Firm adds robotic welder "employee"...

When John and Christine Dovovan, the husband & wife owners of JD Engineering in Overland Park, Kansas opened their firm, they were its only employees. Now, according to a story in the Johnson County Sun, they've been joined by a new worker, a welder -- a robot welder. I haven't talked a ton about fully robotic welding here, but the perception has always been that robotic welding is something you see more of in large assembly operations for cars. You think of high volume production of repetive welds over a long period of time. You don't see it in small business because the investment is supposedly too high.

Even better: The Donovans purchased their Fanuc industrial welding robot on eBay. JD Engineering strives to be different by being more innovative. It allows JD to do more for its clients than any of its competitors can.

In the Sun report, Donovan said, "Basically when people think of automation, they think of high-volume parts and products, that you have to make 100,000 units of something for it to be worth it," Donovan said. "I'm trying to bring the ideology that a small shop can use a robot to do small quantities and be successful at it. It takes a little more creativity ... but if you look at it the right way, a robot can be much more efficient and companies can be much more competitive."

The robot controls a 10-horsepower router head that can machine parts in wood, plastics, aluminum and castings.

Check out JD Engineering at its website, www.jdeng.net.