COVID-19 is unquestionably one of the greatest challenges we have faced, both personally and professionally. However, these challenges present great opportunities, especially for businesses to learn from and adapt to our changing times through new innovations and technologies.
For many nations, including India, the pandemic offers an opportunity to look within, examine our gaps, and find the means to strengthen our production capabilities, and enhance manufacturing self-sufficiency.
The “Make in India” initiative, launched in 2014 aims to “facilitate investment, foster innovation… and build best in class manufacturing infrastructure”. This program to seize global opportunities in manufacturing is gaining momentum, spurred by the government’s introduction of some of Asia’s lowest tax rates, along with other incentives, to entice manufacturers into the country.
In transforming India into a global hub of manufacturing, the goal is to increase the industry’s contribution to 25 percent of GDP. Collaborative automation and collaborative robot applications will be an important catalyst for India to make good on this and other investments in key sectors – electronics, automotive, pharmaceuticals, and textiles.
Small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for almost 30 percent of India’s GDP and employ approximately 460 million people. SMEs also represent more than 33 percent of the country’s manufacturing output with over 120 million Indians working in the sector. Greater adoption of robotics and collaborative applications can help SMEs accelerate the country’s manufacturing output.
Collaborative applications – created when lightweight industrial robots and collaborative robots (cobots) are equipped with intelligent tools such as grippers, sensors, vision and the software that drives them – are the future of automation. These advanced technologies enable simple, rapid deployment and new processes while working safely alongside workers.
In the past, automation was viable only for large manufacturers who had the space, cash, and technical resources for large investments in traditional industrial robots. Companies needed large runs of the same products and processes over long periods of time. Investments took years to pay for themselves.
Collaborative applications, however, provide a quick and easy entry-point to automation, particularly for smaller manufacturers whose businesses have lower-volume, high-mix production lines. With this technology, SMEs can emerge more competitive with greater production flexibility, higher output, and better quality.
With collaborative automation offering scalability, versatility, and being more affordable than ever, dedicated investment in robotic tooling to enable collaborative applications is prudent to modernize SMEs, support the workforce, and ultimately create more jobs.
One company that has benefitted from introducing a collaborative application into production is Bajaj Auto, India’s second-largest motorcycle manufacturer and the world’s largest three-wheeler producer. To handle assembly of a new high-precision engine, Bajaj Auto attaches an OnRobot HEX F/T sensor to a cobot, resulting in more consistent, cost-effective production and quality.
Another company that has reaped gains is Sanmatsu, a Japanese contract manufacturer. The company paired OnRobot’s RG6 Dual grippers with a cobot to automate a machine tending application. The RG6 extracts and sets parts simultaneously with its dual grippers, speeding up cycle time and lowering machine idle time roughly by half. This eliminates the need to have a worker continuously stationed at the machine, reducing overtime and lowering production costs by 10 percent.
Solving Safety Issues
While traditional automation can streamline some manufacturing operations, modern solutions like collaborative applications are designed to complement workers, not replace them. Employees are relieved of monotonous and sometimes dangerous tasks, allowing them to be reassigned to other higher-value assignments and improving their safety.
Safety will be especially important as India ramps up vehicle assembly and parts manufacturing in the lucrative automotive sector. Collaborative automation will be essential for these production plants to provide output that is equivocal with international quality standards, while also keeping costs low. In these environments, collaborative applications can be used to handle raw materials, radioactive metals, and corrosive chemicals, which will improve worker safety and job satisfaction.
I believe collaborative automation will play a key role as India expands its “Make in India” initiatives, ultimately becoming a necessity for the country to stay competitive and attractive to international investors—and for its manufacturing sector to reach its $1 trillion potential by 2025.