Developing and producing companies of joining technology are just as excited about the trends in their industry for 2023 as distributors and users themselves. Exhibiting companies as well as visitors are eagerly awaiting the start of the international trade fair for joining, cutting and coating technology SCHWEISSEN & SCHNEIDEN 2023 – which returns to its old location in Essen this year. A lot has happened since the last exhibition in 2017. Prof. Dr. Emil Schubert – the WELDPROF® – presents the changes or reinforcements that will take place next year from his point of view.
The health of welding specialists and their health and safety at work are still very important aspects in the development of products. A lot of welding work will still be done manually in the years to come. Not every application can be automated. This makes it all the more important to take care of health and to protect this "rare commodity" of welding specialists. Anyone who would like to become a welder should not have to take a different career path because of poor occupational health and safety.
There is also a trend towards sustainability in the manufacturing of products. "We all need to look at how sustainable we are in the manufacturing of our products and how sustainable our supply chains are," Professor Schubert points out.
A general growth can be seen in digitalisation. Not only in welding technology. Under the continuing high and increasing pressure of productivity, digitalisation and automation simply offer more possibilities.
For example, digitalisation supports the recruitment of new qualified employees: training systems with augmented reality are very attractive for young people. "When young interested people train on welding simulators, we always see their enthusiasm," explains the WELDPROF®. This enables a playful approach to real welding later on.
Data collection is almost a matter of course in automation in order to be able to document processes. But data can also be collected in manual welding, for example to determine productivity. If this needs to be increased, certain aids can support the welding specialist in working more efficiently. A number of research projects are currently in progress in this area, which will be presented at SCHWEISSEN & SCHNEIDEN 2023 with one or the other product.
Some applications are so special that standardised and proven manual welding torches are modified for them or even new ones are developed to make welding easier. This individualisation in manual welding, as for example in shipbuilding, will certainly also become established in other industries. The specialists among the qualified welders will be pleased if they get even better tools for welding in the future. Moreover, higher job satisfaction makes companies more attractive.
Data collection over a longer period of time through the use of sensors in production processes enables an overview of productivity, quality and the CO2 footprint through clever evaluation. In a further step, artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to extract data or regularities from this "big data" that can no longer be comprehended by humans. This provides information on, for example, predictive maintenance, so that productivity can be kept consistently high and downtimes can be kept low.
Since the manufacture of a product involves several steps, more attention must be paid to the smooth integration of the welding process into the process chain. Each step in a process has an influence on the next. WELDPROF®: "There are already developments in this area that identify optimisation potential and reduce rework as well as rejects and destructive testing procedures. The first approaches to this should be on show at SCHWEISSEN & SCHNEIDEN 2023."
In general, every visitor to the WELDPROF® website can ask specific questions via »Ask the WELDPROF®«. He is happy to answer them by e-mail or in one of his video formats. Interaction with interested parties from the world of welding and joining technology is expressly desired!