 ABB Robotics is a leading supplier of robots and automation for automotive,
manufacturing and the consumer goods industry.
ABB Robotics supplies
from single cells to systems and entire lines for every step in
the
automotive production
process: from the press shop, automotive components, powertrain
engine and axle assembly lines, body in white, the paint shop
to trim & final.
In the press shop, ABB Robotics supplies doppins, destackers and robotic
solutions “from
stack to rack.” In the body shop,ABB Robotic’s FlexiCells™, FlexFramer™, ModulFlex™,
Roller Hemmers provide auto manufacturers the flexibility to produce
cars and parts quickly. They can supply single robot paint cells
to complete paint shops and provide robotic solutions for interior
systems as well as trim and final.
ABB Robotic's robots
are used in a wide range of applications
- from automotive and component suppliers to off-highway equipment
plants, and the food, pharmaceutical and consumer electronics
industries, through
to placing chocolates in boxes.
In 2002, ABB Robotics
was the first robot manufacturer to produce more than 100,000 robots
supplied worldwide.
“This
is a big milestone for them as a company and sends a strong signal
to their competitors,
said Jouko Karvinen, executive vice president and head of ABB Robotic's
Automation Technology Products division. -They are the world's
first company to sell
this many robots, which means their customers - from car-makers
to medication sorters - have tremendous confidence in their technology.
It also means
they have the largest installed base of robots globally.”
 ABB Robotics
produced its first robot in 1974. At that time, the company's robots
were mainly used for machine tending and material handling. Nearly
30
years later, that
market accounts for some 30 percent of robots sold worldwide.
According to the International Federation of Robotics, welding-spot
and
arc,
particularly in the automotive industry, is today's largest
robot application.
In the
mid-1980s, they rounded out their portfolio of robots,
adding special painting robots, again geared to the automotive
and general manufacturing
industry.
They worked to innovate with software specific applications,
said
Karvinen.
ABB's robotics
team, working in locations such as Sweden, Norway, the United States,
Germany and Japan, has in recent years continued to broaden
its range of robots. Among many other applications, ABB robots
pick
chocolates and place
them into trays or containers, and sort pills for pharmaceutical
giants. American-based consumer goods companies use ABB
robots for building and
painting motorcycles and the U.S. postal service uses
ABB robots to sort and palletize mail tubs and trays.
ABB's robots
are ahead
of the industry curve
when it comes to software packages for increasing efficiency
and productivity. In 1994, ABB Robotics introduced TrueMove and QuickMove
features which have resulted
in improved cycle time and increased quality in the
manufacture of goods. ABB Robotics was the first robot manufacturer to introduce
robot
simulation software
(RobotStudio) for use on a standard Windows PC. Users
have the ability to layout and design cells, create and edit
programs,
check for reach, cycle
time, collision interferences without interrupting
production.
In 2004/2005,
ABB Robotics introduced globally, its new IRC 5 controller
which can control up to
4 robots and twelve external axes and has features
such as MultiMove
and FlexPositioner-cycle time savers, floor space savers
and cost reducers. |
