John Ruprecht

Date of Award

January 2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Energy Engineering

First Advisor

Michael Mann

Abstract

This study examines the comparative efficiency and energy consumption of manual versus robotic welding in high-mix, low-volume (HMLV) manufacturing environments. Traditional robotic welding systems have been predominantly used in low-mix, high-volume production due to their efficiency in repetitive tasks. However, the advent of collaborative robots (cobots) has democratized robotic automation for diverse manufacturing needs. Cobots allow flexibility in programming, enabling their deployment in HMLV environments characterized by hard product variety and smaller batch sizes. This research evaluates energy consumption, welding speed, and quality metrics across manual and cobotic welding systems. Data were gathered using energy meters and video analysis, focusing on weld geometries, part complexities, and production contexts. The cobotic weldments proved to be 13.5% - 37% stronger for all parts and configurations, and energy consumptions was reduced by 41% – 71% in single-sided applications. This allowed for the development of equations to predict the cycle time and energy consumption of complex weldments. The use of cobots reduced the cycle time by 39% for these parts. The findings establish guidelines for optimizing robotic welding implementation, ensuring energy efficiency without compromising productivity or weld quality. The study contributes a decision-making framework to assess the viability of robotic welding adoption, balancing economic and environmental considerations in modern manufacturing.

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