Redefine welding with Industry 4.0

By OEM Update Editorial February 8, 2020 1:51 pm IST

We want to drive the word welding by changing it to a term called “joining technologies”, which will further strike the millennial generation and open gateways for new developments.

Vishwanath V Kamath, Managing Director, Fronius India Private Limited, in an interaction with Megha Iyer of OEM Update, talks about how trending technologies and Industry 4.0 is transforming the welding sector by creating a substantial benchmark for finished outputs.

What is your focus area currently?
Our focus now is neither on products nor technology; we are in fact more focused on enhancing and improvising our customer’s experience. And for the same, we are taking measures to minimise the welding cost for our customers so that they become more competitive in terms of cost and become quality-conscious and also they can have value-for-money products.

What kind of products have you added in your basket for IMTEX 2020?
This edition of IMTEX has been quite good for us. We have been able to attract more customers this time and have been busy throughout the event. We have launched industry 4.0 in action, welding simulator – version 2.0 with the virtual glass which is easy to operate and easy in application, especially for training welders. Further, we have launched the “twin wire system”, which is basically a high-end and high-deposition welding process. We also launched our professional welding tool machine that can perform all the three process of SMAW welding, Mig welding, and Tig Welding by a single machine. We have introduced a new process called ‘ArcTig Welding’ where customers can weld and join two metals without using any filler wire of up to 8-10 mm thickness.

The government has announced an investment of ₹100 lakh crore for infrastructural development. How can welding reap its benefits?
The government’s call for these investments is basically in the infrastructural segment, which is very good news for welding industry. To be more precise, you cannot move the planet without having people or technology to do it, and for that you require welding as the whole process will be accomplished only by welding. So, this is an exciting announcement for us and I feel that this can be a game changer for the Indian industry. It’s a known fact that the industries and the welding sector are interdependent on each other and they complement each other to a great extent. So, I think it’s mutually inclusive and we should see a very good growth when this investment is realised for at least the next few years.

What are the major hurdles faced by the sector?
There are quite a lot of challenges in this sector. It’s evident that welding is one of the most non-glamorous sectors to gain the customer’s attention. But the point remains that an industry will remain incomplete without welding, as it is one of the most critical and crucial processes in any industry. The sector remains untold only because people are unwilling to enter it and understand it as they’re not projecting welding as a well-paid career for engineers. Fronius is not only talking about welding, but we are attempting to convert this into joining technologies. So, we want to drive the word welding to the word “joining technologies” to make it more attractive to the millennial generation. The second problem which we are facing is lack of skilled manpower and this is definitely point number two. If point number one is addressed, then point number two can be addressed much faster.

What are your views on increasing localised manufacturing in India?
There is nothing called local manufacturing in today’s world; we are living in a global village. Today you get food or material from any part of the world online, and just to remain in competition, nobody can start their own food joint in their locality believing that they can beat the market. Looking at the evolving trends across the industry, it won’t be right to pretend or perceive that being physically available will help gain the momentum. Those were the days when we required complementing productive environment, so there is no question of local. It’s a global village as far as my point of view is concerned. And that’s exactly why industry 4.0 comes into picture. Industry 4.0 is basically the data of production and manufacturing right on your fingertips, so that you can track the activities and realise what’s appropriate and what is not, and take corrective measures for the same, which can let you do predictive maintenance. Today at Fronius, we can see industry 4.0 in action. All our machines which we have are connected and I know exactly how much it costs me to run my machines in a day, in terms of energy, gas and water consumption; everything is recorded. I know how much it costs on day one, day two and so on. So that is the kind of precise control I’m having. We displayed Industry 4.0 in action, with what my Austrian factory is fabricating being shown live in the interactive session at IMTEX 2020. So this is what we call as industry 4.0 in action. We don’t just talk; we are walking too!

In what ways can laser hybrid technology enhance the efficiency of the welding process?
As we know, laser is a more focused art and laser welding and laser hybrid welding are two different processes. Laser hybrid calls for a separate filler metal, which is fed into the laser molten booth. We have a system which works together and we work with all the laser operators in the world. With this, you can increase the speed and productivity and reduce the heat-affected zone. You can weld a difficult material with a faster turnout. So I think this can be a good process, but the Indian industry is definitely not ready for this. It will take time. We have few systems already installed in the automotive industry; Volkswagen has our system. One more customer recently bought a system from us to make tailored blanks with laser hybrid system. There are a few systems already in the research process in the IITs. But to get into the production, I don’t see that happening in the next two to three years. It will take some more time.

With growing application of technologies like AI and robotics, what kind of growth opportunities do you perceive in the near future?
We are already one of the world’s largest robot consumers. We are already among the top 10 nations, and I think the sector has achieved this growth in the recent three years. Following the unavailability of skilled manpower, most of the robotics OEMs are fully equipped with orders. So, the sector will definitely be driven by automation also.

But let’s understand the fact that automation is not the only solution that you can get. Being aware, attaining precise and brief knowledge, and most significantly understanding the requirement and adapting the same are also important. So, we will definitely have very good growth in automation. We are growing quite well in robotics process and automation. We hope that the sector will be encouraged a lot more with initiatives like Make in India and other huge investment opportunities and investments paved by the government.

What are your projections or business plans for next three years?
Last IMTEX, we only had a 36-square-metre stall; this year we had a stall of 140 square metres, and maybe in IMTEX 2022, we will have a stall of 200 square metres or more. I’m very confident that welding will grow if you give value for money to customers. I don’t think growth should be a problem. Even though the market has certain challenges today, we are quite bullish.

Vishwanath V Kamath,Managing Director,Fronius India Private Limited