Welding Efficiency: Strategies For Welding Cost Optimization

As a hobby or a beginner welder, you should not worry too much about your welding costs since you only do a project or two. However, things get tricky once you get into the metal fabrication business. Every penny saved can allow you to optimize the costs and price your work according to the harsh market changes.

Rising costs and increased competition in the metal fabrication business mean any unplanned downtime and lost labor, consumable waste, repairs, and rework can create cost overruns, so welding efficiency is crucial. That's why we'll present some tips and strategies for welding cost optimizations.

Welding Costs Breakdown

Many manufacturers need an understanding of how much they spend, what they spend their money on, and why. That's why the first step in cost savings is understanding where costs come from. We can break down the price of the welding process into direct and indirect welding costs.

The direct welding costs are the first thing that comes to the mind of a welding fabricator. Direct costs include equipment purchases, labor hours, filler metal, and consumables; you can easily track this down in order to reduce costs. Still, direct costs only take a small portion of calculating welding costs.

The significantly bigger portion of costs in welding takes indirect costs, which include labor costs, time spent preparing a joint, blasting, removing oils, assembly, preheating, tack-up, positioning, welding, slag removal, spatter removal, inspection, changing electrodes, and more. These are the costs that most manufacturers overlook, but according to some experts, they can take up to 80% of the entire cost of manufacturing welding operations in the workshop.

Source: https://www.forgeway.com/learning/blog/welding-polypropylene-pros-and-cons

How To Calculate Welding Costs?

The simple equation for calculating total welding costs is:

Welding Costs = Labor and Overhead (L&OH) + Consumables (materials).

Consumables, or material price, include the money you spent on base and filler material as well as gases. As noted above, materials take up approximately 20% of all costs, so simply buying a cheaper wire or choosing a cheaper shielding gas will reduce welding costs only slightly.

Labor costs depend on the rate of welding, hourly wages, and total operation time. Labor will take most of the equation in manual welding operations, so reducing welding costs will include minimizing operation time. Simply increasing the efficiency of the welding process, most notably the deposition rates, will significantly reduce welding costs.

Overhead can include plant, equipment, supervision, and indirect labor (office personnel). Overhead costs are often added to labor costs, so when added, they take up to 80% of all welding costs of the welding processes.

Source: https://weldingengineers.co.nz/welding-assistance/time-the-single-biggest-cost-in-welding/

Welding Solutions And Strategies For Welding Cost Optimization

Now that you are aware of what can cause unnecessary costs in your welding services, it is time to discuss the solutions and tips on how to reduce welding costs. The solutions include either choosing the best welding equipment or optimizing the time and money spent during the welding procedures. So, let's talk more about adequate solutions.

Use The Right Welding Consumables

Welding consumables are part of welding costs, so choosing the right equipment can significantly help you cut costs. Welding consumables, as their name states, are designed to be "consumed" during the welding process, and some of them are shielding gas, filler metals, anti-splatter compounds, grinding wheels, back bars, and gun components.

Even though consumables will eventually run out, the time between the first use and the end of their lifespan can significantly impact the costs. These little assistants can dictate everything, from the strength and durability of your welds to the overall productivity of your projects. So investing in higher-quality YesWelder MIG consumables or TIG consumables can result in cost savings.

BPG35-49 49PCS WP-17/18/26 TIG Welding Torch Consumables

However, choosing the wrong consumables, such as wire or shielding gas, besides wasting your money, can impact the quality of the weld. Quality consumables help reduce welding costs because they have a longer duration and yield better results, so they cut the time spent on reworking and cleaning.

Adjust Consumable Usage And Distribution

Many welders tend to change the contact tip after each shift, even though it can still run without impacting the quality of the weld. Some tend to change the tip when experiencing wire-feeding problems, which is only sometimes the right solution since many factors can affect the feed. As a result, premature changing consumables can waste hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars a year.

Storing the consumables can also affect the productivity of welding operators. Welding electrodes, rods, or wires require proper storage due to moisture or other contaminants. However, storing them too far from the welding operation can create unnecessary costs as welders go back and forth to grab and change them. So, keep a limited amount of required consumables near welders to reduce welding costs.

Photo by @sarahwelds_ (TikTok)

Concerning consumable distribution, a welding contractor should always have a good relationship with a supplier. A supplier should understand the shop's needs and pack and distribute consumables to suit the application, which may include providing enough consumables to suit the job without affecting its performance. For example, if your projects typically consume 20 or 30 lbs of wire, ask a supplier for larger spools so you don't have to change it that often.

Employ Proper Material Handling

Material handling is similar to consumable usage and distribution. Welders can lose precious time to stop welding, look for a needed welding accessory, and then return to the welding spot and resume welding. More time is wasted when weldment pieces are scattered around the welding area.

So, to avoid costly downtime, it is best to arrange, store, and sort out all the accessories, consumables, and materials you will be using in your welding operation. Sort them out in line of use so you don't have to jump over the parts and pieces you will be using later.

Eliminate Unnecessary Welds

A professional welder should recognize the opportunity to eliminate unnecessary welds from the design. For example, simply removing a couple of unnecessary welds from the initial design can cut the need for welding and, therefore, reduce the time and money spent on welding, as well as on consumables.

The design changes require a good connection between the welding contractor and client, which is often provided by proving the expertise. Skilled workers will always try to improve the manufacturing welding operation to save money and achieve better results.

Photo by @castro__welding (TikTok)

Avoid Overwelding

Quite the opposite of removing unnecessary welds is overwelding, which is typical for most welding shops. When concerned about the strength or required size of the weld, most inexperienced welders tend to add more weld metal to ensure things will hold up. However, the bigger, the better is not always the right approach, especially when each penny matters.

According to experts, a 1/4" fillet weld typically requires .129 lbs. per foot of weld metal, while a 5/16" weld requires .201 lbs. So increasing the size of the weld, in this case, results in a 56 percent increase in weld volume, with added labor time in welding more than needed. Understanding the relationship between the weld size and required strength is crucial in avoiding overwelding, and it is the result of the expertise of the engineer or designer.

Adjust Weld Joint Preparation And Fit-up

Weld preparation is critical in achieving strong and highest quality welds. Weld preparation includes cleaning the pieces and ensuring a proper fit-up. Clean, well-prepped materials will improve weld quality and precision, translating to less rework and material waste.

Good fit-up and tacking will increase precision and also eliminate overwelding. For example, any material that is thicker than 3/4" should be double-beveled. According to experts, a double bevel on a 3/4" thick piece will consume 1.45 lbs. weld metal per foot, while a single bevel consumes 1.95 lbs. per foot. As a result, good joint preparation and fit-up can significantly save time and weld metal consumption.

Source: https://nsarc.com/blog/guide-to-welding-grooves/

Use The Right Welding Process Or Increase Efficiency

The choice of the welding process will depend on the current welding projects and operations, but you should always try to make adjustments and increase efficiency. Sometimes, you can adjust the parameters such as amperage, voltage, wire feed speed, or equipment such as welder, nozzle, wire, or electrode diameter to increase productivity, which reduces welding costs.

For example, if there is a light oxidation or contamination on the surface, you can opt for Stick welding that can burn through it. You will spend less time cleaning the pieces, reducing labor costs. In addition, tweaking the parameters can also help. Switching to spray MIG transfer or dual-shielded Flux core welding will result in much higher speed.

Stick Welding on a Lightly Oxidized or Contaminated Surface
Photo by @weldd1 (TikTok)

But remember that you can do this if the Welding Specification Procedure allows it. For example, critical and highest-quality welds are typically welded by TIG or laser welding, which are not known as cheap or fast.

Minimize Welding Equipment Downtime

Preventive maintenance is crucial in making sure your equipment is working correctly, and there is no downtime. Scheduled downtime helps keep the production line flowing smoothly and reduces time and costs spent on unplanned maintenance.

Lack of maintenance can negatively impact the equipment performance. For example, a machine can unexpectedly break during the welding procedure, creating a stoppage in the entire operation. By scheduling the maintenance, you identify the potential issues before they create bigger problems and deal with them without creating downtime or operating costs.

Train Operators And Welders

Invest in training your welding operators to enhance their skills and awareness. Even though operator training sounds like something you spend your money on, it is actually a long-term investment that eventually pays off.

Trained personnel will understand the fundamentals of welding operations and safety and adapt to create the highest quality welds in given conditions. Since manual welding is highly reliable on human factors, having skilled welders around means there is no nid for expensive reworks or re-welding.

In addition, proper operator training includes getting familiar with new technology. Technological advancements bring us advanced welding machines and processes that produce significantly higher speeds and overall results, but they require skilled personnel to operate and run them.

Source: https://blog.hirebotics.com/robotic-welder-operator

Eliminate the Need For A Repair And Rework

Reworks and repairs cost money, so it is crucial to prepare the pieces of the welding project to simplify final cleaning and test any weld in the early stages to ensure you don't have to spend too much on later reworks. As noted, clean welds yield clean results, so it is always better to clean the parts and use the correct consumables and welding accessories to reduce spatter or any welding issues that may compromise the quality of the weld.

Another good way to eliminate weld defects and expensive rework is to employ additional weld testing. Even though additional testing can be more expensive, testing the root pass reduces the amount of the rework in case the entire weld is deposited. A reject means 100% of the filler material, shielding gas, electricity, labor, and time used is wasted, and you can avoid that by simply testing the first stages and avoiding more weld defects from piling up.

Create a Safe And Clean Welding Environment

Creating a safe and comfortable environment will attract and retain skilled welders. An improved work environment and culture will attract the best, skilled workers who will want to stay there. A clean, temperature-controlled facility with fume-extraction systems is inviting to employees. Attracting well-trained welders to your welding business means you can save time and money on training skilled employees suitable for the job.

By producing a safe environment, you cut the indirect costs that the business suffers while the employee stays at home. According to studies, occupational injury and illness direct and indirect workers' compensation costs for disabling, non-fatal injuries costs range around $250 billion. So, investing in high-quality gear, promoting worker safety and guidelines, and having comprehensive safety plans in place can prevent injuries and save on medical costs.

Invest In Welding Automation

In large-scale applications and production lines, manual welding can be extraordinarily inefficient. Similar to training, an automated welding environment can require a considerable investment, but in most large-scale cases, they will justify the price and produce cost savings. For example, automotive plants often include 5,000 welding points that weld car parts, so robots take more than 80% of all welding in those plants.

Robotic welding operations can produce highly repetitive and highest-quality welds, with little to no requirements for a rework. They are also faster, and robots can spend 85% of the time welding while an operator usually spends only 20%. Robotic welding is also safer since welding includes lots of potential hazards that can harm welders and cause injuries, which, once again, increase the overall costs.

Invest In New Technology

The future of welding is bright, so we are seeing a lot of new processes, welding materials, and technologies that boost productivity, provide the highest quality results, and reduce welding costs. For example, Lincoln Electric provides a weld cell setup that is fully compatible with Industry 4.0. This includes the use of cyber-physical systems, the industrial internet, cloud and cognitive computing, and artificial intelligence.

As a result, the advanced software monitors and tracks the welds, while the intelligent systems provide optimization for the best results. After analyzing the results, you can see all the possible minor improvements that can reduce welding costs, such as reduced spatter, higher deposition, etc. You can tailor and program the parameters and then distribute them around the shop to get the repetitive and highest-quality rewards. Additionally, ArcWorks software can document procedures, create drawings for everyone in the shop, and keep track of the welding operator's qualifications, which saves time.

Source: https://www.weldlogic.co.uk/welding-products/aws-monitor-software/

Another example of modern technology is Miller's ArcReach. This technology allows welders to adjust the welding parameters remotely, which can be crucial in saving time during the welding operation cutting unnecessary walks to the welding machines. Assuming each walk takes 15 minutes, with four walks a day on average, you can save up to 250 hours a year.

Final Thoughts

Even though the equation is relatively simple, calculating the overall welding costs can be a challenging task. Understanding the costs is the first step in employing strategies and tips for welding cost savings. Although consumables such as wires, nozzles, or shielding gas take a smaller portion of costs, proper consumable usage, storage, and changing can cut down the costs.

Labor and overhead take a significantly bigger portion of the cost, and each part, such as excessive weld metal deposition, frequent interruptions, or equipment downtime, can generate costs. To boost productivity, you can always train welders, promote a safe and clean environment, and use new technologies or automation to solve the issues.

🧐Welding Efficiency: Strategies For Welding Cost Optimization FAQ

1. How to calculate welding costs?

Welding Costs = Labor and Overhead (L&OH) + Consumables.

• Consumables (materials and gases) account for roughly 20% of total costs.
• Labor is the largest cost in manual welding; reducing operation time and increasing efficiency helps lower costs.
• Overhead (equipment, supervision, etc.) is often combined with labor, making up around 80% of total costs.

2. Why should overwelding be avoided?

Overwelding is common in many welding shops, especially among less experienced welders who add extra weld metal to ensure strength. However, bigger welds are not always better. For example, a 5/16” fillet weld uses 56% more weld metal than a 1/4” weld, significantly increasing material and labor costs without necessarily improving strength. It’s important to understand the relationship between weld size and the required strength to avoid unnecessary costs.

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