Industrial Automation Magazine India

The Sanand plant Tata Motors recently acquired from Ford is 90 percent robotised!

Published on : Monday 05-06-2023

Mahesh Wagle, Co-founder & Director, Cybernetik

What is the present status of sector wise robot penetration in India? What are the segments that are witnessing increased demand?
Overall robot density in India stands at 4 for every 1000 employees. While this ranks India at the near bottom among the list of developed and even developing economies, it keeps open tremendous scope for expansion.
 
India’s automobile sector is the top user of robots in the country. As many as 60% of the country’s robots are located on the automobile industry’s shop floor as per the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). Automobile majors regularly deploy robots for welding, assembly, and painting. The plant at Sanand that Tata Motors recently acquired from Ford is 90 percent robotised!
 
Other sectors that have increasingly started to adopt robots include pharmaceuticals, healthcare, electronics, metals, electrical, FMCG, and plastics. Rehabilitation, surgery, and elderly care are among the applications of robots in healthcare. Robots have a natural advantage over humans in repetitive, dull tasks such as packaging, storage, and retrieval, making them useful in FMCG as well as in the warehousing section of multiple industries. 
 
Traditionally the automotive industry has been the main user of industrial robots. How will the electrification of mobility impact this dominance?
The electrification of mobility is expected to bring significant changes to the automotive industry's use of industrial robots. While the traditional automotive sector has relied heavily on robots for processes like welding, painting, and assembly of combustion engine components, the shift towards electric vehicles (EVs) will introduce new manufacturing requirements. EVs have different assembly needs, including battery pack assembly, electric motor integration, and specialised electronics.
 
Leveraging automation is an excellent method to achieve battery assembly that ensures optimal lifespan and enables electric vehicles (EVs) to cover the maximum range specified.

The turnkey solutions we provide at Cybernetik for EVs ensure fast, accurate, and efficient assembly of cylindrical and prismatic EV batteries. The advantages include optimum battery life via complete tracking of all quality parameters, total integration of operations from cell testing to stack formation and then to testing at the end-of-line, customised operations via SCADA, safeguarding against electrostatic shocks through ESD Workbench, high speed with accuracy via Servo, Vision Systems, Robot, and Fixtures, error proofing through Poka Yoke and electricity saving via regenerative discharging.
 
The Covid pandemic struck a blow for digital transformation. Has this led to increased demand for robotic automation?
Robots demonstrated their capacity to maintain operational continuity even under the onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic when lockdowns and severe travel restrictions were the norm. Apart from that, the consistent improvement in robot capabilities with the integration of machine vision, self-learning, and AI has led to greater adoption. 
 
Quality, speed, consistency, and safety are the top USPs of automation. Robots add the edge of flexibility. Replacing human labour with robots minimises the bacterial load and, therefore, the chances of contamination. This makes robots useful for the food sector. In this industry, recalls are the worst productivity killer. The food industry also uses robots as vending machines. 
 
In 2018, industrial robots' numbers in India stood at 4500 units. These are expected to clock a 13%-plus CADR in the 2019-2024 period. The low penetration of robots in the manufacturing industry – electrical, metal, electronics, plastics, rubber and the like – will be the trigger for their growth, provided appropriate pricing models and support infrastructure is developed. This is particularly true for SMEs that make significant contributions to India's manufacturing GDP. 
 
Professional service robots find applications in warehouses/logistics, healthcare, retail, agriculture, hospitality, and construction where they aid human operations, not replace them. Their market is forecasted for faster growth than their industrial counterparts due to their potential to radically improve customer satisfaction and service delivery by optimising resource utilisation. What will be necessary though is their integration in the broader setting of operations management. 
 
How is the entry of cobots and AMRs/AGVs changing the overall scenario of robotic automation in the manufacturing industry?
The entry of collaborative robots (cobots) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) or automated guided vehicles (AGVs) is significantly changing the landscape of robotic automation in the manufacturing industry.
 
Cobots, also known as collaborative robots, are designed to share the workspace and operate side by side with human workers. They ensure a safe working environment while delivering efficiency and precision. By collaborating with human workers, cobots contribute to enhancing the overall performance metrics of assigned tasks, enabling the successful completion of complex operations.They are easy to program, adaptable, and can handle a wide range of tasks, making them ideal for small and medium-sized enterprises.On the other hand, AMRs and AGVs are revolutionising material handling and logistics within manufacturing facilities. These robots can navigate autonomously, transport goods, and optimise internal logistics, leading to improved efficiency and reduced operational costs.
 
The combination of cobots and AMRs/AGVs is reshaping traditional workflows and enabling agile, dynamic, and productive manufacturing environments.
 
While robots are gaining in versatility with integration of machine vision and greater use of AI/ML capabilities, is there a supporting infrastructure in terms of skills and system integrators?
A major roadblock is the availability of skilled workforce for programming robots and to maintain them. Given the importance of robots in industry and their high growth rate, it is a question of time that positive interventions by industry and policy makers fix these limitations. 
 
Being an interdisciplinary field that combines the mechanical, computer, and electronics streams, robotics education and practice requires an integrated approach. Few educational institutions in India offer robotics courses. This creates the supply crunch that is aggravated by the 12% growth in demand for robots. 
 
Moreover, these courses focus on robot operations, not on the other two areas, viz., design and building of robotic systems and solutions. And because dealing with robots requires additional learning after graduation, the enthusiasm among students is low. 

Robots can deliver on their promise only if integrated correctly in the overall manufacturing system. It takes skill and experience to choose the correct robot for the task, define the process flow, locate and program it, and incorporate safety considerations. Here again, the shortage of skilled manpower becomes a speed bump. 
 
Will the recent emphasis on manufacturing incentives for the electronics industry via PLI schemes lead to greater demand for robotic solutions?
The recent emphasis on manufacturing incentives for the electronics industry through Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes is expected to drive greater demand for robotic solutions. The PLI schemes aim to boost domestic electronics manufacturing, reduce import dependence, and promote exports. As electronics manufacturing scales up, there will be a corresponding need for automation and robotics to enhance productivity, efficiency, and quality control.
 
Robotic solutions offer numerous advantages to the electronics industry, such as precise assembly of electronic components, efficient testing and inspection processes, and improved workflow management. With the increasing complexity of electronic devices and the demand for high-quality products, robotics can play a crucial role in meeting these requirements.

Furthermore, robots can aid in addressing the challenges of shortage of labour, cost optimisation, and maintaining consistent production standards. By automating tasks such as PCB assembly, surface mounting, soldering, and quality assurance, manufacturers can streamline operations, reduce errors, and increase output.
 
The adoption of robotic solutions in the electronics industry can lead to shorter production cycles, higher production volumes, improved product quality, and cost savings in the long run. As a result, the PLI schemes are likely to incentivise electronics manufacturers to invest in robotic automation, thus driving greater demand for robotic solutions in the industry.
 
 (The views expressed in interviews are personal, not necessarily of the organisations represented)
 
Mahesh Wagle is Co-Founder & Director of Cybernetik, an industrial automation company that undertakes designing, building, and end-to-end installation of turnkey automation systems for food, agro, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries for over three decades.
 
Mahesh’s passion for engineering and vision for the future of automation systems enabled him to co-found Cybernetik Technologies in 1989, a period when the automation market in India was still at a fledgling stage. As a technical specialist, he was among the major minds behind the development of several path breaking processes and innovations.
 
With Mahesh being one of the major driving forces behind Cybernetik’s quest for innovation, the organisation continues to broaden globally, with three international offices in Vietnam (for Southeast Asia), Dubai (for Middle East and Africa) and the United States (for North America). It has four factory units and 2 design offices in India, with over 380 employees.

Prior to founding Cybernetik, Mahesh held leadership roles in Keller Technology Corporation, Tonawanda, NY and Buffalo Design Research Pvt Ltd, Pune. He is an alumnus of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras, and the University of Buffalo in New York.