Thinking about adding a welding or cutting cobot to your shop? You’re not alone. Collaborative robots (cobots) are one of the fastest-growing segments in manufacturing—especially for welding and fabrication.

The market backs that up: according to Verified Market Reports, the global cobot‐welding market is projected to grow from about $626 million in 2024 to $3.23 billion by 2033, driven by fabricators, job shops, and manufacturers of all sizes.

If you’re just getting started, here are seven questions we hear on nearly every first call—and the answers to help you move forward with confidence.

1. How easy is it to program a Beacon-powered cobot?

Much easier than old-school robot programming.

• Hirebotics’ Beacon system removes dependence on traditional teach pendants or writing custom robot code. Welders guide the robot manually using the Smart Puck, tap buttons to record points, and tweak via the Beacon app (on tablet, phone, or browser).

• For basic jobs, shops often have production‐ready welds within hours, not weeks.

• Operators without prior robotics experience can often be trained in a single shift, thanks to Beacon’s visual/interactive onboarding and intuitive UI.

2. What welding and cutting processes does it support?

Beacon-powered cobots are built for flexibility:

• MIG welding is standard; many shops also convert or move toward TIG or precision cutting applications depending on the job.

• The hardware is usually a Universal Robots UR-8L arm (long reach), paired with trusted welding power sources (e.g., Miller or OTC) and appropriate torches.

• Because of its modularity, these cobots are good for high-mix, low-volume production. If your shop has many part changes or jobs that don’t justify dedicated industrial robot cells, the cobot model shines.

3. How does a cobot compare to traditional automation?

Cobots bring some big advantages, especially in many fab/weld shops:

• Safety & layout flexibility: Cobots are designed to work alongside human welders safely, typically without massive safety cages. That reduces the footprint and safety infrastructure cost.

• Arc-on / "operator factor" improvements: Manual welding operators often have fairly low arc-on time (10-12% typical). Cobots, once set up, can dramatically increase that number by minimizing non-weld delays (moving between joints, pauses, etc.).

• Lower integration & programming overhead: Because Beacon is set up for easy redeployment, high mix, and minimal coding, the barrier to entry is much lower than for traditional robotic cells.

4. What types of parts and customers are a good fit?

Cobots are especially well suited for:

• Job shops, contract manufacturers, and fab shops that have repeating welds or cuts but not high enough volume to justify expensive custom robotics or large automation cells.

• Shops that are struggling with welder labor shortages. Cobots let experienced welders focus on complex work while letting cobots take over repetitive welds.

• Situations where safety, repeatability, worker fatigue, or heat / fume exposure are concerns. Cobots can improve safety and consistency, especially over long or demanding jobs.

5. What's included in a Hirebotics welding or cutting cobot package?

Here’s what you typically get—and what optional upgrades are available:

6. What about support and maintenance?

Support is critical—downtime kills productivity. Here’s how Hirebotics handles it:

• BeaconCare is the premium service plan. It gives you 24/7 expert support, priority onsite service, discounted repairs (even non-warranty ones), and loaner equipment so you can stay running during hardware trouble.

• Support is available via live chat, phone, and email. Help with diagnostics, setup, troubleshooting software/hardware, etc. Documentation, how-tos, videos are built into the Beacon ecosystem.

• Maintenance is simplified: the arm & sources have standard warranties; consumables, torches, etc., follow predictable wear patterns. Because Beacon's tools are visual and intuitive, many routine adjustments can be done by welders inline without needing dedicated robotics engineers.

7. How fast can we be up and running?

This is often the biggest concern—and it turns out cobots score well here.

• Many customers are welding or cutting production parts the same day the system arrives. Setup is designed to be fast: pre-wired, pre-mounted, mobile carts, minimal configuration.

• Training time can be under one full shift for operators to become competent. Basic jobs can be started quickly.

• ROI: in many cases, shops see return on investment in weeks via increased throughput, less rework, better quoting accuracy, more stability.

8. Bonus: What about Beacon Pro, Beacon Care, Multipass, and Seam Tracking?

These are optional enhancements, but often game-changers for shops with more demanding welds or higher quality / precision requirements.

Beacon Pro

• A paid upgrade from the free or standard Beacon (Basic) plan. Offers enhanced features such as fine-tune points (you can adjust torch angles like travel angle and work angle directly in the Beacon app), more in-depth job history (e.g. 30-day view vs. shorter windows), image/file uploads, export of data (CSV), team permissions, and alerts (e.g. Slack integration). help.hirebotics.com

• Pro gives you more detailed control over weld programming / editing, which matters if you're handling welds requiring consistent finish, tight tolerance, or carrying out more complex path adjustments.

Beacon Care

• The support plan that ensures your equipment stays responsive. With Beacon Care you get priority 24/7 support, fast onsite service, discounted rates for repairs even when out of warranty, and loaner equipment to ensure minimal downtime.

• Also includes hardware repair/replacement options, flexible training, and real-time diagnostics via Beacon.

Multipass Welding

• Multipass means you can do thick or heavy welds by layering multiple passes: root, fill, cap. It improves strength and allows you to handle thicker materials or weld well with stronger specifications.

• With Beacon, multipass is built into the software tools. You can define each pass (settings, path, torch angle, starting point etc.), edit individual passes, control interpass cooling or alternating directions, and resume from any pass (Start Here) if something interrupts production. help.hirebotics.com

• Better heat management, consistency, and less risk of weld defects (e.g. warping, distortion) come from using the multipass tools properly.

Seam Tracking

• Seam tracking refers to technologies (sometimes “through-the-arc seam tracking” or via sensors/camera etc.) that allow the cobot to detect the joint geometry or seam in real time and adjust its path accordingly. This helps especially when fit-up isn’t perfect, when parts shift, or as tolerances stack up.

• In advanced implementations, seam tracking and multipass can work together: you track the root pass, then offset for subsequent passes based on what was actually welded. That improves quality and reduces scrap / rework.

Final Thought: Cobots Are Reshaping Welding and Fabrication

Cobots are no longer a curiosity—they’re becoming essential tools for many shops. They unlock flexibility, speed, safety, and consistency. A few metrics that show just how they’re changing things:

• Shops report 2-4× increases in productivity when introducing cobots, plus sharper quoting, less rework, and more uptime.

• They make it possible for smaller or mid-size operations to compete with large fabricators in terms of throughput and quality—without the big capex or long lead times of traditional robot cells.

• They allow you to shift human talent to value-add work rather than repetitive welds, improving morale and reducing burnout.

Want to see how it works?

Get a demo or check out more insights on our blog.