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Manufacturing Ushers in the Age of Robots |
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Written by Vickie Adair
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 They don’t look like R2D2 or Robby the Robot, but real robots are now among us. Currently, the majority of the world's robots are bolted to a spot on a factory floor in a repetitive dance of welding, stamping, folding, and cutting. Robotic innovation will continue to be driven by the needs of business. Growing needs among end users include speed in the flow of product through the factory and use of minimum factory floor space for production. And hopefully, since skilled labor on a global basis is a declining resource in manufacturing, the programmed intelligence in automation systems may alleviate the global limited availability of skilled operators.
According to the International Federation of Robots, the world market for industrial robots is currently only about $6 billion a year; however, if you count the software, peripherals, etc. the number changes to $18 billion. The ARC Advisory Group report, "Industrial Robotics Worldwide Outlook" (March 2006), claims the Industrial Robotics Market will reach $9.1 billion by 2010, not including software, peripherals and other support systems. As new technologies and applications emerge, the industrial robotics market is expected to experience high growth in developing nations that will employ industrial robots in traditional applications such as welding and material handling. Also, expect new innovations which will have the potential to change the very nature of the industrial robot as it is now known.
In this age of emerging digital manufacturing, application and simulation software is advancing rapidly and is facilitating adoption of robotic systems that address either or both limited resources and a less skilled workforce. New robotic configurations are emerging which lend themselves to greater workflow efficiency such as Coordinated Cellular Robotics (CCR) conveyor-free cells which employ robots capable of working cooperatively and simultaneously on a single work piece.
Production equipment with more human-like characteristics, such as the new, two-armed robot introduced by Motoman, are being developed that can perform tasks that previously could only be done by people. Another fundamental performance edge may come from adding two other human-like characteristics to machine controls. One is the enhanced ability of an existing machine control to evolve to solve future production challenges, and the other is controls with greater cognitive power. Productivity increases with multitasking since more machining operations can be done on a single machine. Many robotic experts predict that in the near future factory floor workers will safely partner with their robotic counterparts to work side-by-side.
Manufacturing capacity utilization in the U.S., at about 75% two years ago, is now at 81% and presents a growing need for manufacturers to add capacity to keep up with demand. That translates to a competitive need to add more effective capacity, replace obsolete technologies, gain productivity, increase inventory turnover and shorten lead times to maintain a marketing edge. The robots may have arrived just in time.
To find out more about industrial robots, check out Robotics Online, a site sponsored by Robotic Industries Association to provide information about robotics and flexible automation. |
