British investment in robotics lags well behind that of competitor countries. In 2013, the UK boasted just 63 robots per 1,000 employees, compared with 145 in Spain, 150 in Italy, 150 in the US, 278 in Germany and 315 in Japan, according to the International Federation of Robotics – and there’s little indication that things are getting better. In fact, several smaller countries – including Finland with 128 per 1,000 employees – seem to be tearing ahead in an age of automation, moving towards ‘Industry 4.0’.
The situation is disappointing, admits Grant Collier, head of marketing at the British Automation & Robotics Association (BARA). The problems are deep-rooted. The slow uptake is partly a matter of cost. Most robots in the UK cost between £30,000 and £50,000 and small firms’ budgets are still tight. Many companies blame the banks, which typically demand a fast return on investment.
Unsurprisingly, the companies that are using robots are mostly in the automotive industry, which accounts for 82% of robots sold here. In other sectors, the reason for slow uptake “may simply be a matter of short-termism on profits by company finance directors and boards”, says Collier.
The food industry is the biggest manufacturing sector in the UK, so its companies might be expected to prioritise automation. But it faces an endless squeeze on margins, and instead tends to rely on low-cost labour to keep costs down.
Firms make a host of excuses for lack of investment in robotics, including “fear of the unknown”, according to a BARA survey in 2014. Many small companies felt robotics and automation were “simply not suitable for them”.
However, the message is gradually getting across. In 2014, food and drink firms bought 82 robots, automotive 808, automotive component suppliers 323, metal manufacturing including fabrication 132, plastics 145, electrical and electronic suppliers 45, aerospace 24, medical and pharmaceuticals 85, according to the
BARA’s figures.
Industry leaders have to be shown the benefits of robotics, says Collier. “We need to focus on educating people at board level in manufacturing on the opportunities to be gained. The payback period on automation is becoming much shorter.”
Meanwhile, the robotics manufacturers seem bemused by the slow uptake. Dave Manby, chief executive of AA Robotics which distributes Denso and Hyundai robots, suggests the British banks are too greedy. “Other countries are satisfied with return on investment in five to 10 years, while most in the UK look for a two-year payback. But the savings made by automation are so dramatic that it should be a no-brainer,” he says.
Recently, AA Robotics installed robots for an auto components manufacturer. The company wanted to pick up a delicate ring, with less than a second for pick-and-place. “We were the only robot supplier that could demonstrate this level of performance, and supplied several robots – four from Denso, a ceiling-mounted HSS SCARA, and two six-axis robots, which improved its internal processes by a huge factor,” he says. The supplier is also working with Sheffield Hallam University and the University of Loughborough to develop a gripper designed to handle flexible elastomers.
In the food sector, the packaging lines do feature a lot of automation, “but some areas are more complex than others”, says Jake Norman, sales manager of OAL in Peterborough, which supplies automation equipment to the industry. “People are reluctant to move to more flexible robotics manufacturing, because they have capital tied up in traditional methods,” he adds.
Norman believes the food sector should take a holistic view of the process and of the benefits of robotics, even for ingredient feeds. With this in mind, OAL has been developing a demonstration of ‘manless’ food manufacture for the University of Lincoln’s National Centre for Food Manufacturing in Holbeach, which opens its doors in December.
Change of attitude needed
The new food hall will have no people, no platforms, no pipework and, he suggests, “no manufacturing problems”. “Basically, the food sector has to start moving from linear food processing to working in parallel, which will accelerate food production massively. The idea is to emulate what a chef does on an industrial scale using a flexible, modular, automation system to add ingredients,” he adds.
It’s not just the food sector that needs to change. In general, more companies have to rethink attitudes toward automation, says Mike Wilson, chair of BARA and ABB general industry sales and marketing manager. “There’s still a perception that automation increases risk, and won’t necessarily give the flexibility and return on investment anticipated. Smaller firms also perceive robotics as difficult and fear they may lack the skill sets required.” But when robotics does work, the results speak for themselves.
One area where they are proving valuable is in providing round-the-clock operations. Manufacturer CHX Products in Bodmin installed its first robot cell a decade ago, and has continued to upgrade. The business, which makes plastic promotional merchandise, has been transformed by robotics.
Previously, manually intensive production meant the company was struggling to match national and international competitors’ prices and turnaround times. But installation of a Geku SR250 beam robot to de-mould parts, and of an ABB IRB140 to print and remove moulds, shaved almost a week off lead times, cut production costs and reduced waste, and allowed the company to begin operating on a ‘lights out’ basis.
More recently, CHX has upgraded to incorporate a vision system, and is looking at using an ABB FlexPicker to put backs on its badges. Andy Knight, director of CHX, says he now has “keen awareness of the relevance of Industry 4.0”.
However, other manufacturers and banks still need to be made aware of the benefits of a changeover, says Wilson. “We are trying to encourage companies to develop an automation strategy, which will also encourage the banks to support manufacturing.” Consequently, BARA has set up an Automation Advisory Board, with webinars to explain the benefits of automation to bank managers and other investors.
The potential benefits for investors are substantial. Running costs, reliability and payback have all improved for robotics, says Ian Hensman, sales manager at Kawasaki, whose products include robots. Return on investment is typically 18 months to two years, he says. “Furthermore, they offer repeatability and enable manufacturers to expand product ranges. Today, robots have a lot more memory, store more programs and provide faster changeover between components.’
Innovation is key, and Kawasaki introduced four further models this year. The arm and wrist of BA-006 is hollow, allowing the internal routing of welding wire and gas. The model is suitable for densely populated robot cells or stand-alone cells where minimal space is available. The four-axis CP range of palletising robots can operate at 2,050 cycles per hour with a 130kg payload (and up to 500kg payload) – a third faster than previous models.
Another supplier that is positive about investment in robotics is Igus in Northampton, which supplies low-cost automation equipment to manufacturers. “Automation investment is strong in high-speed production industries, and in particular in automotive,” says director Robert Dumayne. He believes that increasing technology innovation, and growth in companies such as Jaguar Land Rover, shows investment in the right areas, with a rise in exports.
Boosting productivity
He also highlights the latest developments of robotic joints for use in ‘collaborative environments’ – assembly and processing where human interaction is still imperative. “The line between human employment and repetitive action can be blurred, to the advantage of the process and productivity,” he says.
Robotic joints from Igus can be used for the self-assembly of complete systems with up to six degrees of freedom, thus allowing the freedom and investment for sustainable, increased productivity without the usual loss of employment.
“With collaborative systems, the mundane task can be carried out by a robotic arm and the human element can be developed for more complicated tasks and, therefore, the value to the business is higher. The return on investment is clear, in terms of productivity,” says Dumayne.
Kawasaki has been working on collaboration, too, with the most interesting of its recent developments being a collaborative robot. The eight-axis duAro, launched in Asia, can operate without guarding, beside a human operator.
Another collaborative system is Yumi – short for ‘you and me’ – from ABB, claimed to be the first truly collaborative dual-arm industrial robot. “Humans and robots sharing tasks side by side looks to be the future,” says Per Vegard Nerseth, head of ABB’s global robotics business. The system is primarily designed for small parts assembly in the consumer electronics industry, and has the ability to feel and see. The robot’s safe design enables close collaboration with humans.
Yumi features a lightweight, rigid magnesium skeleton covered with a floating plastic casing wrapped in soft padding to absorb impacts, and offers a human-like movement, so human co-workers feel safe and comfortable. The system features dual arms, flexible hands, a universal parts feeding system, camera-based part location, lead-through programming and precision motion control.
Researchers at the University of Middlesex have similarly been working on making robots move in a more ‘human’ manner. The university’s Department of Design, Engineering and Mathematics used the Igus Robolink multi-axis robot to program simulated ‘emotional responses’ into robots, controlled by National Instruments’ CompactRio with LabView system. Masters degree student Sara Baber Sial programmed the arm with expressions that differ from the trapezoidal movements that make movement look typically ‘robotic’. The next step is to mount a simple head unit.
Although it might seem counter-intuitive, robots are becoming more customisable, too. Even in complex areas of flexible manufacturing such as food and pharmaceuticals packaging, the latest robotic systems use multiple linear motors to allow flexible manufacturing to deliver almost instantaneous product changes.
“More and more blue-chip companies in the UK are using robotics and ‘big data’ systems for flexible manufacturing, pushing data into the cloud for use with a cluster of intelligent machines for Industry 4.0,” said one supplier.
Evidently, when it comes to robotics, there’s a long way to go – and British firms need to get a grip on themselves.
A way to grow productivity
Agricultural manufacturer Shelbourne Reynolds has used an ABB FlexArc integrated cell, that includes a robot, to cut production times and expand manufacturing capacity for its articulated hedge-cutting attachment range. Handling the several hundred welds entailed in the production of attachments, the cell has cut welding process times by 66% compared with the company’s previous process.
The FlexArc cell brings together a robot and the welding equipment in an integrated package at the firm’s Suffolk factory. “We introduced a cut-off point, whereby anything
that previously took an hour or more to weld was allocated to the robot cell. Welding times are now a third of the time, and performed to a much higher aesthetic standard,” says manufacturing manager Michael Scarfe.
Pumped up to meet demand
Separator Spares International (SSI) on the Isle of Wight supplies spare parts for marine pumps and other components. The firm used to buy in rotors while developing its own designs, and had one four-axis machine centre, says Mark Pacy from the production team. But space was at a premium.
Kawasaki suggested side-by-side machine positioning, with the robot gaining access through side access panels that would allow faster set-up times for tooling. SSI installed a Kawasaki RS20 robot to load and unload parts from two four-axis, twin-spindle, milling machines. Today, the cell can handle six variants of rotor, which are loaded into magazines to allow unmanned production 24 hours a day. A single gripper handles variants 15-18mm in diameter. The robot has not resulted in job cuts. “The robot boosted production, and we took on people to keep it fed,” says Pacy.