Chapter 8
Industry 4.0 in Welding
Debasish Mishra, Surjya Kanta Pal, and Debashish Chakravarty
Abstract This chapter aims to highlight the importance of the fourth industrial
revolution, popularly known as “Industry 4.0”, and its application in welding. While
considering all the manufacturing processes, welding has been preferred for the
implementation of Industry 4.0 because of its vast applications in various industrial
sectors. The importance of welding and its automation has been the foundations
of this chapter. The journey of welding till date from the ancient manufacturing
has been discussed chronologically, including the evolution of welding in all the
industrial revolutions. The role of Industry 4.0 and the utility of its digital tools in
welding have been outlined. Towards the end, a case study has been presented which
demonstrates the application of Industry 4.0 for online monitoring of weld quality
and control of defects in friction stir welding technique.
Keyword Industry 4.0 · Manufacturing process · Welding · Digital intervention ·
Online monitoring and control · Friction stir welding
8.1 Welding as a Manufacturing Process
“Fabrication” refers to the creation of structure, component, machine, etc., by
working on to the raw material through several manufacturing techniques. The major
operations include metal cutting, forming, and assembly. “Assembly” refers to the
final fitting of the sub-components by techniques, viz. adhesive bonding, fastening
D. Mishra
Advanced Technology Development Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur,
Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302, India
e-mail: debsmishra02@gmail.com
S. K. Pal (B)
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur,
West Bengal 721302, India
e-mail: skpal@mech.iitkgp.ac.in
D. Chakravarty
Department of Mining Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, West
Bengal 721302, India
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
J. P. Davim (ed.), Welding Technology, Materials Forming, Machining
and Tribology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63986-0_8
253
Industry 4.0 in Welding
Debasish Mishra, Surjya Kanta Pal, and Debashish Chakravarty
Abstract This chapter aims to highlight the importance of the fourth industrial
revolution, popularly known as “Industry 4.0”, and its application in welding. While
considering all the manufacturing processes, welding has been preferred for the
implementation of Industry 4.0 because of its vast applications in various industrial
sectors. The importance of welding and its automation has been the foundations
of this chapter. The journey of welding till date from the ancient manufacturing
has been discussed chronologically, including the evolution of welding in all the
industrial revolutions. The role of Industry 4.0 and the utility of its digital tools in
welding have been outlined. Towards the end, a case study has been presented which
demonstrates the application of Industry 4.0 for online monitoring of weld quality
and control of defects in friction stir welding technique.
Keyword Industry 4.0 · Manufacturing process · Welding · Digital intervention ·
Online monitoring and control · Friction stir welding
8.1 Welding as a Manufacturing Process
“Fabrication” refers to the creation of structure, component, machine, etc., by
working on to the raw material through several manufacturing techniques. The major
operations include metal cutting, forming, and assembly. “Assembly” refers to the
final fitting of the sub-components by techniques, viz. adhesive bonding, fastening
D. Mishra
Advanced Technology Development Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur,
Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302, India
e-mail: debsmishra02@gmail.com
S. K. Pal (B)
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur,
West Bengal 721302, India
e-mail: skpal@mech.iitkgp.ac.in
D. Chakravarty
Department of Mining Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, West
Bengal 721302, India
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
J. P. Davim (ed.), Welding Technology, Materials Forming, Machining
and Tribology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63986-0_8
253