In the highly competitive global market, enterprises continue to seek the key path to improve efficiency, reduce
costs and ensure quality. Industrial automation is the indispensable core driving force in this path. It is not a far-fetched
concept of the future, but a key technology system that is profoundly reshaping the global manufacturing landscape.
Precision and efficiency: automation empowers productivity jumps
Modern automation system through the PLC (programmable logic controller), industrial robots, precision servo drive,
machine vision inspection and other core technologies, the integration of the application, to build a highly efficient operation
of the “unmanned factories” or “less manned production line”. Its value is directly reflected in:
Explosive growth in production capacity: automated equipment to realize 7x24 hours uninterrupted operation, breaking
through the traditional manual operation of physical strength and time limits. The output efficiency of an automated assembly
line is often several times or even ten times higher than that of a purely manual line.
Extreme Beat Optimization: Through precise motion control, high-speed robot collaboration and smooth material transfer
systems (e.g., high-speed conveyor belts, AGVs/RGVs), production beats are compressed to the millisecond level, significantly
shortening product manufacturing cycles. The introduction of automated welding and assembly in a well-known automobile
factory has reduced the production time of a single vehicle by 40%.
Maximize resource utilization: The automation system combines with SCADA (data acquisition and monitoring system) or
MES (manufacturing execution system) to realize real-time monitoring and intelligent scheduling of equipment status, energy
consumption, and material consumption, which significantly reduces the phenomenon of idle waiting for materials and
energy waste.
Quality Guard: Automation creates a stable and reliable quality cornerstone
The volatility of manual operation is the natural enemy of product quality consistency. Industrial automation is the ultimate
solution to this problem:
Eliminate human bias: Robots perform welding, gluing, screwing and other processes, and their paths, force and speed parameters
are strictly cured to ensure that millions of products are identical. Force sensors and vision guidance on precision assembly lines
ensure micron-level assembly accuracy.
Real-time monitoring of the whole process: In-line machine vision system scans the products at high speed, recognizing appearance
defects, size tolerance, character printing, etc. with speed and precision far beyond human. Sensor network collects key process
parameters (temperature, pressure, flow rate, etc.) in real time, and alarms or automatically adjusts them once they are out of tolerance.
Data-driven quality traceability: The automation system records key data (e.g. welding current curve, tightening torque value) of
each product in the production process, forming a traceable “electronic quality file”, which greatly facilitates quality analysis and
rapid problem localization.
Cost Reconstruction: Automation reshapes the profitability model of enterprises.
The cost optimization brought about by industrial automation is all-encompassing:
Structural reduction of labor costs: Replacement of labor in repetitive, heavy and high-risk positions directly reduces long-term labor
costs. Especially in high labor cost areas or hard to recruit industries, the payback period of automation is significantly shortened.
Significant reduction in wastage: Precise control of raw material placement (e.g., precise feeding of injection molding machines),
reduction of scrap rate (through automation to ensure consistency), reduction of work-in-process backlogs (lean logistics automation),
and comprehensive reduction of manufacturing costs. Industry reports show that successful implementation of automation generally
reduces overall costs by 15%-30%.
Maintenance Cost Optimization: Combined with Predictive Maintenance (PdM) technology, accurate maintenance is performed before
failures occur by analyzing data such as vibration, temperature, and current of equipment operation, reducing the huge losses caused
by unplanned downtime, and prolonging the life of equipment.
Safety Guardian: Automation creates an intrinsically safe environment
Freeing personnel from dangerous and harsh operating environments is an important mission of automation:
Replacement of high-risk scenarios: Robots bravely move around high-temperature furnaces, perform spraying in toxic and hazardous
gas environments, and accurately feed materials under heavy-duty stamping equipment, completely avoiding the risk of personal injury.
Safe Human-Machine Collaboration: Cobot's force-sensing and safety design allows it to safely interact with workers to accomplish
complex tasks without physical fences.
Environmental Improvement: Reducing direct exposure to noise, dust, chemical solvents and other hazards significantly improves
occupational health conditions.
Flexible Manufacturing: Automation responds to the needs of an agile market.
Modern automation systems offer powerful programmability and quick changeover:
Rapid line change: Through the presetting of fixtures and fittings, robot programs and process parameters, it realizes the rapid
switching of multi-species production (mold change SMED concept) to meet the demand for small-lot, multi-batch flexible production.
An automated production line in a North China electronics factory has shortened the mold changeover time from several hours to
less than 30 minutes.
Highly compatible platform: Modular design of automation cells (e.g. articulated robots with different end-effectors) is easy to
expand and reorganize, adapting to product iterations and line upgrades.
Data interconnection: Automation equipment acts as a node of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and its operation data is
uploaded in real time, providing a basis for decision-making in production scheduling, process optimization, and predictive
maintenance, and driving the manufacturing process to be continuously intelligent.
Industrial automation: the cornerstone of future manufacturing competitiveness
Industrial automation has changed from “optional” to “mandatory” for the survival and development of the manufacturing industry.
It is not only a tool to improve efficiency and quality, but also a cornerstone for enterprises to optimize cost structure, ensure
production safety, realize flexible manufacturing, and ultimately move towards intelligent and digital transformation. In the context
of industrial upgrading and intensified global competition, embracing and deeply applying industrial automation technology is an
inevitable choice for manufacturing enterprises to build lasting core competitiveness. In the future, with the deep integration of
artificial intelligence, edge computing, digital twin and other technologies with automation, the potential of intelligent manufacturing
will be more thoroughly released. Investing in automation is investing in the future vitality of the enterprise.