Robots charm automakers
Things were a lot different when Mark Moran began his career at Ford Motor Company in the late 1980s. For one thing, much of the work done within the manufacturing plants was done manually with only some assistance from machines, automation or robots.
Now the body area manager at Ford’s Oakville, Ont., assembly plant, Mr. Moran oversees a swelling number of increasingly agile, precise and versatile robots that have streamlined the production process. The robots perform different tasks. Some pick up and replace parts; some weld; others apply sealer or apply and secure nuts onto vehicles.
“We have 3D cameras mounted to these robots so they can visually see 360 degrees around, which is very cool, and they’ll pick [the parts] up in the same spot and put them down in the same spot,” says Mr. Moran.
At the Oakville plant — where the bodies of all Ford Flex and Ford Edge models are created — the robots have allowed the automaker to quickly modify the processes of the production line to accommodate cosmetic changes in new models simply by reprogramming the robots.
“You’d have minimal change, minimal churn and minimal time to try and adapt to not only the new processes and new-quality parts and new-dimensional parts, but in terms of reacting to market demand and changes in market demand, you can make those changes for volume, as well,” says Mr. Moran, adding that in many cases turnover for the introduction of new production lines can be cut in half.
Ford isn’t the only company to have jumped on the robotics bandwagon. Procurement of robots among automakers and parts manufacturers is at an all-time high. Data released in April by the Robotic Industries Association show a record 22,598 robots were purchased across North America in 2012 at a cost of $1.48-billion. Automakers accounted for 8,445 of those (up 47% from the previous year) and auto parts manufacturers bought 6,459 (up 21% from 2012), making the auto industry accountable for two-thirds of robotics pur- chases across the continent.
Steve Mastroianni, marketing and public affairs manager at engineering firm Valiant — which does about $450-million in business each year developing auto parts, creating assembly systems and programming robots, among many other tasks — attributes the rise in sales to the introduction of numerous new models across all auto companies, but also to the standardization of robot components that has brought down the cost of procurement.
“You can train your team to understand how to use them and program them and they’re all knowledgeable now,” he says. “Because the price has come down and the reliability has gone up they’re becoming more used.”
In Canada, the surge in robot sales is even more pronounced. Additional data from the Robotic Industries Association show orders for robots north of the 49th parallel spiked 25% between 2006 and 2012 among automakers and 30% among parts manufacturers. That compares with 8% and 15% respectively in the U.S.
Jeff Burnstein, president of the Robotic Industries Association, predicts robot sales will continue to climb along with demand and production volume at manufacturing facilities in emerging markets.
“What you’re seeing globally is that there are a lot of areas that are increasing auto manufacturing — Brazil, Mexico — and we expect to see continued expansion of robotics in these industries,” says Mr. Burnstein. “There are lots of places where cars are being built and they’re just getting started in terms of investing in automation.”
The heightened level of competition in the auto industry is a likely contributor, as well. As automakers look to cut costs and increase productivity, the adoption of robotics seems to be a logical move. The challenge is doing so without having an onerous impact on the employment of workers whose roles are displaced by robots.
Back at Ford’s Oakville plant, the introduction of robots has resulted in zero job losses — a point confirmed by the Canadian Auto Workers Union. Instead, the robots have served to complement already existing operations.
“It’s an integration of machinery and manpower, and we have applications that are specifically designed for robotics and they’re lifting heavy parts that humans would have a very, very difficult time to do,” says Mr. Moran.
“So, from a safety and ergonomics aspect, robots can save human beings with respect to their wear and tear. We have people working together. We have assemblers and inspectors here; we have people that are securing bolts, etc. So, it’s an integration between the robotic application and the manual application.”