Data center infrastructure leader Tate, Inc. has deployed 58 Hirebotics Cobot Welder systems across manufacturing facilities in Arkansas, Virginia, and Kentucky. By transitioning from traditional hand-welding to a cloud-connected automation network, the company has achieved a 12x increase in per-welder throughput on critical structural assemblies. This deployment utilizes the cloud-based, no-code Beacon Pro platform, allowing Tate to scale production and maintain precision across a multi-plant network while simultaneously expanding its team of certified welders for high-value, high-judgment tasks.
Tate Deployment of 58 Cobot Welder Systems
Tate, a 120-year-old supplier of structural ceilings, containment systems, and airflow management products, faces intense demand and tight project timelines. To meet these requirements without manufacturing errors, the company implemented a fleet of 58 Hirebotics Cobot Welders. This automation strategy allows Tate to delegate highly repetitive work to cobots, which has significantly boosted throughput and improved shop floor conditions.
Beyond standard welding, Tate has pioneered a unique workflow at its Arkansas plant. In this setup, cobot systems manage the upstream precision step of tacking and pre-assembling parts. This process feeds downstream industrial robots, ensuring a steady production pace. Furthermore, Tate has become one of the first operations to deploy Hirebotics’ new Cobot Painter, utilizing the same Beacon Pro platform and role-based access. This integrated approach allows Tate to manage its entire multi-plant network of cobots from a single smart device, ensuring consistent production standards nationwide through real-time sharing of weld programs and parameters.
Beacon Pro Platform and Workforce Integration
The Hirebotics Beacon Pro platform enables Tate to program, run, and monitor its cobot fleet via any smartphone or tablet. This no-code control platform eliminates the need for traditional robot teach pendants, allowing operators to manipulate movements, amperage, heat, and travel speed. A significant advantage for Tate is the ability to train welders without prior robotics experience in just 10 to 20 minutes.
By encoding precision discipline directly into the Beacon Pro software, certified programmers can dial in exact torch angles and travel speeds. This ensures floor operators execute perfect welds every time, eliminating costly rework caused by manual welder-to-welder variability. This technological shift has allowed Tate to recruit more certified welders to focus on tasks requiring high-judgment craftsmanship and specific certification, rather than repetitive manual labor.
Key Takeaways
- Tate achieved a 12x increase in per-welder throughput on critical structural assemblies using 58 Hirebotics Cobot Welders.
- The Beacon Pro cloud-based platform allows operators to manage multi-facility cobot fleets via smartphones or tablets without traditional teach pendants.
- Operators can be trained to use the cobot systems in 10 to 20 minutes without any prior robotics experience.
TechInsyte's Take
In our view, Tate’s deployment signals a strategic shift in how heavy manufacturing addresses the skilled labor shortage. Rather than using automation to replace human workers, Tate is using cobots to augment them, effectively decoupling output from the limitations of manual welding variability. By offloading repetitive tacking and assembly to cobots, the company preserves its human capital for high-value, certified craftsmanship. This "augmentation over replacement" model, powered by a no-code, cloud-connected interface, lowers the barrier to entry for floor operators and provides the scalability required for high-demand sectors like data center infrastructure.
Questions & Answers
How does Tate maintain consistent production standards across multiple locations?
Tate utilizes the Hirebotics Beacon Pro platform to operate as a unified ecosystem. This allows the company to share weld programs, parameters, and enhanced playlists across its Arkansas, Virginia, and Kentucky facilities in real time, ensuring nationwide consistency.
What is the impact of cobot integration on the existing welding workforce?
The integration has allowed Tate to increase per-welder throughput by 12x while simultaneously expanding its team of certified welders. The cobots handle repetitive tasks, allowing human welders to focus on high-judgment, high-value craftsmanship.
How does the Beacon Pro platform reduce manufacturing errors?
The platform allows certified programmers to encode precision discipline directly into the software, including exact torch angles and travel speeds. This eliminates the variability inherent in manual welding, reducing costly rework.
Can non-specialists operate these cobot systems?
Yes. The no-code nature of the Beacon Pro platform enables welders without prior robotics experience to be trained to operate the systems in as little as 10 to 20 minutes.
Source: BUSINESSWIRE
