Welding cobot on tour: The iBOTone® travels through Eastern Europe

From June 3rd to 14th, our Traderunner – a fully functional mobile welding showroom with integrated products – was on an exciting journey through Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The aim of this tour was to present our iBOTone^® welding cobot directly to customers on site and to demonstrate live its wide range of applications. Our ABICOR BINZEL team visited around 20 companies during this tour, including the Polish manufacturers PBL Problach and M-metal. The companies came from different areas of metal processing, such as transformer and tank construction.

iBOTone^®: live welding with the cobot

The iBOTone^®, our new innovative welding cobot, was the centerpiece of the Traderunner tour. What makes this cobot so special is its extremely user-friendly operation and simple programming. With an easy teach handle and intuitive software wizards, it can be operated without any programming knowledge.

Anyone who was interested could give the iBOTone^® a try and weld with it. Previous automation experience varied widely. Some companies had already implemented automation solutions in their production, while for others this was their first contact with a welding robot. For most of them, it was a real highlight to weld their own workpieces with the iBOTone^® and find out how to best integrate the cobot into their work processes.

The components used by the various companies were as varied as their products and industries. For example, troughs for transformer stations or steel feet for buildings were welded. At one company, it was possible to program 20 welds in less than ten minutes – an impressive result that would not be possible with a conventional welding robot.

Feedback on the iBOTone^® has been consistently positive, whether the company was small, medium or large. The fact that it is as easy to use as a smartphone was particularly noted. "The power is in the simplicity," said one of our users.

Unique mobile welding showroom

Since summer 2023, the Traderunner has been in regular use to bring products to interested users and present them directly on site. A small in-house exhibition on wheels, you could say.

The concept behind the Traderunner is quite simple: in just ten minutes, the Traderunner is ready as a fully functional showroom. After a short theoretical introduction, you can get right to work with the integrated product. Possible demonstrations include the innovative iBOTone^® welding cobot and the new xFUME^® ABIROB welding fume extraction torch with the xFUME^® ADVANCED mobile welding fume extraction unit.

The biggest advantage of the Traderunner is its mobility. Products come directly to the prospective customer and can be put through their paces. Compared to a visit to a trade show, this concept saves you a lot of time and effort. In addition, ABICOR BINZEL experts are always available during the Traderunner visits to answer questions and provide tips on a wide range of applications. Individual requests or suggestions are always welcome.

The Traderunner visits have been very well received by users, dealers and system integrators.

Future plans

The success of the Traderunner tour with the iBOTone^® has far exceeded our expectations. The positive response from the companies we visited and the enthusiasm for the welding cobot confirms that we are on the right track. We plan to take the Traderunner on the road again in the future to give other companies the opportunity to experience and test cobot welding for themselves. Due to the great success in Eastern Europe, we are also thinking about organizing a Traderunner tour in Western Europe.

Hands-on welding technology – at your company

One thing is for sure: with every visit, we gain valuable insight into our users' needs, which helps us to continuously improve our technology. So the tour was not just a product presentation. It was also a dialogue with the industry to learn what is important for the future development of welding technology.

Are you interested in a presentation of the iBOTone^® welding cobot or our extraction technology – live at your premises and to try it out for yourself? If you would like the Traderunner to visit your company, please contact us: