Merel Robotics Day 2026 – 17 November 2026

Merel is hosting Robotics Day 2026 on Tuesday 17 November, from 08:30 to 15:30, at the Faculty of Logistics, University of Maribor, in Celje, Slovenia.

Cobot welding with SmoothTool will be part of the programme, presented by our official Slovenian partner Varikon. The talk covers how a cobot complements the welder rather than replacing them, no-code programming with SmoothTool in Slovenian, when a cobot is and isn’t the right choice, and how the cost of added capacity compares to hiring a new welder. It also includes case stories from Peverk, Alusteel and Helsinki Shipyard, spanning different industries and applications.

In the afternoon, visitors can try SmoothTool themselves at the cobot welding station, with no prior programming experience needed. Bring a part or drawing along if you’d like to discuss whether it could be welded with a cobot.

Participation is free. Register via the link below.

ESCCO is hosting a Demo Day on Thursday 5 November 2026, from 10:00 to 16:00.

The event offers a chance to see a wide range of welding and engineering solutions in action, with live demonstrations of cobot welding, laser welding, CNC plasma and laser cutting, and more. For anyone exploring cobot welding and multi-process platforms like SmoothTool, it’s a great opportunity to see what modern automation can do on the shop floor.

The Plasma Process Itself

Plasma cutting uses a high-temperature, high-velocity jet of ionized gas, called plasma, to melt through electrically conductive metal and blow the molten material away. An electric arc forms between an electrode in the torch and the workpiece, which ionizes the gas flowing through the nozzle. This is the same basic process whether a person is holding the torch or a machine is.

What changes with automation isn’t the physics of the cut. It’s the consistency of everything that affects the cut: torch angle, travel speed, standoff distance from the plate, and how precisely the path follows the intended shape.

The Cobot’s Role

The cobot arm holds the plasma torch and moves it along a programmed path. Cobots are designed to work near people, but safeguarding always depends on the complete application, and your integrator must assess the installation and specify the protective measures. Cobots can also be repositioned relatively easily, which matters for shops that don’t have a fixed layout dedicated to cutting.

Precision here comes from the robot arm itself. Universal Robots publishes pose repeatability specs of ±0.08 mm for the UR8 Long and ±0.05 mm for the UR12e, the two models most commonly used for cobot plasma cutting, meaning the arm returns to the same point within a fraction of a millimeter, cut after cut.

The cobot doesn’t decide anything about the cut on its own. It follows the path and parameters set by the software layer, which is where most of the actual “how easy is this to use” question gets decided.

The Software Layer

This is where systems differ the most, and it’s the part that determines whether cobot plasma cutting is practical for a shop without dedicated robotics staff. A few core pieces, using SmoothCut as an example of how this typically works:

• Cut parameter lookup. Instead of an operator manually looking up or guessing cut height, kerf compensation, and speed, the software pulls these directly from certified cut charts for the plasma system in use, based on material and thickness. This removes a common source of manual entry error.
• Path definition. For simple, repeated shapes like circles and rectangles, the operator enters dimensions directly rather than programming a path by hand. For pipes, tubes, curved or formed sheet metal, or other custom shapes, the operator can physically guide the torch mount around the part to teach the path, with the software recording it.
• Real-time compensation. Plate isn’t always perfectly flat. Software that continuously monitors arc voltage can adjust the torch’s standoff height on the fly to keep the cut consistent even across an uneven surface.
• Bevel handling. For cuts that need a weld-ready bevel rather than a square edge, the software can produce that automatically based on material, thickness, and the angle needed, using the correct consumable cartridge for the job.

Why Cobot Plasma Cutting Matters for Cut Quality

Two cuts on the same plasma system, with the same consumables, can look meaningfully different depending on torch angle, speed, and standoff distance. A manual operator manages all three by feel, which takes real skill and still varies day to day. Automating the path and the parameter lookup is what makes the cut repeatable, not just precise on a single attempt.

Where This Fits in a Shop

A cobot set up for plasma cutting can either be dedicated to cutting, or shared with welding on the same station if the underlying software supports both processes. In Smooth Robotics’ case, SmoothTool handles welding and SmoothCut handles plasma cutting, both programmed through the same flange and pendant, which is what lets a single cobot switch between the two without an operator learning a second system.

One Honest Caveat: The Shop Floor Environment

Plasma cutting produces dust, sparks, and vibration, and it’s worth mounting the cobot securely on a stable surface and following the same fume extraction and shielding practices used for manual plasma cutting. None of this is unique to automation, the same hazards exist whether a person or a cobot is holding the torch, but it’s a real setup consideration rather than something that disappears just because the process is automated.

For the broader picture of what cobot plasma cutting is and why shops adopt it, see our cobot plasma cutting guide. If you’re weighing the cost of automating cutting against what your shop currently spends on manual work, see our cost and ROI breakdown.

FAQ

What Is Cobot Plasma Cutting?

Cobot plasma cutting is plasma cutting performed by a collaborative robot, or cobot, instead of a person holding a torch or a fixed CNC table. A plasma torch is mounted to the cobot’s arm, and software controls the path, speed, and cutting parameters, producing a repeatable, precise cut without a human guiding the torch by hand. Unlike traditional industrial robots, cobots are designed to work safely alongside people. They often need less dedicated footprint than older robotic systems, and safeguarding depends on the complete application: your integrator must assess the installation and specify the protective measures. The smaller footprint is a big part of why they’ve become practical for small and mid-sized fabrication shops rather than just large manufacturers.

How It Differs From Manual and CNC Cutting

Manual plasma cutting relies entirely on the operator’s hand and eye. It’s flexible and requires no setup, but accuracy and edge quality vary from cut to cut and from person to person, and it takes an experienced operator to do it well consistently.

CNC plasma cutting automates the cut using a fixed table and a preprogrammed path, usually from a CAD file. It’s very precise for flat, repetitive work, but the part has to come to the machine, and the table itself takes up a fixed footprint in the shop.

Cobot plasma cutting sits between the two. It automates the cut like a CNC system does, but the cobot can be moved to the part, or the part fixtured around the cobot, which makes it a better fit for pipes, tubes, curved or formed sheet metal, and other non-flat geometry a CNC table physically can’t cut, or for shops that don’t have the volume or space to justify a dedicated CNC table. For a closer look at how a cobot actually produces a cut, see our guide on how cobot plasma cutting works.

Why Shops Are Adopting It

The most common reason isn’t really about the cutting itself. It’s about where the people doing the cutting come from. In most fabrication shops, the people skilled enough to do good manual cutting and weld prep are the same people who should be welding. Every hour spent hand-cutting bevels or cleaning up rough edges is an hour not spent on the welding work that actually needs that skill.

Automating the cutting step doesn’t just speed up the cut. It frees up the people who were doing it, and it removes the variation that comes from cutting quality depending on who’s holding the torch that day. It also means those skilled people spend their time on the welding work that actually needs their judgment, rather than on cutting and prep that a cobot can handle just as consistently, shift after shift.

What a Cobot Plasma Cutting Setup Can Do

A cobot plasma cutting system, like Smooth Robotics’ SmoothCut, typically handles:

• General cutting – straight cuts and profiles, repeated with the same quality on every part.
• Bevel cutting – weld-ready bevels produced by selecting material, thickness, and angle, rather than grinding a bevel by hand.
• Repetitive shapes – circles, rectangles, slots, and holes cut by entering dimensions, useful for parts that need the same cutout again and again.
• Custom geometry – shapes taught directly on the workpiece for one-off parts, pipes, tubes, or curved and formed sheet metal that doesn’t fit a standard shape, with a 3D view that lets you inspect the lead-in and lead-out on the cut path before you cut.
• Consistent cut quality on uneven material – automatic torch height compensation keeps the cut clean even when the plate isn’t perfectly flat.
• Cut Chart Integration – pulls cut height, kerf compensation, and speed directly from certified cut charts, using Hypertherm’s single-piece SmartSYNC cartridges, which identify themselves automatically so the correct settings are always in use. No manual lookup, no entry errors.

Full breakdown of these features in our product overview.

What Hardware Does Cobot Plasma Cutting Run On?

A cobot plasma cutting setup is really two pieces of hardware working together: the collaborative robot arm, and the plasma cutting system it’s paired with. Knowing both before you start evaluating vendors saves a step later.

SmoothCut runs on Universal Robots cobots, paired with Hypertherm’s Powermax SYNC plasma systems (45, 65, 85, and 105 amperage models), using SmartSYNC cartridges that identify themselves automatically to the system. The UR8 Long and UR12e are the most common choices, and the right fit for most projects. Smaller UR models can make sense too, depending on the job, especially if you’re bringing the cobot to the workpiece rather than the other way around: a smaller, lighter cobot is easier to carry and reposition than the larger models. If your shop already owns a UR cobot, or already runs Hypertherm Powermax equipment, that’s a real head start on fit.

Are There Ongoing Consumable Costs to Plan For?

Yes, and it’s worth planning for honestly rather than glossing over. Like any plasma cutting system, cartridges wear and need replacing over the life of the machine. SmoothCut uses Hypertherm’s singlepiece SmartSYNC cartridges, which the system reads automatically, so at least the risk of running the wrong cartridge for the job, and wasting one in the process, is designed out.

Standalone, or Added to an Existing Welding Cobot

Cobot plasma cutting doesn’t have to be a separate investment from cobot welding. Some shops adopt it standalone, purely to automate cutting. Others already run a cobot for welding and add cutting to the same machine, using the same programming interface for both. Smooth Robotics’ Helsinki Shipyard installation is a real example of this: the shipyard cuts and welds on the same UR12e station, switching torches without moving the part between machines.

Where Cobot Plasma Cutting Isn’t the Right Fit

To be upfront: cobot plasma cutting isn’t the better choice for every shop. If you’re running high-volume, purely flat-sheet cutting from CAD files, a dedicated CNC plasma table is still generally faster and more efficient at that specific job, that’s genuinely what CNC tables are built for. Cobot plasma cutting earns its place in shops with more varied part geometry, lower or mixed cutting volume, or a need to combine cutting with welding on the same station, not as a universal replacement for every cutting method.

See our cobot vs. CNC comparison for a fuller breakdown of where each one wins.

Is Cobot Plasma Cutting Worth It?

That depends mostly on how much manual cutting and weld prep time your shop is currently absorbing, and what that time is worth relative to the cost of automating it. We cover this in detail, including what a real ROI calculation looks like, in our guide to cobot plasma cutting cost and ROI. If you’re comparing cobot cutting specifically against a CNC table, see our cobot vs. CNC plasma cutting comparison.

FAQ

We are pleased to invite you to the official launch of SmoothTool X, the next generation of cobot welding software for Universal Robots.

Join us on October 27th, from 15:00 to 16:00 CET, for a live webinar introducing this new release. Nicolai will walk you through SmoothTool X and share best practices for achieving maximum performance with the platform. Following this, Kenneth will present a real-world application video demonstrating SmoothTool X in action, offering insight into how the software performs in practical welding scenarios.

Whether you are new to SmoothTool or looking to deepen your understanding of its latest capabilities, this session will provide valuable insight directly from our team.

Register now to secure your spot – we look forward to welcoming you.

The Challenge

Welding calls for precision at every step. Seam position shifts part to part, arc parameters need to respond in real time, and getting robot, weld process, and control software working together takes time. On the earlier UR platform, connecting SmoothTool to cameras, seam trackers, and welding power sources meant working within bandwidth and compute limits that predated advanced welding use cases. Integrators and end users still got reliable results, however Gen 7 makes getting there simpler and faster.

The Solution

Gen 7’s extra compute is what changes things for SmoothTool. The CB7 Core controller gives SmoothTool more processing headroom to run heavier arc-control logic without competing for cycle time, and PolyScope X’s open APIs let us build and update SmoothTool’s edge-AI features natively on the platform rather than working around it. The result is a weld control experience that feels built into the robot and not just layered on top of it.

Moreover, SmoothTool is designed with full functionality using the SP7 Smart Panel, which guarantees shorter deployment times and faster implementation into the production flow.

What This Means on the Floor

• More headroom to run heavier welding routines without impacting cycle time

• A programming and teaching experience through the SP7 Smart Panel and TP7 Core pendant that matches the precision and flexibility required for welding applications

• Runs on a platform independently certified to ISO 10218-1:2025 for robot safety and IEC 62443-4-1 ML3 for secure software development, giving SmoothTool a rigorously vetted foundation to build on

That shift in what’s possible is something we feel directly on the Smooth Robotics team:

“Gen 7 of Universal Robots elevates the field of cobot welding to a whole new level. With SmoothTool for PolyScope X we are able to enhance the welder’s experience with fully native software that is built around what the welder actually expects from a welding automated tool.”

– Lucy Lehocka, Customer Success & Marketing Manager, Smooth Robotics

Universal Robots Gen 7

Universal Robots (UR), the original collaborative industrial robot manufacturer and part of Teradyne Robotics, introduced Gen 7, its seventh-generation robotics platform anchored by the PolyScope X robot operating system. Built for the next generation of automation, Gen 7 expands connectivity between robots, software, sensors, vision systems and end effectors, helping manufacturers deploy more capable applications with less integration effort.

Redesigned from tool flange to controller, the new Gen 7 robot platform is AI-ready by design, giving manufacturers unrivaled compute, connectivity and open architecture to deploy AI models directly on production robots without a performance trade-off.

Key innovations in Gen 7

• New g-Series robot arms: UR10g-1750, UR17g-1300, and UR18g-950, joining the e-Series and UR Series lineup.
• AI-ready tool flange: Delivers data, high-power and safety directly to the tool flange, making it easier to connect cameras, sensors, grippers and other peripherals while reducing cabling complexity.
• New SP7 Smart Panel, for teaching and programming directly at the tool flange.
• CB7 Core controller: 40% more compute in a 30% smaller footprint, enabling multi-network communication with PLCs, HMIs, MES platforms, IPCs, and vision systems while reducing the need for external switches.
• PolyScope X software platform: Brings modern programming tools with open APIs for building and deploying edge-AI applications using IPCs and external AI processing, along with ISO 10218-1:2025 safety functionality and cybersecurity compliance.
• Redesigned TP7 Core teach pendant for improved ergonomics and faster programming.
• Built-in safety and cybersecurity: All g-Series robots are TÜV certified to ISO 10218-1 and UL1740, while Teradyne Robotics is certified to IEC 62443-4-1 ML3 for secure software development practices

Ecosystem

Gen 7 is backed by the UR+ ecosystem, a curated, rigorously tested portfolio of automation products, each validated by UR before reaching market.

“What our partners are doing is exactly the kind of proof point that demonstrates the formative power of UR´s open platform and quality ecosystem. They are taking advantage of the advanced connectivity features on our Gen 7’s platform and build on it to provide easy-to-integrate products that run on the floor today.”

– Susanne Nördinger, Head of Ecosystem Success EMEA

Less Setup, More Welding

For shops evaluating a move to Gen 7, SmoothTool for PolyScope X means the weld control they already trust comes with them, running on hardware built to support it rather than constrain it. Less integration overhead translates directly into faster commissioning and less downtime spent troubleshooting connections instead of welding.

See SmoothTool for PolyScope X in person at IMTS 2026 in Chicago, September 14-19 or Contact Us to Learn More about SmoothTool X capabilities.

ABOUT SMOOTH ROBOTICS

Smooth Robotics ApS is a Denmark-based automation software company building weld and cut control solutions for Universal Robots cobots. Its flagship products, SmoothTool and SmoothCut, bring seam tracking, arc control, and process intelligence to collaborative welding and plasma cutting applications, helping manufacturers get more capable automation onto the floor with less integration effort. Smooth Robotics is a member of the UR+ ecosystem. For more information, please visit smooth-robotics.com.

ABOUT UNIVERSAL ROBOTS

Universal Robots is a global leader in collaborative industrial robots (cobots). With over 100,000 cobots sold worldwide, the company’s user-friendly platform is supported by intuitive PolyScope software, award-winning training, comprehensive services, and the world’s best cobot ecosystem, delivering innovation and choice to customers across a wide range of industries. With the most advanced robots in their class and a growing catalogue of ready-to-deploy AI applications, UR’s latest technology is built for the physical AI revolution. 
  
Universal Robots is part of Teradyne Robotics, a division of Teradyne (NASDAQ:TER), a leading supplier of automated test equipment and advanced robotics systems. For more information, please visit www.universal-robots.com. For media enquiries, contact PR@universal-robots.com. 

For manufacturers operating in high-mix, low-volume environments, automation often comes with a frustrating trade-off

While traditional industrial robots can improve output in processes such as laser welding, their complexity can also create new bottlenecks through lengthy programming, specialized training requirements, and limited operational flexibility.

For Taiwan-based Fu Zhuan Steel, these challenges became increasingly significant as customer demand shifted toward greater customization, faster lead times, and smaller production batches.

With over three decades of expertise in sheet metal fabrication, Fu Zhuan Steel needed an automation solution that could do more than weld. It needed to simplify operations, reduce dependency on scarce skilled labor, and make robotic welding accessible to more of its workforce.

The Challenge: Complex Automation in a Fast-Changing Market

Before adopting collaborative automation, Fu Zhuan Steel relied on conventional industrial robots for welding tasks. While technically capable, these systems required advanced programming knowledge and extensive employee training, often taking more than a month before operators could work independently.

This created several operational barriers:

• Only a small number of employees could operate robotic systems
• Scaling production was difficult due to labor shortages
• Frequent design changes slowed down production adjustments
• Traditional apprenticeship models became harder to sustain

In a market increasingly defined by agility, this approach limited responsiveness.

The Solution: SmoothTool + UR12e

By combining the UR12e with SmoothTool from Smooth Robotics, Fu Zhuan Steel transformed its laser welding workflow.

SmoothTool enabled operators to program welding paths quickly and intuitively, eliminating the need for advanced coding skills. Together with the UR12e’s hand-guiding capabilities, this significantly reduced complexity and dramatically shortened onboarding time.

Key outcomes:

• Training time reduced from over one month to just 1–2 days
• Faster setup for new welding jobs
• Greater flexibility for high-mix, low-volume production
• Lower dependency on experienced robot programmers
• Improved production scalability despite labor shortages

Book a free consultation today and find out how SmoothTool
can transform your welding automation.

Empowering Operators, Not Just Automation

At Smooth Robotics, our mission is to make robotic welding practical and accessible for real-world manufacturers, especially those navigating workforce shortages and production variability.

For Fu Zhuan Steel, SmoothTool helped bridge the gap between advanced automation and everyday usability, enabling more employees to operate welding systems confidently and productively.

“In the past, training operators to run a conventional industrial robot often took more than a month. With the UR12e cobot, training can be completed in just one to two days. That not only fills labor gaps quickly, but also makes the high-mix, low-volume production far more efficient!”
— Yi-Chun Chang, Special Assistant to the General Manager, Fu Zhuan Steel

Redefining Competitive Advantage Through Simplicity

Fu Zhuan Steel’s success demonstrates that modern automation is no longer just about replacing manual processes, it’s about removing complexity.

With SmoothTool, manufacturers can unlock the full value of cobot welding by making programming simpler, deployment faster, and production more adaptable. Discover how to Select the Right Robotic Welding System for Your Business.

As more manufacturers face the pressures of customization, labor shortages, and speed-to-market, accessible robotic software will be a defining factor in staying competitive. Fu Zhuan Steel is a clear example of how the right software-hardware combination can transform these challenges into measurable growth.

This article is inspired by the original article written by Universal Robots, which can be found here.

FAQ

Why Choose Smooth Robotics?

At Smooth Robotics, we specialize in intuitive and flexible welding automation. Our SmoothTool software is designed to work with many power sources, making cobot welding easier than ever. Plus, our team of experts can help you tailor the perfect cobot welding setup for your production.

Book a free consultation with our team today! Schedule a Meeting

Cobot Welding Comes to a 160-Year-Old Shipyard

Helsinki Shipyard has been a fixture in Finnish industry since 1865. Over its 160-year history, the yard has carried many names, including Masa-Yards and Finnyards, and is today known as DNY Finland Oy after the Canadian Davie Group acquired the business at the end of 2023. The Helsinki Shipyard name lives on as the brand most people still recognise. The yard sits almost in the centre of Helsinki, which is quite an unusual address for a shipbuilder. Over the years its footprint has grown more compact, but the company has stayed put. Its core activity is tied to building everything from large cruise ships to the ice-going vessels it has become known for in recent years: icebreakers and ice-class research cruisers built for some of the harshest conditions on earth.

We invest in new construction, which is our core business. And alongside that, we also do ship repair projects when possible.

– Juha-Pekka Keltanen, Welding Engineer in
Helsinki Shipyard

A Common Myth About Shipyards

When people picture welding inside a shipyard, they tend to picture huge ship blocks being joined together: the kind of work that calls for heavy manipulators, conveyors, and a lot of manual welders. That part of the operation is real, but it is far from the whole story. Jussi Martiskin from ProWeld Finland, the integrator behind the Helsinki Shipyard installation, has seen the same misconception in workshop after workshop:

Many people think that at a shipyard only large blocks are welded together, and that you need manual welding equipment or light conveyors. But there are many small parts: piping, prefabricated parts, all sorts of things made at the shipyard, just like in other workshops. So a cobot is just as suitable for a shipyard as for any other workshop.

– Jussi Martiskin, ProWeld Finland

Helsinki Shipyard fabricates piece goods, pipe prefabrications, and a wide variety of sheet-metal components in-house. It is exactly the kind of mix that defines almost any modern workshop, which is repetitive but varied, with a steady pull on the most skilled and experienced welders. The question is the same one any production manager will recognise: how do you free your people from the most repetitive runs so they can spend their time where they make the biggest difference?

Why a Hybrid Cobot Welding and Plasma Cutting Solution Made Sense for a Shipyard

The path to cobot welding at Helsinki Shipyard started with a trial. A cobot station equipped with both welding equipment and plasma cutting equipment was brought in for a couple of weeks of testing. From there, the case for investment built quickly.

For Juha-Pekka, the team wanted three things from automation:

• Flexibility. The workshop produces a wide mix of parts: piece goods, pipe prefabrications, and sheet metal. Whatever the team invested in had to handle that range, not lock production into a single product line.
• Resilience in staffing. Skilled welders are getting harder to find (a global welder shortage), and a cobot’s short learning curve helps offset that. “It is good in that sense, because users can be trained quite quickly to use the cobot,” Juha-Pekka notes.
• Quality and standardisation. On the welding side especially, the team wanted the kind of repeatability that only an automated tool can deliver.
  

The hybrid configuration closed the deal. One station handles both plasma cutting and welding, with a quick changeover between torches and settings. As Jussi Martiskin at ProWeld explains, that was the point of the design from the beginning:

The idea was that you could switch the torch and station settings between these processes very quickly. For example, after cutting the pieces, you can weld them in the same place. There’s no need to move the pieces anywhere.

At a shipyard, this hybrid application is good because you can do both welding and plasma cutting with the same device, which increases its utilisation rate and makes it a more sensible investment.

– Jussi Martiskin, ProWeld Finland

Crucially, the same operating logic in SmoothTool covers both processes. As Jussi also notes, anyone who can program a plasma cut on the cobot can also program a weld and vice versa. That keeps training simple, removes the need for separate cutting and welding operators, and lets a single person take a part from raw stock to finished assembly without it ever leaving the station.

From Delivery to First Production Parts in About an Hour

One concern about bringing automation into a long-established workshop is always disruption. At Helsinki Shipyard, it never materialised.

After delivery, it took maybe an hour or an hour and a half before the first production parts were cut. So in that sense, implementation was quite fast and convenient.

– Juha-Pekka Keltanen, Welding Engineer in Helsinki Shipyard

The reception inside the workshop followed a familiar arc: a moment of unfamiliarity, then real curiosity, then engagement. Juha-Pekka notes that a new cobot station inevitably causes some initial confusion when it arrives, but interest takes over quickly, and the operators using the stations have been consistently satisfied. A big part of that, he says, is the software:

The SmoothTool software is very easy to use. Anyone can learn it. That was also a big reason why we chose these stations, because they are very user-friendly.

Today, two to four operators are actively using the cobot station each day. The first runs have focused on piece goods and sheet-metal parts. The next horizon is pipe prefabrications, including T-branch insertions and similar joints, where SmoothTool’s ongoing software development is making programming faster still.

Standardised Welds for High-Strength and Ice-Class Steels

For a shipyard working with high-strength steels and ice-class vessels, welding quality is not a nice-to-have. The window of successful welding parameters narrows the stronger the steel, and getting it wrong is costly.

Juha-Pekka points to the cobot’s ability to standardise the essential variables as the practical answer: transport speed stays constant, torch angles are set as standard, free wire length stays consistent, and the welding process can be precisely adjusted. That precision matters most on stronger steels, where the parameter window is narrower than on basic steels, and it is exactly where the cobot proves its worth as a tool for achieving consistent weld joints.

On the plasma side, the cobot replaces older oxy-acetylene cutting that left a lot of grinding and finishing work behind. Jussi Martiskin sees the impact every time he commissions a new station. Plasma delivers a cleaner cut than the traditional method, which significantly reduces finishing work and improves throughput. The ergonomic gain is just as real: where a welder or pipefitter used to cut a part and then spend serious time grinding it to get the surface quality and fits right, plasma now produces the result in one pass, leaving only a quick wipe before welding begins.

Throughput, ergonomics, and consistency all improve in a single change.

Faster Production, Smarter Design, and Top Marks for SmoothTool

The cobot has clearly made cutting and welding more efficient at Helsinki Shipyard. The cutting process moves faster, the finished result is in a different league from manual work, and post-processing is reduced. Across a full job, the time savings add up.

The team has also started to think differently about design. Components that lend themselves to cobot production are flagged and prioritised, and once a part has a saved program, scaling up is straightforward. Pipe-flange assemblies, for example, can be welded once, then modified and re-run in different sizes with simple program adjustments.

Asked about Smooth Robotics as a partner, Juha-Pekka scores SmoothTool a perfect 10. The support has been strong, the team’s specific requirements have been taken into account, and product development feels directed at the workshop’s actual processes.

What’s Next: More Cobots, More Integration

The hybrid cobot station now in the workshop is a start, but there is more to come.

This cobot station will probably be integrated with other workshop equipment in the future, and we will consider increasing automation in many ways. It is not out of the question that more cobots will be acquired later. With these two [setups], we can at least get started…

– Juha-Pekka Keltanen, Welding Engineer in Helsinki Shipyard

The Takeaway: Big Production Has Repetitive Work Too

Helsinki Shipyard’s story is a reminder that the size of a production line says less about its fit for cobot automation than the nature of the work happening inside it. Shipyards, like any other workshop, are full of recurring, repetitive welding and cutting tasks that wear down skilled people and bottleneck delivery.

Putting a hybrid cobot station in the middle of that work does not replace shipbuilding craftsmanship. One device welds and cuts, with one operating logic and one operator, and it frees the craftspeople to spend their time on the parts of the job that only they can do.

Curious how SmoothTool could fit into your production? Download the Product Sheet or request a demo.

Is a Cobot Welder Suitable for a Shipyard? (FAQ)

Key Takeaways

• Cobot welding fits big production too. Shipyards produce a constant stream of small parts, including piping, prefabricated components, and sheet-metal pieces, that are ideal candidates for cobot automation.
• Hybrid welding + plasma cutting raises utilisation. One station handles both processes, with quick torch changeovers and the same operating logic in SmoothTool. This makes it a more sensible investment than two single-purpose machines.
• Fast implementation. First production parts cut about an hour after delivery.
• Standardised quality for demanding steels. Constant transport speed, torch angles and free wire length deliver consistent welds, especially important on high-strength steels used in ice-class vessels.
• Easier training, smaller skill bottleneck. Operators can be brought up to speed quickly with SmoothTool, easing the pressure on hard-to-fill welder roles.
• Better ergonomics, less rework. Cleaner plasma cuts mean less grinding; the cobot takes over the most repetitive runs.

The Helsinki Shipyard installation was delivered in partnership with ProWeld Finland.
The solution consists of a hybrid cobot station from Smooth Robotics, combining a Universal Robots cobot with SmoothTool, EWM power source and Hypertherm plasma cutting machine for welding and plasma cutting.

Helsinki Shipyard (DNY Finland Oy) is part of the Davie Group and has been building ships in central Helsinki since 1865. Its recent focus is on ice-going vessels, specifically icebreakers and ice-class research cruisers.

Learn more about Helsinki Shipyard: helsinkishipyard.fi

In welding operations, even small errors can quickly become expensive. Rework, scrap metal, and wasted consumables all add up. This is where collaborative robots (cobots) can make a tangible difference.

Solutions such as SmoothTool, the cobot welding software developed by Smooth Robotics, further support this process by making it easier for operators to program precise and repeatable weld paths. The software simplifies complex welding programming and helps teams maintain consistent weld quality, reducing the risk of errors that lead to scrap and rework.

Reducing waste where it matters most

One of the biggest challenges in welding is maintaining consistent quality over long production runs. Human welders bring valuable expertise, but fatigue, repetitive work, and complex weld paths can lead to variation and errors. 

Collaborative robots help address this challenge by delivering high precision and repeatability. Once programmed, a cobot can execute the same weld path consistently, reducing the likelihood of defects that lead to scrap metal or costly rework.

For manufacturers, this translates into a direct operational benefit:

• Less wasted material 
• Fewer rejected parts 
• Lower costs related to rework and consumables 

According to insights shared by Universal Robots, reducing material waste through precision and repeatability is one of the key ways cobots support more efficient manufacturing processes.

Improving Welding Operations 

Robotic welding has long been associated with improved production efficiency. With cobots, this capability becomes more accessible, particularly for small and medium-sized manufacturers.

By automating repetitive welding tasks, cobots help stabilize production output and maintain consistent quality across batches. A A recent academic research in MDPI Sustainability Academic on robotic welding stations also shows that optimized robot programming and motion paths can significantly improve process efficiency while reducing unnecessary rework and material waste.

Instead of replacing welders, cobots typically take over the most repetitive and physically demanding tasks, allowing skilled operators to focus on programming, quality control, and supervision.

Tools like SmoothTool enable welders to quickly generate advanced welding paths through an intuitive interface, without requiring deep robot programming expertise. This approach allows manufacturers to automate repetitive welds faster while maintaining high precision and productivity.

A practical approach to Sustainability 

In many cases, sustainability in manufacturing does not come from a single breakthrough technology. Instead, it comes from incremental improvements that reduce waste and improve efficiency across the production process.

In welding operations, collaborative robots contribute to this progress by helping manufacturers: 

• Reduce scrap metal and material waste 
• Minimize costly rework 
• Improve process consistency
• Support safer and more sustainable working conditions for welders 

By focusing on waste reduction and operational efficiency, cobots demonstrate how sustainability can move from an abstract concept to a practical advantage on the shop floor.

Company: Peverk Oy
Industry: Railway
Location: Järvenpää (Helsinki), Finland
Cobot System: Universal Robots UR12e with SmoothTool

Keeping Finland’s Railways Running For 30 Years and Counting

Peverk Oy is not a typical machine shop. Based in Järvenpää, the company designs and manufactures specialized systems that keep Finland’s railway switches working through every season, such as snow melting systems, switch turning assistance, and monitoring solutions that tell signaling systems whether a turnout has moved correctly.

Their customers are infrastructure owners, track owners, and maintenance operators across the Finnish rail network, and in the Baltics.

The company was founded by Antti Pappila’s father, who started his career as a turner at the Pasila machine shop and built up nearly six decades of railway industry experience before establishing Peverk. Antti joined five years ago and immediately started looking for ways to move things forward.

“When I joined the company, I saw that we could still improve things,” he says. “We have tried to innovate, not just our products, but also our production processes.”

With a team of around five people handling everything from CAD design and prototyping to assembly, welding, and customer delivery, Peverk is small, dynamic, and deeply hands-on.

The Challenge: Taking Production to the Next Level

“We noticed that we do a lot of similar work,” Antti explains. “And if you think about what automation can achieve, it definitely brings more muscle to what we do.”

Having identified opportunities to enhance their workflow, Antti set out to find a solution that would elevate the business and remove production bottlenecks.

One of his motivations was resilience. In a small team, one welder’s sick leave could bring welding to a standstill.

The other motivation was time. If the robot handles the repetitive runs, the team is free to develop new products, respond to customer needs, and push the business forward rather than simply maintain it.

The Answer: UR12e with SmoothTool and EWM

Peverk selected a Universal Robots UR12e cobot with the SmoothTool welding solution from Smooth Robotics, paired with an EWM welding power source. The complete system was delivered and implemented by Smooth Robotics’ Finnish partners, Oy Machine Tool Co. and ProWeld Finland.

For a company like Peverk, three things made this combination the right fit.

1. Flexibility was essential. The cobot welder isn’t bolted to a fixed cell. It can be moved to where the work is, which matters in a workshop where space is limited and production setups vary. Rather than redesigning production flow around the robot, the robot adapts to the flow.
   
2. Ease of use was non-negotiable. With a small, mixed team, some with deep welding knowledge, others more comfortable with software, the system needed to work for everyone. The approach Peverk landed on was collaborative programming: the welder brings the process knowledge, Antti or another team member handles the interface, and the finished program goes into the catalogue for anyone to run in production. No one person has to know everything.
   
3. Space and mobility closed the deal. Peverk’s premises simply don’t have room for a traditional robot cell. The cobot’s compact footprint and the ability to move it out of the welding area when not in use made the investment physically possible in a way a conventional system wouldn’t have been.

Curious how SmoothTool could fit into your production setup?

From Delivery to Production in a Day

ProWeld Finland handled the implementation with a straightforward philosophy: deliver the system ready to use. The cobot welder was lifted from the van into Peverk’s workshop, connected to power, and work began. The first day covered the basics. By the second day, production had started with a help of new welding jigs and fixtures.

Half the Production Time. More Order Flexibility.

The results at Peverk have been tangible. Before the cobot welder, certain welding batches took two weeks to complete. Now, the same batches can be done in one week. This presents a fundamental shift in what the business can promise its customers.

“If we have needed to get products to the customer faster, the stress about whether we will succeed or not disappears,” says Antti. “With the welding robot, a certain task can be done in a week, when it used to take two weeks.”

Beyond speed, Peverk has restructured how batches work. By running larger production batches, they keep more components ready for assembly at any given time, which smooths out the entire delivery process and means customers get faster, more predictable responses to their needs.

“From the customer’s perspective, this means we are a better and more reliable supplier, even more flexible than before. I see that as perhaps the greatest value that this acquisition brings us.”

What the Welders Think

Initial skepticism from the welding team was real and understandable.

“At first, there was the thought of ‘Do we even need this?'” Antti recalls.

The answer came from experience. After a few moments where the cobot welder stepped in and saved the day by handling a demanding run without stress or physical toll, the attitudes shifted.

“The thumbs have gone up and they’ve said, ‘Antti, you were absolutely right to get a cobot.'”

The ergonomic improvement has been particularly meaningful. Large production batches used to mean doing the same physically demanding welding work for days or weeks at a stretch. Now, the cobot handles the repetitive runs while the welder can tend to other tasks, like finishing work, tacking, or simply stepping away from the welding fumes for a while.

“Even though we have masks and air purifiers, it’s always nicer to breathe in other parts of the hall than in the welding shop,” Antti says.

The cobot welder has also changed how the team works together physically. Where previously only one person could work in the welding shop at a time, it’s now possible for a manual welder to tack components while the cobot does the final welding simultaneously.

The Investment Case: Courage Pays Off Over Time

Antti is clear-eyed about the cost. A cobot investment is many times the price of a welding power source alone, and for a company Peverk’s size, that requires genuine commitment.

“It takes a certain amount of courage to make such an investment,” he acknowledges. “But in the end, when you think about it over ten years, it is not impossible. Especially if job satisfaction and productivity improve.”

A Tool Worthy of the Work

Antti’s father built Peverk on a simple principle: you need to have proper tools. Sixty years of railway industry experience, from the Pasila machine shop floor to founding a business that now exports Finnish engineering to the world, produced a company that takes quality seriously at every level.

“Maybe today, for welding, the cobot is the proper tool,” Antti says.

For Peverk, the decision wasn’t about chasing technology for its own sake. It was about equipping their people to do better work, protecting the business against future pressures, and building the kind of reliability that customers feel on the other end of every delivery.

The robot is running, batches move faster, and welders are more satisfied. Antti now spends more time developing the next product than solving production bottlenecks.

That’s what the right tool does.

The Peverk Oy implementation was delivered in partnership with Oy Machine Tool Co. and ProWeld Finland. The solution consists of a Universal Robots UR12e, SmoothTool by Smooth Robotics, and an EWM welding power source.
Learn more about Peverk Oy: peverk.fi