ABB showcased its factory automation solutions and ABB Ability™ Connected Services including robotics, smart sensors, and energy efficient motors and drives systems at the 19th China International Industry Fair (CIIF). The company also showcased three new products and solutions at its 1,300 square meter exhibition booth (booth number: 8.1H-E001) at the National Exhibition and Convention Center, Shanghai. The company's exhibit highlights the connectivity and integration of ABB automation technologies in smart factories, which support Chinese manufacturers at a critical time in the continued transformation of the industry.
Under the "Made in China 2025" strategic plan, a new round of technological upgrades and industrial transformation will promote rapid changes in the industrial field. Smart manufacturing, featured with information technology and the accelerated integration of the manufacturing industry will, in turn, increase China's economic development and growth. Chinese manufacturers are moving to highly flexible, increasingly digital intelligent production systems in their shift to the high end of the industrial value chain.
Dr. Chunyuan Gu, President of the Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) Region, Chairman and President of ABB (China) Limited, said, "Automation, digitalization and intelligence are driving China's manufacturing transformation. Based on our advanced robotics technology and customized automation solutions, ABB is committed to becoming a partner of choice for manufacturers in China's industrial transformation and upgrade. With digital solutions integrating manufacturing into the Internet of Things and rich industry expertise, we are helping customers build efficient and connected smart factories and driving productivity and innovation capabilities to new levels. "
Robotics are central to ABB's factory automation solutions. At CIIF, ABB previewed its new small robot, the IRB 1100 for small parts handling and assembly in the Computers, Communications and Consumer Electronics (3C) industry, the IRB 760FX for continuous press automation and the ABB Body-in-White Flex Table Top Hemming system. For the continuous press automation solution, the IRB 760FX offers a faster production output rate of up to 14 parts per minute in press lines, making it an ideal choice for high speed press automation applications. Developed for the automotive closure jointing process, the ABB new Body-in-White Flex Table Top Hemming provides a flexibile and modular solution to improve hemming quality and increase body-in-white production speed. It can reduce traditional table top hemming cycle time by up to 50%.
Dr. Sami Atiya, President, ABB Robotics and Motion Division, said "The global manufacturing industry is changing. Rising demand for individualization and customization is increasing the complexity of automation, bringing higher requirements for smart and communicating devices, flexible and efficient automation processes and seamless collaboration across the value chain. With comprehensive robotics and motion technologies and ABB Ability™ digital solutions, we are committed to helping industrial companies increase productivity, energy efficiency and safety to achieve flexible production."
In addition, a series of ABB Robotics' workstations were also displayed at CIIF to fully demonstrate its application in the fields of 3C product assembly, flexible sequencing, laser hybrid welding, machine tending and high-speed sorting for the packaging industry.
With ABB's eFulfillment solution for example, its smart robotics sequencing system, based on modular design, allows for a fully automated operation of three steps -- including storage, picking up and sorting -- that help increase the processing capacity of the storage logistics system by 40% and lower investment and operation costs by 35% to 50%. The solution has been successfully applied in smart logistics centers.
In addition, RobotStudio®, the world's first robot simulation software package to support Virtual and Augmented technology, enabled ABB visitors to experience the virtual world of robots with wearable devices, where they could "see" vivid scenes of robots and equipment layouts from different angles. Visitors were also attracted by the self learning, vision guidance, lead-through programming, advanced motion control and other powerful functions of YuMi, the world's first collaborative robot, through interactions including photographing and coffee-making.
To address the trend of flexible and mass-customized manufacturing, smart motion technology is also indispensable to the "Factory of the Future." ABB's connected drives and motors, as well as servo motion solutions covering servo motors and servo drives help to improve the productivity, energy efficiency and safety of the production line through fast and accurate motion control. Also on display was ABB's famous AC500 safety PLC, known for its efficiency and flexibility to cover the most complex safety automation applications.
Connectivity will play an important role in the Factory of Future. At CIIF, ABB Ability™ connected services demonstrated the real-time monitoring of ABB robots installed in customer factories around the world. Consisting of five services, including condition monitoring and diagnosis, backup management, remote access, fleet assessment and asset optimization, ABB Connected Services can lead to up to 25% fewer incidents and a 60% faster response and issue resolution.
In August this year, ABB's China Robotics Digital Service Center was launched, which has comprehensively upgraded robotics service in terms of response speed, quality of service, technical support and user experience. By utilizing cloud and end-to-end digital technology, ABB is able to provide intelligent and connected industrial services for customers.
ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a pioneering technology leader in electrification products, robotics and motion, industrial automation and power grids, serving customers in utilities, industry and transport & infrastructure globally. Continuing more than a 125-year history of innovation, ABB today is writing the future of industrial digitalization and driving the Energy and Fourth Industrial Revolutions. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 136,000 employees. ABB has a full range of business activities in China, including R&D, manufacturing, sales and services, with 17,000 employees located in 139 cities, 40 local companies, and online and offline channels across over 300 cities.
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