Are you behind the times? The trend is to use robots to build robots

Robots can undoubtedly make up for the lack of labor and skills and help companies produce more stably and efficiently. While many companies are still considering whether to use robots, we see a different picture - robot companies are using robots to produce robots.

Recently, a fully automated production line of "robots producing robots" has been officially launched in the Midea KUKA Intelligent Manufacturing Technology Park in Shunde, Foshan.

It is reported that this is Guangdong’s first “robot production robot” production line, and also the country’s first fully automated production line for heavy-duty robots. It is worth mentioning that the entire line is independently developed and manufactured by KUKA, and its production processes and technologies are at the world-class level.

In early December last year, ABB held a commissioning ceremony for its robot super factory in Kangqiao, Pudong, Shanghai. It is understood that the factory has an investment of 1 billion yuan and took three years to build. After completion, it will become ABB's most advanced, most automated and most flexible robot factory in the world - a center for manufacturing robots with robots, with a maximum annual production capacity of 100,000 units.

ABB said the new factory will become a complete digital manufacturing ecosystem where managers, engineers, operators and maintenance teams can use digital twin technology to gain data insights and the benefits of machine learning to improve production efficiency. Machine learning-based systems will also be used to check robot assembly work to ensure the highest quality standards.

Earlier, the Wuhan FANUC factory also "live-streamed" its super-intelligent factory of "robots producing robots" at the Industrial Internet Conference. According to reports, Wuhan FANUC can provide more than 260 types of Industrial Robots series, covering welding, handling, loading and unloading, sorting, stacking, polishing, cutting, assembly and other functions, and these robots do not require manual operation or lighting, and can operate "hotly" in a dark environment.

Unmanned factories help reduce costs and increase efficiency

Take Midea's KUKA "robot producing robot" production line as an example. The entire line is 35 meters long and uses 12 KUKA robots, 6 KUKA-produced AGV carts, and 5 KUKA seventh-axis tracks. These orange KUKA robots have begun to assemble gray semi-finished robots and tighten the screws on the robot chassis one by one. They are very intelligent, precise and efficient.

Chen Feng, Director of Operations and Human Resources of KUKA China, introduced that this automated production line has achieved the goal of "unmanned operation" from the first process of robot assembly to the final production of a finished product. For example, from the batching of ingredients in the warehouse to the movement between workstations during the production process and the transportation of finished products after they come off the line, all these links use KUKA's independently developed AGV carts.

It is understood that this unmanned production line can work 24 hours a day with very high efficiency. According to the data currently measured by the park, compared with traditional manpower, the single-shift production capacity of this automated production line has increased by 50%, and the working hour efficiency has also increased by more than 30%.

"This is a true ' dark factory '. Even after we get off work, the production robots will not stop but will continue to operate and assemble." Chen Feng introduced that about 20 million yuan has been invested in this production line, and in the future it may be built into a replicable, first-class fully automatic robot production line to empower the manufacturing industry.

Demand is rising, but robots are in short supply

Data shows that in 2022, my country was equipped with more than 300,000 industrial robots, which is more than half of the global installed capacity. With the continuous advancement of intelligent manufacturing, the trend of replacing people with machines will continue to accelerate, and the demand for industrial robots will continue to grow. The market will show a situation of supply exceeding demand and rising prices.

Previously, the 14th Five-Year Plan for the Robot Industry proposed that by 2025, the density of robots in my country's manufacturing industry should double that of 2020. At that time, the density of robots in my country's manufacturing industry was 246 units per 10,000 people, which means that it would reach about 500 units per 10,000 people by then. A quick calculation shows that the number will be at least 1 million units, and there is huge room for future growth.

According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics in January this year, my country officially entered an era of negative population growth last year. Given factors such as the aging population, a shrinking labor force, and increased labor costs, it has become an urgent task to promote the replacement of humans with machines in the manufacturing industry. In fact, many economists also believe that we can no longer rely on the continued expansion of the labor force to drive economic growth, and automation is the most reliable way to improve the productivity of existing workers.

In addition to alleviating the pressure of labor shortage, China's industrial structure is accelerating its transformation, and the proportion of high-value-added high-end manufacturing is increasing, which is also requiring the accelerated application of robot automation. The requirements of high-end manufacturing in terms of precision and stability are exactly what robots are good at. This is also the only way for China to develop into a manufacturing power and enter a country with a higher income level.

From a realistic perspective, the development of industrial robots is inevitable. On the one hand, the manufacturing workforce is declining, and robots are needed to replace the missing workforce; on the other hand, industrial upgrading forces companies to upgrade their production models, and the implementation of emerging industries and new technologies will accelerate the development and growth of the entire industrial robot industry.