Industrial automation-driving manufacturing to intelligent manufacturing.

Industrial Automation

Industrial automation in the industry is the foundation of a nation and the foundation of a strong nation. Today I will take you to understand industrial automation technology and related industries.

1. Definition

Industrial automation technology: refers to the technology that enables machinery and equipment to complete the work process through program control without human intervention.

 2. Classification

In terms of technical composition, industrial automation can be divided into:

• Execution systems, such as industrial robots, servo systems, sensors, vision, reducers, and bearings, etc.;
•  Control systems, such as industrial control operating software, programmable logic devices, simulation software, control software, communication software and interfaces, etc.;
•  Equipment integration systems, such as basic manufacturing equipment, automated production lines, automated logistics equipment, electronic manufacturing equipment, new energy manufacturing equipment, etc.

 

2. In terms of customer needs, industrial automation can be divided into:

• Non-standard robotization refers to-standard robotization products customized according to client requirements. Non-standard automation is an automation product tailored and customized according to the process requirements of enterprise users. Its operation is accessible, flexible, and not single. The functions can be added according to user requirements and there is a lot of room for change.
• Standard automation. Standard automation refers to automation products manufactured according to unified technical requirements. Products need to meet the requirements of national or industry standards, and there are relatively many technical restrictions.

3. Development

 With the continuous updating of mobile terminals, new energy, new materials, and medical technology, industrial automation technology has also developed rapidly. The development of global industrial automation has mainly experienced three stages:

Initial stage: 

The 1940s to 1960s. The world’s first CNC machine tool was born in the United States in 1952. Industrial automation came into being with large-scale industrial production. The robots used at this stage do not need to have strong flexibility, but only need to complete simple tasks such as repeated loading and unloading of one part. Production efficiency and product quality have played an important role.

Development stage:

The 1960s to 1970s. Based on stand-alone automation, various modular machine tools and combined production lines have appeared one after another. At the same time, software numerical control systems have appeared and applied to machine tools and other equipment. Computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), and other software have begun to be applied to engineering design. And manufacturing.

Stable stage: 

Since the 1980s, to adapt to the multi-variety and small-batch production of workpieces, industrial automation has developed towards integration, networking, and flexibility. Among them, computer integrated manufacturing systems (CIMS) and flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) are The main application results at this stage.

Rapid development stage:

After the circumstance of the transnational fiscal extremity in 2008, developed countries have enforced the"re-industrialization" strategy to reshape the new competitive advantage of the manufacturing assiduity, accelerate a new round of global trade and investment, and promote the rapid-fire development of artificial robotization technology.

For example: In July 2010, the German government issued the" High-tech Strategy 2020", which linked ten unborn systems, one of which is"Industry4.0", which aims to support the R&D and invention of a new generation of revolutionary technologies in the artificial field.

In February 2012, the National Science and Technology Commission of the United States issued the "National Strategic Plan for Advanced Manufacturing" report, which put forward the goals and countermeasures for the development of advanced manufacturing in the United States in terms of investment, labor, and innovation. At the same time, some developing countries are also accelerating their planning and layout, actively participating in the global industrial division of labor, undertaking industrial and capital transfers, and expanding international market space.

Since 2015, my country has successively issued strategic plans such as "Made in China 2025" and "Intelligent Manufacturing Development Plan (2016-2020)", which proposes to promote the manufacturing process and to automate the production process of enterprises by building smart factories, Digitization, and intelligence.

Fourth, the status

Driven by policies and rising labor costs, my country’s industrial automation industry has developed significantly in recent years, and a large number of internationally competitive enterprises have been born, such as Chongqing Chuanyi, Jingyi Group, Zhejiang Supcon, Hollysys, SIASUN Robotics, Sany Heavy Industry, Zoomlion, Inovance Technology, etc.

After years of development, my country's industrial automation industry has made considerable progress. However, compared with the international advanced level, there is still a big gap between Chinese enterprises in terms of scale and mastery of core technologies. Take the industrial robot industry in 2017 as an example. Among the four major industrial robot families in the world, Swiss ABB achieved revenue of 224.201 billion yuan, FANUC achieved revenue of 42.917 billion yuan, Yaskawa Electric achieved revenue of 26.491 billion yuan, and KUKA achieved revenue of 26.7 billion yuan. Yuan. Compared with the four major domestic industrial robot families in my country: Season Robotics, Newstar, Estun, and Topstar, the operating income in 2017 was only 2.58 billion yuan, 1.677 billion yuan, 665 million yuan, and 508 million yuan.

Compared with foreign companies, my country's industrial robot companies have advantages in terms of delivery time, service response speed, and price. The key reason for lagging is that core components such as servo motors, controllers, and reducers have to rely on imports, resulting in robots that are not as good as foreign companies in terms of stability and reliability. Take the reducer as an example. At present, 75% of the global reducer market is controlled by Japan's Hamonaco and Nabo, and the Nabo family accounts for about 60% of the market. The company is the world's top manufacturer of precision cycloid reducers for professional robots, and its core product is the RV series of precision reducers. The manufacturing of precision reducers requires high investment, high technical difficulty, and high barriers. The long-term lag in the development of core components is the fundamental reason that restricts the development of my country's industrial robot industry and leads to the backwardness of the industry.

In addition to industrial robots, a perfect industrial automation solution also requires a series of integration of machinery, software, electrical control, and sensing. In this series of technical links, my country is also lagging in many ways, and there is still a long way to go. Take PLC (Programmable Logic Device) as an example. At present, there are about 200 PLC manufacturers in the world, producing further than 300 kinds. Major foreign manufacturers include Siemens, Schneider, Rockwell, Omron, Mitsubishi, General Motors, Fuji, Hitachi, Koyo, etc. According to the survey results of the "2017-2022 China Controller (plc) Market Production and Sales Research and Operation Management In-depth Analysis Report" released by Chinareport.com, Siemens has the largest share of China's PLC market, reaching 40.7%. Followed by Mitsubishi's 13.8% and Omron's 11.9%, the three accounted for more than 60% of the domestic PLC. In penthouse to PLC, the main manufacturers of DCS ( distributed control) networks are also condensed in the United States, Japan, Germany, and other countries, similar as Honeywell and Foxboro in the United States; Yokogawa in Japan, Siemens in Germany, and ABB in Switzerland.

It should be noted that my country's industry started relatively late, and compared with developed countries, my country's industrial automation technology still has a big gap. However, with the support of a huge market and local combat advantages, some domestic companies are catching up. For example, in terms of key parts of industrial robots, some well-known companies such as Qinchuan Development, Guangzhou CNC, INVT, and Googol Technology are catching up and gradually Narrowing the gap with the four major foreign families; In terms of PLC, there are excellent companies such as Inovance Technology, Wuxi Xinjie, and Beijing Hollysys; DCS companies include Hollysys, Shanghai Xinhua, Zhejiang Supcon, Guodian Zhishen, Nanjing Keyuan, etc.; the main domestic manufacturers of industrial PCs include EVOC Intelligent, Peking University Founder, North China Industrial Control Company and so on. These companies not only occupy a certain market share, accumulate capital and technology for development, but also make the prices of imported systems from abroad drop significantly, making a huge contribution to the promotion of automation in my country.

Five, exhibition
 

My country is in the mid-stage of industrialization construction. With the adjustment of economic structure and industrial upgrading, the investment demand of the industrial automation industry will increase correspondingly, which will bring unprecedented market opportunities to the industry. Although there is a gap between my country's automation technology and developed countries in some aspects, as long as we face the gap squarely, increase investment in talents, capital, and R&D, move forward steadily, and catch up, I believe that domestic brands will surely occupy the country shortly. The market is going international.