Welding Robots: One of the main categories of industrial robots, with intelligence as the development trend

Welding robots represent one of the most important types of industrial robots. As the most representative equipment in smart manufacturing, the large-scale application of industrial robots is a key approach for future manufacturing to replace labor with machines and improve production efficiency.

In 2022, welding robots accounted for approximately 16% of new installations of industrial robots worldwide, second only to handling robots.

Traditional (teaching) welding robots have been widely deployed in the automotive, 3C and other industries, but cannot handle non-standard welding processes in steel structures, shipbuilding and other fields.

Traditional welding robots feature high efficiency, high precision and consistent quality, and are widely used in industries with highly standardized and high-volume welding processes such as automotive, 3C electronics, metal products and construction machinery, replacing most manual welding tasks.

Welding robots mainly consist of two parts: the robot body and supporting welding equipment.

The robot body mainly includes a 6-axis robotic arm and a controller, with core components such as the control system, reducers and servo motors. Supporting welding equipment includes welding power sources, special welding torches, automatic wire feeders, etc.

Traditional and intelligent welding robots cater to standardized and non-standard industries respectively.

Traditional welding robots with single-process capabilities only satisfy the needs of standardized industries, mainly automotive and 3C electronics.

Traditional welding robots failed to achieve machine substitution in non-standard industries, making intelligent welding the optimal solution.

Steel structure, shipbuilding and other industries feature highly non-standard, small-batch, multi-variety and project-based welding demands with complex and variable process requirements. Using traditional robots would drastically increase manual programming and teaching workload, while costs could not be diluted through mass production — hence limited machine substitution in these sectors in the past.

Industries such as steel structures and shipbuilding have massive welding needs and great potential for machine substitution.

Major high-demand welding industries in China include automotive and auto parts, steel structures, and shipbuilding.

The healthy development of the steel structure industry sustains growing welding demand.

In 2022, China’s total output of steel structure processing and manufacturing reached 101.4 million tons.

According to the 14th Five-Year Plan and 2035 Vision for the Steel Structure Industry, output is targeted to reach 140 million tons by 2025 and 200 million tons by 2035, with a projected CAGR of around 5% over the next decade. Welding demand is expected to grow in line with production.

There is a severe shortage of experienced welders.

Steel structure welding involves harsh working conditions and high professional requirements. As older welders retire and younger generations show low willingness to enter the trade, the welder shortage continues to widen.

According to the Chinese Government website, welders ranked 12th among the 100 most in-demand occupations in China in Q4 2022.

According to the Guidelines for the Development of Manufacturing Talents released by relevant ministries, the talent gap in key manufacturing sectors will approach 30 million by 2025, with a shortage rate of 48%, especially in shipbuilding, automotive manufacturing, industrial machinery grinding and other fields.

Welder costs are expected to keep rising.

The average annual salary of welders now exceeds 180,000 RMB per person, with higher pay for skilled senior welders. Given tight supply and growing demand, wages are likely to trend upward.

Intelligent welding has achieved breakthroughs in core technical bottlenecks after years of accumulation.

Previously limited by insufficient intelligence, domestic welding robots could only perform standardized workpiece welding.

China began promoting the smart manufacturing strategy in 2015.

By 2021, leading enterprises had developed capabilities in intelligent welding robots.

In 2023, major steel structure companies started pilot applications, indicating that technical bottlenecks are being overcome.

In its 2023 annual report, Honglu Steel Structure listed intelligent welding as a top priority in smart manufacturing.

The company has continuously invested in intelligent equipment to enhance capacity, improve quality and reduce costs.

Founded China’s first welding research institute in 2010, Honglu has actively developed related technologies and built production capacity.

It tendered for large quantities of intelligent welding robots in August 2023 and April 2024, signaling that the technology has met operational requirements.

Welding is extensively applied across heavy industry, yet customized and low-volume workpieces still rely on manual labor.

The automation rate in heavy industry welding is estimated at 50%–60%, leaving substantial room for further machine substitution.