Discovering Pick-to-Weld: A smarter way to feed your welding cells
- Date
- 2026-09-24
- Location
- Online
- Host
- Association for Advancing Automation (A3)
About this event
If you run or support robotic welding, you already know the bottleneck is rarely just the weld itself. The real challenge is often what happens before arc-on: getting the right parts, in the right orientation, to the right cell, with enough consistency to keep throughput up and downtime down. This virtual session explores pick-to-weld as a smarter, more integrated approach to feeding welding cells. Whether you're evaluating automation, improving an existing line, or trying to close the gap between part handling and weld performance, this event is designed to help you think more clearly about the full workflow. Expect a practical conversation grounded in robotics and advanced manufacturing, with a focus on what makes feeding systems more reliable, scalable, and production-ready. About the Event Discovering Pick-to-Weld: A smarter way to feed your welding cells is an online event focused on one of the most important — and often underestimated — parts of welding automation: how components are presented to the robot before welding begins. Rather than treating part picking and welding as separate automation problems, this session looks at them as one connected process. The goal is to show how a pick-to-weld approach can reduce friction between upstream material handling and downstream weld execution, helping teams build cells that are easier to run and easier to trust. This event is especially relevant for people working in robotics, industrial robotics, and advanced manufacturing who want a sharper understanding of how feeding strategy affects cell utilization, quality, flexibility, and labor demands. Because it is virtual, attendees can join from anywhere and focus on the ideas without the time and cost of travel. You should expect a format that is concise, professional, and practical. The emphasis is on understanding the system-level thinking behind pick-to-weld, not just isolated pieces of equipment. What to Expect The session will walk through the logic behind a smarter welding cell feed strategy and why it matters in real production environments. You can expect the discussion to cover how robotic picking, part presentation, and weld cell integration work together to create a more stable and efficient process. Topics will likely include: What “pick-to-weld” means in the context of robotic welding cells Common pain points in feeding welding cells, including inconsistency, interruptions, and unnecessary handling steps How part presentation impacts welding performance, cycle time, and repeatability Where smarter automation can improve flow, especially when part supply and welding need to operate as one coordinated system Key considerations for implementation, such as flexibility, reliability, and fit with existing manufacturing operations You should also expect a perspective that connects technical capability with operational outcomes. This is not just about robots picking parts; it is about building a process that supports throughput, quality, and day-to-day manufacturability. Because the event is online, the experience is built for clarity and efficiency. You can attend from your desk, take notes in real time, and leave with a more structured way to evaluate feeding approaches for your own welding applications. Why Attend If you are responsible for automation performance, this event gives you a chance to step back and look at a problem that has major downstream consequences. A welding cell can only perform as well as the process feeding it, and small weaknesses in part delivery often show up later as lost time, quality variation, or operator dependence. Attending will help you better understand how to think about welding automation as a connected workflow rather than a set of isolated machines. That shift matters when you are trying to justify investment, troubleshoot bottlenecks, or improve overall equipment effectiveness. You may find this especially valuable if you are: Assessing ways to increase cell uptime and throughput Looking for a more robust approach to part handling before welding Exploring how robotics can reduce manual intervention in repetitive feed tasks Trying to improve consistency and repeatability across welded parts Comparing automation strategies for current or future manufacturing programs A strong event on this topic helps you ask better questions. What level of flexibility do your parts require? Where is variability entering the process? How tightly should picking and welding be integrated? Those are the kinds of questions that lead to smarter automation decisions. Practical Details This is a virtual event, so you can attend online from any location. That makes it accessible for manufacturing leaders, engineers, integrators, and technical teams who want relevant insight without stepping away from their worksite for a full day. Date and time: Thursday, September 24 at 3:00 PM UTC. If you work across multiple plants or teams in different regions, it is worth converting the time in advance so the right people can join live. A few useful things to keep in mind before attending: Plan to join from a device with a reliable internet connection Have your current welding cell or automation questions in mind before the session starts Consider inviting colleagues from robotics, manufacturing engineering, operations, or production leadership if cell feeding is a shared challenge Be ready to think beyond the weld process itself and focus on the full material-to-weld flow If your team is serious about improving robotic welding performance, this session offers a focused opportunity to examine one of the most important links in the chain. Better feeding is not a side issue; it is a core part of building welding cells that perform the way they should.
Who should attend
This event is for people who care about making robotic welding cells run better, with fewer interruptions and stronger process control. - You work in **manufacturing engineering** and want a better way to connect part handling with weld cell performance. - You are responsible for **robotics or industrial automation** and need to evaluate feeding strategies that improve consistency, utilization, and scalability. - You support **robotic welding operations** and see firsthand how part presentation, orientation, or supply issues affect cycle time and quality. - You lead or influence **advanced manufacturing initiatives** and want a clearer framework for thinking about integrated cell design. - You are exploring automation for a new line or upgrade and need practical insight into how **pick-to-weld** can reduce manual handling and improve flow. - You work across operations, production, or technical teams and want a shared understanding of how upstream part delivery shapes downstream welding results. If you've ever looked at a welding cell and thought, "the robot is ready, but the process feeding it isn't," this event is very likely for you.