equipment are best suited to the laser welder with the Miller Optx. Blaze fi tt ed with IPG Photonics LightWeld can handle dissimilar metals with strong fit-up requirements, such as commercial kitchen or medical equipment.
“Furniture is another application where cold welds can occur because welding parameters are not set correctly,” says Lebo. “The result is a weld that lacks proper fusion and strength. We’ve demonstrated the ability to perform proper welding parameters and ensure that the correct heat, voltage and travel speed are used with specific materials and joint types. We have customers using Blaze to weld furniture for major hotel chains.”
A Blaze laser cell configuration with a fume extraction chamber that is fully enclosed and fitted with LCD screens is also available. The breadth and depth of Productive Robotics’ Blaze products ranges from a Blaze welder able to work with a fabricator’s current setup to a mobile welder, assemble and weld cell, dual-station cobot weld cell and fully enclosed, standalone automated laser welder that doesn’t require a laser darkroom.
Blaze performs a weld with a minimal heat-affected zone, providing aesthetics with quality and speed.
The OEM provides an optional 8th axis rotary positioner for its Blaze welding cobots, which allows precise synchronization of the cobot’s motion for on-the-fly welding of parts that require rotation. Efficiency is boosted and downtime reduced.
“We were able to remove barriers like complex integration and high costs, and put budget-friendly, turnkey robotic automation into the hands of small job shops and large manufacturers,” says Trengove. “As people scale up with automation, they don’t have to reteach their jobs to the new robots, just upload them. Scale up is quicker, easier and more cost efficient. These tools help multiply throughput, but their agility and simplicity also allow companies to think outside the box.”
Productive Robotics LLC, 805/244-9300, http://productiverobotics.com/
