North American robot orders declined 17 percent in Q1 08, while non-automotive orders jumped by 36 percent, according to Jeffrey A. Burnstein, executive vice president of trade group Robotic Industries Association (RIA).
The good side may even be better, according to Rohit Khanolkar, engineering manager at Applied Manufacturing Technologies. His speculation hinges on whether the rest of manufacturing has come to realize how much the automotive industry gained from the lean flexibility of robotic automation. “The automotive industry has taken a lead role in selecting robots as their preferred flexible automation solution,” Khanolkar says.
“Industries other than automotive need to realize the benefits that robots can add to their manufacturing processes. Robots are accurate, flexible, programmable, can work in environments not suited for humans, and more importantly, they are repeatable with a high degree of accuracy. These attributes directly contribute to end product quality, which in turn reduces scrap and rework — a requirement of lean manufacturing.”
Burnstein adds that in the non-automotive sector, the robotic industry saw revenue growth of 116 percent in food and consumer goods, while in semiconductors/ electronics/ photonics, unit orders were up 58 percent and revenue was up 96 percent.
Source: IndustryWeek
Tell Us What You Think!