ACCELERATING THE ADOPTION OF WELDING AUTOMATION THROUGH DEVELOPING AN INTELLIGENT ROBOT WELDING SYSTEM AND SKILL UPGRADATION PROGRAM

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The increasing shortage of skilled welders is destroying the competitiveness of Canadian metal fabricators putting our crucial industries such as metal, machinery, and transportation equipment manufacturing at risk. The demand for manufacturing is expected to grow with the need to rebuild our infrastructure and shift to a clean energy world. In such a scenario, our metal fabricators must reimagine their production by leveraging modern technology.This project proposes to develop an intelligent robot welding system with the objective to significantly increase productivity and thus lower the overall cost of ownership. Using cutting-edge software and hardware, the system will be developed to offer an unprecedented level of automation in welding and hence shift the labor demand to well-paid knowledge-based jobs to operate the advanced technologies. It would be tested with industrial parts to prove both its technical and economic feasibility.So far, ten companies from Atlantic Canada have shown interest in this project, out of which five have been shortlisted for initial two years. Each project would involve developing a tailored workflow for the given product using the combination of advanced welding and automation technologies. The outcome would be a predictable operation that can handle a high level of product customization while maintaining consistency in quality. The people, equipment, and the experience of past projects available at the CCNB-INNOV enable it to execute the current project efficiently. It has fully furnished labs in welding, material testing, metal fabrication, robotics, and automation. It has a team of eight researchers, engineers, and technicians with complementary skills that are well suited to the requirements of this project.A well-structured training program is presented in the current proposal for skill upgradation. It involves integrating project training in the curriculum of the two-year welding technologist program at CCNB. It is planned to hire six interns across two years to receive training on the projects. In addition, industry personnel will also be invited to acquaint themselves with the intelligent robot welding system and upgrade their skills. All the project activities will be carried out by keeping the principles of equality, diversity, and inclusion at heart as CCNB strongly believes that excellence in innovation is not possible without the active participation of the underrepresented groups.