While claiming to address the "shortage" of skilled welders, a company called Hirebotics has now engineered the first "robotic welding solution for hire". The automated welder is paid by the hour, just like skilled manual labor, and is far less likely to need a bathroom break and/or file a grievance with the local union.

Claiming that traditional robotic welding automation has been a "poor solution" for most fabricators, the company is now offering a product called the BotX welder, which it says can accelerate business growth while eliminating the "headaches" of finding skilled welders.

The company, which was started with the goal of helping along manufacturers, says that the BotX Welder bridges the gap between inflexible, expensive and higher productive traditional automation and manual welding with skilled welders. It says that the BotX can be used both as a tool for a company's manual welders to get more done each day, and also as a robotic welder that is set up by a skilled welder, but then run by an untrained operator, via app.

The company claims there are four key advantages to its solution:

Pay by the Hour Automation No-Programming Robotic Welding Robotic Welding Library Developed by International Experts Industry leading 24/7 support

The company charges $33 per "productive" hour per system to hire its bots.

The company's mobile app says that it offers "real-time monitoring of your robotic welder tracking parts produced, consumption of welding consumables such as gas and wire, and productivity metrics like arc on time." The app also includes a pre-set welding library specifically tuned for robotic welding.

And of course - what would any new technological product, run via app, be without offering a "community"?

"when you hire a BotX Welder for your business, you are joining a community of like-minded users that share our philosophy and culture of helping others get the most out of robotic welding," the company's website says.

Who wants to sit around and talk about robotic welding all day? A little marketing advice for the future: spare us the bullsh*t, you had us at saving money.

Video of the BotX at work can be seen here.