Technical and Financial Feasibility Test of Commercial Robot Welding system at Finelcomp Oy

Abstract

This study corresponds to an economic and technical feasibility to implement Metal Inert Gas (MIG) and Metal Active Gas (MAG) robot welding process for Finelcomp Oy, a Finnish based sheet metal company. Manual welding has always had problems of high cost, in consistent quality, and low efficiency. The aim was to expand operations without sacrificing quality. The novelty of this research lies in the systematic analysis of robot welding operations using production data, digital simulation, and financial calculation. The first step was a thorough analysis of production data extracted from the company’s ERP system. A Pareto analysis showed that about one-fifth of the products (20%) accounted for nearly 80% of the total standard welding time. Other analyses, including ANOVA and capability studies, revealed high variations in efficiency and capability within the high-time manual welding group, illustrating that the system needs to be improved urgently. Two of the products in this group were chosen for a digital simulation in Visual Components. Except for one, the rest of the products Required Minor modifications, which were then modelled in Creo6 for the torch reach. The simulation covered two-axis positioning, complete arc-on path pro gramming, positioner operation, and cycle time analysis. Simulations concluded that the robot welding process was significantly more efficient, with average travel speeds of over nine times the saved manual welding benchmark. Financial performance analysis confirmed these findings with an ROI (return on invest ment) of 291% payback of ~2.16 years, and an NPV (net present value) of €524,578,86. This would justify concentrating on high-sales items. Overall, this study simulates the fi nancial result as a basis for the automation of important impact items, a gradual roadmap of development, a digital integration plan, and a list of future competencies for trade.