Customer Profile

Background: Sheet Metal Fabrication in a Competitive European Market

Greece's metal fabrication sector serves a broad range of downstream industries — from industrial machinery and agricultural equipment to architectural metalwork and custom mechanical components. For small and mid-sized fabricators, staying competitive means delivering tight tolerances, clean weld finishes, and fast turnaround — all while managing rising labor costs and a shrinking pool of skilled welding technicians.

This Greek customer operates a busy sheet metal workshop producing a high mix of components: enclosures, brackets, frames, covers, and custom structural parts. Their production runs vary in batch size and geometry, placing constant demands on their welding team to switch between jobs quickly without sacrificing quality.

The Challenge: Manual Welding Couldn't Keep Up

As order volumes grew, the limitations of their manual welding process became increasingly apparent:

• Inconsistent weld quality across batches: Different operators produced different results — especially on thin sheet metal, where heat input control is critical. Burn-through, warping, and uneven bead profiles were recurring issues that required time-consuming rework and grinding.

• Slow cycle times on repetitive parts: For high-volume sheet metal components with identical weld joints, manual welding was a bottleneck. Each operator could only maintain peak performance for a limited number of hours before fatigue set in.

• High dependence on skilled labor: Experienced welders were difficult to recruit and retain. When a key welder left, quality dropped immediately — and training replacements took months.

• Post-weld finishing costs: Inconsistent manual welds on visible sheet metal surfaces meant significant time spent on grinding, polishing, and surface correction before parts could be delivered.

• Limited capacity for new contracts: The workshop was turning down orders because their welding capacity was fully committed. Expanding meant hiring more welders — a costly and uncertain path.

"We had the machining capacity and the customers. What we didn't have was a welding process that could scale with us without adding headcount every time."— Workshop Manager, Sheet Metal Fabrication Company, Greece

The Solution: DATO 1500W Aubo i10 Cobot Welding System

After a detailed technical consultation with DATO's engineering team, the customer selected a fully integrated robotic welding workstation built around the 1500W fiber laser source, the Aubo i10 6-axis collaborative robot, a dedicated welding platform, and a laser cutting machine — creating a complete sheet metal processing cell under one roof.

Full System Configuration

This end-to-end configuration — from cutting to welding in a single automated workflow — was a key factor in the customer's decision.

Why Each Component Was Selected

① 1500W Laser Power — Right-Sized for Sheet Metal

For the wall thicknesses typical in sheet metal fabrication (0.8mm to 6mm stainless steel, carbon steel, and galvanized sheet), 1500W delivers the ideal balance of penetration depth, travel speed, and heat control. The concentrated laser beam produces a narrow heat-affected zone — critical for preventing distortion on thin panels and ensuring clean, bright weld seams that require minimal post-weld finishing.

Compared to conventional MIG/TIG welding, laser welding at 1500W produces significantly less spatter, reducing cleaning time and improving the visual quality of exposed sheet metal surfaces.

② Aubo i10 Cobot — Precision, Flexibility, and Operator Safety

The Aubo i10 is a 6-axis collaborative robot with a 10kg payload capacity and 1350mm reach, purpose-built for human-centric manufacturing environments. Key advantages for this application include:

• ±0.02mm positional repeatability — ensures every weld path is executed identically, part after part, across the full production shift

• 6-axis articulation — allows the robot to approach sheet metal joints from any angle, including tight corners, flanged edges, and overlapping panels

• Collaborative safety design — the cobot can operate alongside human workers without full safety caging (subject to risk assessment), keeping the workshop footprint compact

• Intuitive hand-guiding / teach pendant programming — operators can program new weld paths quickly without specialist robotics knowledge, enabling fast job changeovers for high-mix production

• CE & ISO certified — fully compliant with European safety standards, an important consideration for the Greek market

③ Integrated Welding Platform — Stable Fixturing for Sheet Metal Parts

The flat-bed welding platform provides a rigid, level reference surface for fixturing sheet metal components during the welding cycle. For fabricators working with enclosures, brackets, and frames, accurate part positioning is essential — even small misalignments can result in weld path deviations that compromise joint quality. The platform's modular clamping system accommodates the customer's wide variety of part geometries without custom tooling for every job.

④ Laser Cutting Machine — A Complete Fabrication Cell

By pairing the cobot welding system with a DATO fiber laser cutting machine, the customer created a seamless cut-to-weld workflow. Sheet metal blanks are cut to precise dimensions — with clean, burr-free edges that improve weld fit-up — then transferred directly to the welding station. This eliminates the tolerance stack-up that occurs when cutting and welding are handled by separate processes with manual handling in between.

Implementation: Week-by-Week Deployment

Week 1–2 — Equipment Installation & System Integration

The DATO team provided remote installation guidance and commissioning support. The laser cutting machine and cobot welding station were positioned in the workshop to create a logical material flow from cutting → fixturing → welding → inspection.

Week 3 — Programming the First Weld Paths

Using the Aubo i10's teach pendant and hand-guiding function, the customer's operator programmed weld paths for their five highest-volume sheet metal part types. The intuitive interface meant that a welder with no prior robotics experience could create and save a complete weld program within a single shift.

Week 4 — Parameter Optimization for Sheet Metal

Laser power, welding speed, focal position, and shielding gas parameters were fine-tuned for each material type (304 stainless steel, mild steel, galvanized sheet). The robot's consistent travel speed and arc positioning ensured that parameter optimization translated directly into repeatable results — unlike manual welding, where individual operator technique introduces variability.

Week 5 Onwards — Full Production

The system entered full production. The customer now runs the cobot welding station with a single operator managing part loading, unloading, and quality checks — while the robot handles all welding operations continuously.

Results: 3-Month Performance Review

Productivity Gains

• Welding output increased by 2x — the cobot runs continuously without fatigue, completing repetitive weld cycles far faster than manual operators

• Job changeover time reduced by 70% — saved weld programs can be recalled and deployed in minutes, enabling rapid switching between part types

• Cutting-to-welding lead time reduced — the integrated cut-and-weld cell eliminates inter-process delays and material handling steps

✅ Quality Improvements

• Weld defect and rework rate reduced by over 85% — consistent laser parameters and robot path accuracy eliminate burn-through, undercut, and bead irregularities

• Post-weld grinding time cut by 60% — clean laser weld seams on sheet metal surfaces require minimal finishing, reducing labor hours and consumable costs

• Part dimensional accuracy improved — precise fit-up from laser-cut blanks combined with robot path repeatability ensures consistent joint geometry across every batch

Cost & Business Impact

• Labor cost per weld reduced by approximately 50% — one operator now manages the output previously requiring two to three manual welders

• New contracts accepted — with welding capacity no longer a bottleneck, the customer has taken on additional orders that would previously have been declined

• Estimated payback period: 14–18 months — based on labor savings, reduced rework costs, and increased billable output

Workforce & Safety

• Operator UV and fume exposure significantly reduced — laser welding in an enclosed workstation minimizes direct exposure compared to open-arc manual welding

• Existing welders upskilled — team members transitioned from manual welding to robot operation and quality inspection roles, improving job satisfaction and retention

• No specialist robotics programmer required — the Aubo i10's ease of use means the customer's own team manages all programming and changeovers independently

Customer Testimonial

"Before DATO's system, our welding team was always the bottleneck. Now the robot handles the repetitive work, our people focus on quality and setup, and we're delivering more parts with fewer problems. The weld finish on our sheet metal parts is noticeably better — customers have commented on it."
— Production Director, Sheet Metal Fabrication Company, Greece

Why This Configuration Works for European Sheet Metal Fabricators

European fabricators — particularly in Southern and Eastern Europe — face a specific combination of pressures: skilled labor shortages, rising wage costs, and demanding quality expectations from OEM customers. The DATO 1500W + Aubo i10 cobot system addresses all three simultaneously.

The Aubo i10's CE certification and collaborative safety design make it straightforward to deploy in existing European workshops without major infrastructure changes. The 1500W laser's clean weld output reduces finishing costs that are particularly significant in markets where labor rates for grinding and polishing are high. And the system's high-mix flexibility — enabled by fast teach-pendant programming — makes it practical for the varied, batch-oriented production typical of Greek fabricators.

System Specifications at a Glance

DATO 1500W Cobot Welding System
Laser Power: 1500W Fiber Laser
Robot: Aubo i10 | 6-Axis | 10kg Payload | 1350mm Reach
Repeatability: ±0.02mm
Safety: CE / ISO Certified | Collaborative operation
Welding Platform: Integrated flat-bed with modular fixturing
Cutting: DATO Fiber Laser Cutting Machine (integrated cell)
Suitable Materials: Stainless steel, carbon steel, galvanized sheet, aluminum
Sheet Thickness Range: 0.8mm – 6mm (typical sheet metal range)

Ready to Automate Your Sheet Metal Welding?

Whether you're processing enclosures, brackets, frames, or custom structural parts, DATO's cobot welding systems can be configured to match your specific materials, batch sizes, and workshop layout.

info@datolaser.com | www.datolaser.com | WhatsApp: +8619353173156