Industrial sectors from automotive to shipbuilding face a pressing shortage of skilled welding labor. TECNALIA’s new iWeld platform tackles that gap by merging a six-axis robotic cell, real-time process monitoring, and application-specific software. Pre-loaded parameters for GMAW, TIG, plasma, and—soon—laser welding let operators dial in jobs through an intuitive interface rather than decades of manual experience.
The system’s brain combines weld-process intelligence with a custom GUI that adjusts displays to each application, cutting set-up time for short production runs and one-off parts. For additive manufacturing, TECNALIA has integrated SAMYLABS’ Samystudio slicer, allowing the same cell to shift from joining to WAAM-style builds without a hardware swap. This flexibility is aimed at low-volume, high-mix environments where traditional automation often breaks even too late in the schedule.
Pilot projects are under way with partners in Oil & Gas, rolling stock, and aerospace—industries that log thousands of arc hours per day and feel the welder shortage most acutely. If field validation confirms current lab results, iWeld could offer a scalable path to stable output without compromising weld quality or code compliance, bridging the skills gap while the next generation of welders trains up.
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