The headlines blared: "North American Robot Orders Declined 17% in First Quarter." Bad news? Yes, but the good side is that "non-automotive orders jumped 36%, an encouraging sign," says Jeffrey A. Burnstein, executive vice president of trade group Robotic Industries Association (RIA).
The good side may even be better, adds Rohit Khanolkar, engineering manager at Applied Manufacturing Technologies. His speculation hinges on whether the rest of manufacturing has come to realize how much the automotive industry gained from the lean flexibility of robotic automation. "The automotive industry has taken a lead role in selecting robots as their preferred flexible automation solution," Khanolkar says. "Industries other than automotive need to realize the benefits that robots can add to their manufacturing processes. Robots are accurate, flexible, programmable, can work in environments not suited for humans, and more importantly, they are repeatable with a high degree of accuracy. These attributes directly contribute to end product quality, which in turn reduces scrap and rework -- a requirement of lean manufacturing."
Burnstein adds that in the non-automotive sector, the robotic industry saw revenue growth of 116% in food and consumer goods, while in semiconductors/ electronics/ photonics, unit orders were up 58% and revenue was up 96%.
