Future of welding jobs?

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With the rapid advancement of new technology, how likely do you think most welding jobs will be eliminated in the next 10-20 years? I've heard that fabrication shops especially are becoming automated.
Reply:If things changed that fast we'd have flying cars and clean energy and no racism or religion. "No one ever went broke relying on the stupidity of mankind" or something like that. I think maintenance, repair, and one-off/small run fabrication will last for all our lifetimes.SqWave 200Millermatic 190Airco 200 ACHypertherm PM45Boice-Crane Band SawVictor O/A
Reply:Originally Posted by Brazin "No one ever went broke relying on the stupidity of mankind" .
Reply:http://www.thefabricator.com/article...obotic-weldingMistake #7....robots do not tolerate randomness."Discovery is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought" - Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
Reply:Look how many years it has taken the automotive manufacturing to go automated. First time I worked in a GM assembly plant was 1976. Very little automated equipment at that time. And what there was had problems. I worked for days trying to slow down the unit that picked up the cabs to pickups. It would crush the sides of the cab. Ended up ripping pieces of pipe, and welding bolt tabs to them so the maintenance guys could had pressure to slow the arms down. Even if it all goes 100% automated, someone has to maintain the equipment, and work out all the bugs! Don’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:Unfortunately as technology advances, its a snowball situation..it takes now much less time to advance using the advancements that took awhile to develop...what use to take 20 years to develop takes 1 year now and that time will shrink...Of all the things I lost I miss my mind the most...I know just enough about everything to be dangerous......You cant cure stupid..only kill it...
Reply:For high production outfits, robotics is definitely the way to go, but for smaller businesses and weld shops, not any time soon.  The programming and vision systems aren't where they need to be for one off weldments yet.  I don't forsee robots doing any sort of repair work either, unless AI becomes a reality and the robots can actually be smarter than humans in terms of analyzing the problem and implementing a solution.
Reply:Menial jobs can and should be automated. Same for long run production. There are still alot of support jobs involved requiring service skills. Short run jobs are much more difficult to automate and could be more expensive. I can't see how maintenance or repair jobs being automated also. Prepare to get dirty.Weld like a "WELDOR", not a wel-"DERR" MillerDynasty700DX,Dynasty350DX4ea,Dynasty200DX,Li  ncolnSW200-2ea.,MillerMatic350P,MillerMatic200w/spoolgun,MKCobraMig260,Lincoln SP-170T,PlasmaCam/Hypertherm1250,HFProTig2ea,MigMax1ea.
Reply:still a robot needs to be monitored and inspected for quality control. also robots can weld things now like pipe and the continuous same positions and weldments, meaning a robot can not do a lot of things that a human welder can...  Frig the robots!VictorPraxairAir LiquideMillerLincoln Electric
Reply:Originally Posted by MrSmoothWith the rapid advancement of new technology, how likely do you think most welding jobs will be eliminated in the next 10-20 years? I've heard that fabrication shops especially are becoming automated.
Reply:Can't wait to see the robot that will come out in the field with me and lay in a mud puddle to gouge shanks Off a bucket
Reply:Thanks for the replies. I agree that repair/maintenance and custom welding will be the safest jobs for a welder in the future. That will be the path I'll take if I ever choose to become a welder. A lot of pipelines here in Alberta so I imagine there is always a lot of maintenance work to be done.
Reply:Originally Posted by ManoKaiMistake #7....robots do not tolerate randomness.
Reply:With the ever increasing demand for energy in North America, with the retirement of the baby boomers among us, you will see a greater demand for skilled welders, not less demand.JasonLincoln Idealarc 250 stick/tigThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 52Miller Bobcat 250Torchmate CNC tableThermal Arc Hefty 2Ironworkers Local 720
Reply:The only robots I see now a days are the people that were programmed to think working hard with your hands is a shameful thing. Sadly they are passing that same faulty programming to younger people.. Sorry went off course there... Na I agree, robots can't handle one-off builds cheaper than a human nor can they handle irregularities. Automated machines are good thou, takes away heavy labor.....Just my $0.02...
Reply:any robot that wants my low paying dirty job is welcome to it. all he's gotta do is ask.i.u.o.e. # 15queens, ny and sunny fla
Reply:I would be more concerned with everything being built everywhere but here mostly in China the can build it just like we can and they have to work for less