Good year for the sale of industrial robots

The dream of automation is coming to our factories in the hands of industrial robots. Last year more robots than ever, with 2.941 integrated units were sold in our country, and there was an overall growth of 28%.

This means that there are today, a total of 13.163 units, figure still quite far from the 100,000 robots in Germany in Spain but promising given the pace of growth.
These figures correspond to the study which publishes every year the Spanish Association of Robotics and automation of the technologies of the production (AER-ATP) and show, among other things, an ascending evolution in the sale of robots since 1995. For now, the trend fits like a glove to the wishes of the AER-ATP, which expressed some years ago the need to grow at an average of over 20 per cent annual assimilated to European countries with a similar to the Spanish industry. The latest data from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) confirm, as the European average is situated environment-10-11 per cent. However, to evaluate these data in its fair measure there some prior considerations. The first and perhaps the most important is the definition that has taken the AER-ATP to decide that a robot can be properly considered. The Association said at the beginning of his report that a robot is "a manipulative machine controlled automatically, reprogrammable and general purpose, with three or more programmable axes". This classification is the same that uses the IFR, is similar to that established the ISO and excludes certain machines such as the porticos of two axes and other devices. (see table)

An important novelty is that the ABB company is no longer the lead in the number of units sold in the hands of the Kuka Roboter signature. The signing of Augsburg (Germany) placed in the Spanish market 1,040 units, with 1.013 that managed to sell the Swedish company ABB. Even with all ABB continued to possess the largest park in robots installed in our country.
The third, with 290 units sold, is Fanuc, followed by Sepro with 140. (see table)

The automotive sector remains the sector to more industrial robots purchase, well ahead of other industrial sectors. The automotive industry accounts for a very large percentage, of the 75 per cent nothing less, sales of industrial robots. This fact, a tangible reality if visiting any chain of car production, far from yielding ground to the thrust of other sectors, reaffirmed last year with an increase of 10 points above the previous year and 6 points on the overall percentage of the total number of robots used in Spain. In short, every 100 robots that work in the Spanish industries, 66 are engaged in the manufacture of automobiles and automotive components.

In absolute figures, this placed the number of robots used in automotive on 8,597. Followed at a distance by the robots dedicated to the sector of chemicals and plastics (1.322), and the sector of metallic products (1084).

With respect to other sectors, good growth in the sector of food and beverages, still confirming with the increase of 30 per cent with respect to the units sold last year and in the furniture sector, which has tripled its sales in a year, while it should clarify that the number of units sold is very low.

Given the weight of the automotive industry in sales of industrial robots, means that the most commonly used applications are specific of this sector. Ahead are around 1,600 dedicated to welding units sold in the year 2000, an increase of 53 percent. Within this application, almost 73 per cent of the new installed units were devoted to the welding points. After this growth, the percentage of robots dedicated to welding in Spain which has been situated in 52 per cent of the total. The manipulation is the second application, with 792 units sold and 26 per cent of the total. On the other hand, should be noted that the applications of machining which last year experienced a significant boost with 287 units sold.
The opposite trend we find the Assembly, who has lost weight in relation to the previous exercises.

Not only last year was a good year for the sale of robots in Spain. 12.744 Units in the domestic market, to which we must add 1,583 external orders were sold in United States. In total he reached 1.1 trillion dollars and sales rose by 11% over the previous year. However, the trend has changed from sign and in the first half of this year the units sold have decreased 28% over the first half of last year, as indicated by the statistics of the RIA (Robotic Industries Association). United States is the second country in number of installed units (114,000 according to the latest statistics) surpassed only by Japan.

More information:
http://www.robotics.org/

4) METALUNIVERS January - February 2002