Good times started with automation. Milestones may ahead of some human challenges. Collaborative robots (called robots) are now the fastest growing segment of industrial automation. They are expected to make up 34% of all industrial robot sales by 2025. Universal Robots (UR), helped to pioneer the market. These are largely nonexistent a decade ago. They announced its 25,000th cobot sale.
International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS)
The news coincides with the start of the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS), which began today. Universal Robots has a 60 percent share of the robot market. Rapid maturity in this sector has attracted plenty of rivals. In personal computing, now-established brands like UR, ABB, Fanuc, and Rethink Robotics are competing with one another while newer entries like Locus and Vecna fill out the sector.
The exhibitor hall at IMTS is crammed with human-scale robots that can safely operate outside cages and alongside humans, doing everything from welding and pick & place to ferrying cargo around warehouses and across factory floors. The accelerated pace of adoption has created a large secondary market for robotic grippers and end effectors, as well as alliances between hardware companies. UX developers are helping lower the barriers to entry the program and operate these robots.
25,000 Robots Welcomes the Fastest-Growing Industrial Automation
Robots are designed to work with humans. They are not replaced. Publicity and marketing teams at these companies are quick to point out. “The robots didn’t replace any employees,” says Peter Felke, President of Kay Manufacturing. He purchased UR’s 25,000th unit, in a joint statement with UR. He extended, “We were able to meet increased production demand with our existing workforce. We saved 20 minutes of operator time per hour while improving our ergonomic work environment and freeing up our staff to handle more value-added tasks.”
At this phase, that is probably to be expected. Faced with a tight labor market and booming economy, small and mid-sized manufacturers are turning to robots. This will help to get the most out of the skilled workforce. But it’s also impossible to miss the economic argument. It usually takes the form of an annual labor cost savings. know more Policy Hacks: What’s Stopping Industrial Robots
Kay Manufacturing estimates the figure of $150,000 with their new UR robot. So that the cost savings enables to take more demand. As the market matures, the strong economy inevitably slows in years. The demand for manufactured goods will also slow. In that scenario, it’s easy to imagine that technology investment will start to become more where workers are concerned. At this stage, at least, the point is academic. Employment is strong and the industrial automation market is red hot. Neither is likely to change in the foreseeable future.
