Robotic welding systems have been widely used in large scale automated manufacturing facilities, particularly in the automotive industry, for a number of years. Faced with cost-down pressures from their customers, small metalworking job shops are now starting to consider implementing automation. When the operating costs of robotic welding are compared to manual welding the results are now clearly in favour of the robot. Additional benefits of automating are increased productivity, more consistent welded joints and improved quality. Cyber-Weld, a Warwickshire based provider of robotic welding solutions, provides a simple cost analysis to its potential customers. Using manual welding, the overhead burdened cost is around ￡35k PA for a single shift, with an average "Arc On" time of 25%. The average robot "Arc On" time is 75%, three times that of a manual welder, resulting in an additional 200% production capability. With an entry level robot and operator costs of ￡17.5k, the payback time is less than 12 months. Potential users do have concerns though. How easy are they to program? Where to find trained staff to operate them? How reliable are the robots? When choosing a partner, reputation should always be the first consideration. A reliable partner must provide advice on which robot to select and be able to provide a full turn-key solution with support from the initial inquiry through to the installation. Prompt delivery, machine commissioning, employee training, trouble shooting, repair and offering regular system overhauls are other key factors. Look for a company that is a strategic partner for one or more of the leading robot manufacturers. Cyber-Weld regularly uses igus as a supplier and partner for cable assemblies on their robotic welding machines for the same reasons and has bought over 100 readycable drive cables. Cyber-Weld’s last purchase marked a milestone for igus; being the 10,000th order for the product series. These highly flexible cables provide power and signals to the robotic head, grippers or other attachments and are usually mounted externally to the robotic arm. Particularly on a 6-axis robot, this cable is subject to a great deal of rigorous movement, which can lead to premature failure if incorrectly specified. “We expect the cables to outlive the mission time of the installed robotic system, which is approximately 10 to 15 years. Igus is always helpful and is happy to come onsite to look at our requirements, which is a big plus factor for us. A local supplier with a good reputation, igus also helps us shorten our lead-times.”