The evolution of cobots in metal fabrication and construction

Hirebotics’ Beacon is a cloud-based automation platform that lets fabricators teach, run, and monitor welding, cutting, and painting cobots without programming. | Source: Hirebotics

We’ve been writing about collaborative robots – often referred to as cobots – for more than a decade, but their use in real applications has reached an all-time high. Cobots now represent 18% of total North American robot units, according to the latest report from the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), with roughly 90% of all cobot orders originating from non-automotive sectors such as food and consumer goods, semiconductors and electronics, and life sciences.

The metal fabrication, palletizing, and data center construction industries are also adopting robots at a record pace, according to Matt Bush, the co-founder and new CEO of Hirebotics, a Nashville-based cobot solutions provider specializing in metal fabrication and related industries.

Bush spoke with The Robot Report about how force- and power-limited robot arms are becoming a necessity for the manufacturing, welding, and construction industries. He also discussed what differentiates Hirebotics’ approach to automation and what he expects to see in these industries in the months and years ahead.