CONTROL & AUTOMATION
EMBRACING TECHNOLOGY
WOOD AUTOMATION & CONTROL’S U.K
MAKE AUTOMATION TALENT WORK FOR YOU
The UK’s manufacturing base is operating
within an unusually challenging
environment at present, as a result of both
potential political change and the fact that
some export markets are less than buoyant.
Combine these issues with the fact that
the UK still lags behind in the productivity
stakes, when compared to other G7
nations, and it’s clear that we need to
embrace the technologies that will enable
UK manufacturing to be competitive on
the world stage.
Here in lies the dilemma: outside of the
automotive sector, the UK generally
performs poorly in the uptake of
automation and robotics with just an
average of 74 robots per 10,000 employees.
This is much lower than many of our
European cousins, and around a quarter
of the total for Germany alone. There are
undoubtedly many reasons why this is the
case, however recurring themes include a
lack of understanding of how automation
could transform a manufacturing process,
and also a fear of complexity and technical
risk.
In this informative article, Tim Bednall,
sales & marketing manager for Wood
Automation & Control’s Systems Division,
highlights the depth of expertise and talent
that UK manufacturers can draw upon to
ease the path to automation and, in turn,
greater productivity.
Despite the overall statistics, there are
great examples of UK manufacturers
embracing high levels of automation
and making it a key element of their
manufacturing processes. There are other
companies that have introduced a lower
level of automation, often for relatively
simple pick and place, handing or assembly
tasks. However, there are still a majority
missing out on the potential benefits that
automation can deliver. This is especially
true of those who may perceive their
applications to be too difficult or overly
complex, as there are several, often
different technologies involved in the
manufacturing process.
For those concerned about complexity
or technical risk, the productivity and
reliability of our automotive sector
installations should be seen as a shining
example of how large multi-technology
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projects can be successfully implemented.
It’s not uncommon for a car manufacturing
line to have several hundred robots, all
of which need to operate in a complex
sequence using a wide range of different
technologies, and perform these tasks
with high overall efficiency levels on a 24/7
basis. robots, special purpose automation and a
diverse range of proprietary technologies,
including machine vision and laser systems.
We alone have 400 technically focussed
staff across our UK organisation, working
with customers in a multitude of different
industry sectors and applications, so the
knowledge and resource is there.”
Outside of the automotive sector, there
will be few applications that will require
such high levels of mechanical automation
combined with sophisticated control
software and robot programming. The
resources, skills and tools used to achieve
these world-class manufacturing lines are
all readily available to other UK companies
considering robots and automation as part
of their manufacturing process. Clearly if technical risk is seen as the
barrier to automation, then this needs
to be highlighted at the earliest stage
and there are several ways in which this
can be addressed. One option is ATG’s
“Virtual Commissioning” software, where
the complete cell or production line
is developed in a virtual environment,
enabling the customer and their engineers
to see exactly how the system will function.
This allows specific events, such as error
messages and recovery procedures to be
tested as it utilises the actual Robot, PLC
and HMI codes and is integrated to the 3D
CAD of the entire system.
Tim Bednall commented: “ It’s unfortunate
that some manufacturers still shy away
from automation and robotics through
either a lack of understanding and / or a
perception of unacceptable technical risk.
There is an immense pool of automation
talent that prospective users can draw
upon. For example, Wood Automation &
Control’s Systems Division has been at the
heart of many multi-robot installations
within automotive facilities, and we are also
regularly involved in delivering innovative
manufacturing solutions that include
In addition to addressing technical risk,
virtual commissioning can save significant
time getting products to market, especially
on larger scale projects, when compared
to the traditional build, develop and
commissioning route.