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As a consequence of excessive rates of interest, elevated stock, and sluggish demand, the worldwide equipment business has been going through a troublesome 12 months in 2024. This has affected gross sales of business automation parts to machine builders and OEMs, together with movement management merchandise, stated Work together Evaluation.
Regardless of this, modern applied sciences proceed to create new alternatives for movement management, attracting new entrants to the market via product launches or partnerships. Work together Evaluation right here discusses two new development areas it has recognized from its analysis and conversations with producers: good conveyance expertise and robots with machine-integrated management.
Sensible conveyance expertise
Sensible conveyance expertise is a multi-carrier transport expertise and is accessible as both linear or planar techniques. The marketplace for linear techniques has surged over the previous three years, with gross sales income rising from $237 million in 2020 to $488 million in 2023.
By 2029, gross sales of linear techniques might exceed $1.1 billion, practically 5 instances the market measurement in 2020, in line with Work together Evaluation. Planar expertise remains to be in its trial interval, producing gross sales of practically $20 million in 2023.
Because the analysis agency started monitoring good conveyance market information in 2020, the meals, pharmaceutical, and common packaging industries had been the primary utility markets for such conveyance techniques. Nevertheless, over the previous two to 3 years, the panorama has modified with the speedy penetration of good conveyance merchandise within the Asian market, and a pointy improve in gross sales from the battery and electronics industries.
Inspired by the expansion momentum, new entrants are quickly getting into the market. As proven within the chart beneath, the variety of suppliers virtually doubled in 2023 in contrast with the 12 months earlier than. As of final month, 12 extra firms have launched new linear good conveyance merchandise in 2024.
Most not too long ago, German rotary indexer and conveyor producer TAKTOMAT introduced its new linear good conveyor system powered by SEW Eurodrive on the Motek commerce present. TAKTOMAT’s key shoppers are primarily from the automotive sector, so the brand new product is predicted to have functions inside this business.
New distributors haven’t acquired significant market share, because the provider base has not but consolidated, famous Work together Evaluation. Nevertheless, it stated it expects distributors to extend their presence, particularly of their native markets: China, Japan, and Europe.
The provider base for linear good conveyance techniques has expanded, notably within the Asia-Pacific area. | Supply: Work together Evaluation
Past this, Work together Evaluation has additionally carried out analysis with firms planning to launch new good conveyance expertise merchandise inside the subsequent few years. Most of them are suppliers of movement management parts resembling linear motors and servo merchandise, or conveyor producers.
After the cyclical downturn within the equipment business involves an finish, we count on the income and provider base of good conveyance techniques to see promising development in Europe and North America, pushed by developments in battery manufacturing and warehouse automation.
Naturally, rising demand for good conveyance expertise represents a rising marketplace for movement management merchandise, together with servo and direct-drive applied sciences. Fairly than providing good conveyance techniques in their very own portfolio, some distributors are supplying key parts to system suppliers.
For instance, many automation firms, together with Rockwell and Siemens, have partnerships with Planar Motor Inc. (PMI), which makes planar good conveyance merchandise, to equip PMI techniques with servo drives and controllers.
Machine-integrated robots
The time period machine-integrated robots refers to robots which are totally built-in into machine management platforms, both by eliminating robot-specific controllers or by retaining robotic controllers however integrating the programming platform into the machine techniques.
The primary method is extra frequent for these machine-integrated robots at present deployed, which embrace personalized robots made by machine builders or OEMs.
In 2023, world machine-integrated robotic shipments reached practically 20,000 models, of which shipments within the Americas, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific areas accounted for 31%, 41%, and 28% respectively. From 2023 to 2029, the market is projected to develop at a compound annual development charge (CAGR) of 14.6%.
In contrast with the usual industrial robotic market — with annual shipments of greater than 520,000 models — the machine-integrated robotic market is at present a lot smaller however is predicted to develop at a quicker charge.
Regular development is forecast for machine-integrated robots over the subsequent 5 years. | Supply: Work together Evaluation
Engineer scarcity drives automation demand
The scarcity of skilled engineers is without doubt one of the main drivers of development for the machine-integrated robotic market. By integrating robotic and machine controllers, engineers can management machines and robots in a unified growth surroundings, with out utilizing robotic programming languages. This helps scale back challenges for each machine builders and finish customers to find or coaching engineers and operators for robotic machines.
OEMs’ motivations to construct robots in-house can also be fueling the adoption of machine-integrated robots. Machine builders and integrators more and more have the potential to construct mechanical components for robots, with some OEMs selecting to make robots by themselves to save lots of prices.
In personalized situations, OEMs construct particular robotic kinematics in-house, with a common automation controller enabling the sensible integration of OEM-made robots with machines.
New entrants and partnerships are growing the variety of techniques out there for machine-integrated robots. Robotic producers, machine builders, and movement management system suppliers are all actively introducing new merchandise and options.
For instance, Rockwell Automation partnered with autonox Robotics in 2023, having beforehand entered a partnership with Atom Robotic in late 2022. Now, robotic arms from three distributors might be immediately geared up with Rockwell PLCs.
Most not too long ago, Siemens confirmed new cooperation agreements with collaborative robotic makers Common Robots and Jaka, additional increasing the vary of robots that may be immediately programmed on its platform.
Within the meantime, movement management suppliers additionally work intently with machine builders to supply options for OEM-made robots. For instance, SEW provides a Parallel Arm Kinematics Equipment to OEMs trying to make their very own delta robots.
In China, many packaging equipment producers exhibited machines with choosing robots made in-house on the latest CIIF tradeshow.
Movement management has room to develop, finds Work together Evaluation
The surging good conveyance market and the emergence of machine-integrated robots supply new alternatives to movement management suppliers. Pushed by the tendencies of digitalization, flexibility, and ease of use within the manufacturing business, each applied sciences are anticipated to extend their penetration within the equipment business.
Regardless of present challenges, many suppliers are making ready methods for the subsequent development cycle. Corporations with aggressive merchandise and options will acquire a bonus when demand inevitably picks up.
Concerning the creator and Work together Evaluation
As a analysis analyst based mostly in China, Samantha Mou offers assist within the industrial automation sector. Mou has a grasp’s diploma in economics and has expertise, whereas working in Germany, of conducting market analysis in industrial tools and vehicle parts.
Work together Evaluation stated every of its group members has greater than 15 years of expertise in expertise and market analysis. The agency has workplaces in Irthlingborough, U.Okay.; Austin, Texas; and Shanghai, China.
Editor’s observe: This article was syndicated from Work together Evaluation.