Manufacturing is the focus area automation is an embedded piece of this ecosystem
Published on : Friday 06-09-2024
Narayan Kumar, Divisional Director, Industrial Devices Division (INDD), Panasonic Life Solutions India Pvt Ltd, spoke to Industrial Automation during Automation Expo 2024.
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What is the significance of the new products launched by Panasonic at Automation Expo 2024?
Today we have launched a trio of products including the GM1 motion controller. Earlier Panasonic was renowned for servo motors and servo solutions. Now we are in a position to offer complete solutions to our customers, embedded with motion controllers, servo parts and sensors, primarily to cater the demand of packaging and machine tool industries. The GM1 motion controller comes with 32 axes, so wherever motion or niche applications are involved, we are very much there to serve all those customers with our motion controller and servo parts.
We have also launched the HL-G2 Series high-accuracy laser displacement sensors for very niche applications related to automotive and electronic industries and intralogistics companies. Based on market demand, we have launched this updated version of measurement sensor for multiple applications.
The third product launched today is the MINAS A7 Servo Systems – advanced motors equipped with AI technology and a vast improvement over the A6, designed to automate precise tuning, a task previously requiring expert human intervention. The highlights of the A7 are the 27-bit encoder, which no one offers in the entire industry and the minimum communication cycle of 62.5 microseconds – half of conventional models – again a very unique part that no other company offers in the world. This is ideal for applications where very precise motions are required. Along with the MINAS A7, the MINAS CZ1 Global and MINAS A6SC series motors were also launched in the Indian market recently. All three servo systems have been designed to enhance productivity of machines, people, and applications by adapting quickly and intuitively.
Are these products agnostic to various protocols or are there any compatibility issues? What about cybersecurity?
Earlier we had a dedicated communication protocol Realtime Express (RTEX). Now we are coming with EtherCAT. So if you look at the compatibility, it is very much there. Demand for EtherCAT is increasing globally and not just in India, so we are better placed.
As for cybersecurity, which is an extended part of the solutions offered to the customers and though it is not in our scope, our systems are very well designed to integrate with the cybersecurity solutions.
What is the overall strategy of the Industrial Devices Division of Panasonic Life Solutions India in view of the current scenario?
Predominantly, I would start with the government's impetus for manufacturing, especially what we have been witnessing for the last 10 years now. Whether from an employment point of view or mainly from a country's self-sustaining perspective, manufacturing has to grow. I would say the catalyst or the propelling force also has to be competitive. It's not that we manufacture something only for India – the overall manufacturing ecosystem is spread globally. For example, we have several smartphone makers who are present in the country. A lot of components are sourced from outside, so they have to be efficiently assembled and manufactured in India, giving the same amount of high production rates as well as keeping the accuracy in mind. So it actually boils down to the fact that if manufacturing has to really progress, you have to have a propelling force of automation. If you have a high degree of automation, depending on the application, we have the products. I'm not saying it is a case of one size fits all. The A7 is at the very top end. But if you look at the entire range, there is a variety of servo motors, which are the best fitting scenario for different types of applications. So, where you don't require a very high speed, then you can select a different type of servo mechanism. In short, I would say it's quite an exciting time for us in India because manufacturing is the focus area and automation is a much embedded piece of this manufacturing ecosystem.
We have a lot of investments coming into not only the electronics segment, but also specifically in the semiconductor industry. Can you elaborate on that?
When it comes to electronics, it is an extremely high volume game. And the electronic component per se is a very, very small, miniaturised version of a very typical surface mounted technology as we call it. You definitely require automation products that absolutely keep pace with the needs of the industry for speed as well as accuracy and we are very much ready for the investments happening in semiconductors. If you look at our global presence, Panasonic is a very important player in the various layers of the overall automation in semiconductor manufacturing.
You rightly mentioned one size does not fit all, so what about the smaller companies, the MSMEs that are a very price sensitive market?
The products that are launched for the very top end of the market are actually not needed for all applications. It is not about they being suitable, it is simply that they are not needed, and as Atul mentioned during the launch this morning, the A7 is part of that family because globally we are trying to integrate that with the requirements of the top end; but when it comes other general requirements, we are also launching some products that are on display here, which will focus on applications which do not need that type of high accuracy, but are more specific to the applications required in the India market.
India is a vast country. What kind of distribution networks do you have here and the support you provide them?
We are expanding our partner network to serve our customers who are scattered from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Wherever manufacturing industry is there, we have a scope, so the first part is we are expanding our partner network; and secondly, to support them, we are building a team of application engineers for technical support. We already have the product team in place, so wherever they need any kind of support on product specifics, like selection of the products or if they want to check the functionality of any product, the product team is there to support them. When it comes to installation, commissioning, or any other technical support, we are also building application teams.
One last question – India is offering a lot of incentives for manufacturing. Do you have any manufacturing or value addition activity in the country?
India is a country which will definitely find a very strong place in the manufacturing ecosystem, so manufacturing definitely will follow. I think the question is in terms of an overall market dynamics point of view, so if you look at Panasonic's history, earlier we were solely based out of Japan, but in the last 20-30 years we have graduated to Southeast Asia – Thailand and other countries – and also China. So definitely it will now be in India, going forward. For example, we already have one product, the thermal oil sensor, which we started manufacturing here two years back, because the demand was consolidated and we could kind of make a good business case. Demand will grow and definitely we'll have to look at future opportunities, how we serve the Indian customer, with products manufactured here.
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