In recent bidding processes, we have observed two common practices regarding the procurement of welding fume extraction equipment and welding robots in some companies' production facility planning. The first method is to include both in the same bidding project. This method allows the welding equipment supplier to handle the fume extraction issue. The second method is to separate the procurement entirely, considering fume dust treatment only after the welding robots are put into use. However, both methods have certain limitations.
Firstly, welding equipment (including robots) and fume extraction systems belong to two different professional fields: equipment automation and environmental protection technology. Currently, no single manufacturer worldwide has achieved significant success in both fields at the same time. Combining the procurement of welding fume extraction equipment and welding project through a single tender, it can usually leads to the project being undertaken by an integrator. And the integrator often prioritizes profit maximization over optimal technical matching between equipment, potentially increasing costs or leaving systemic technical shortcomings.
On the other hand, we have encountered many projects that implemented welding robots first and then considered dust removal and purification, which often resulted in problems due to insufficient early planning. For example, the space of purification equipment or piping in not enough, electrical load design doesn't account for the dust extraction system's capacity, air source pressure and flow don't plan comprehensively, and pipe network interfaces and system linkage control are difficult to integrate. This lag can lead to difficult modifications, repeated investment, poor system compatibility, and even affect the compliance and safety of the overall production environment.
As the owner, it is necessary to make a comprehensive balance from the perspective of total life cycle cost and system synergy.
The optimal strategy is to consider the needs of the welding fume purification system at the same time during the planning and commissioning phases of the welding robots, and to select high-quality suppliers with professional capabilities in both fields.
Through cross-professional collaborative design and advance planning, it can achieve scientific planning in terms of equipment layout, energy configuration and control logic, and avoid later modification and repeated investment. Ultimately, while ensuring the use effect, it can reduce the overall investment and operating costs and improve the system's synergy and long-term stability.
