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

熟练焊工的日益短缺正在破坏加拿大金属制造商的竞争力，使我们的金属，机械和运输设备制造等关键行业处于危险之中。对制造业的需求预计将随着重建基础设施和转向清洁能源世界的需要而增长。在这种情况下，我们的金属加工厂必须利用现代技术重新设计生产。该项目提出开发智能机器人焊接系统，以显著提高生产率，从而降低总体拥有成本。该系统将使用先进的软件和硬件，以提供前所未有的焊接自动化水平，从而将劳动力需求转移到高薪的知识型工作岗位，以操作先进技术。到目前为止，来自加拿大大西洋地区的10家公司对这个项目表示了兴趣，其中5家公司已经入围了最初两年的候选名单。每个项目都涉及使用先进的焊接和自动化技术为给定产品开发定制的工作流程。其结果将是一个可预测的操作，可以处理高水平的产品定制，同时保持质量的一致性。 CCNB-INNOV的人员、设备和过去项目的经验使其能够有效地执行当前项目。它在焊接，材料测试，金属制造，机器人和自动化方面拥有设备齐全的实验室。它有一个由8名研究人员、工程师和技术人员组成的团队，他们的技能互补，非常适合本项目的要求。它涉及将项目培训整合到CCNB为期两年的焊接技术专家课程中。计划在两年内雇用六名实习生接受有关项目的培训。此外，还将邀请行业人员熟悉智能机器人焊接系统，提升技能。所有项目活动的开展都将坚持平等、多样性和包容性原则，因为CCNB坚信，如果没有代表性不足群体的积极参与，就不可能实现卓越的创新。

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.