January 2022

n NEWS January 2022 www.drivesncontrols.com 6 THE UK’S INDUSTRIAL ROBOT density – the number of robots per 10,000 manufacturing workers – climbed from 71 in 2015 to 101 in 2020, according to figures released by the International Federation of Robotics. Although this represents a growth rate of 77% over the five years, it is far behind the global average, which almost doubled from 66 to 126 over the same period. It puts the UK in 24th position in the global league of robot densities, behind countries including Slovenia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. According to the IFR, the exodus of foreign labour from the UK after Brexit increased the demand for robots during 2020, and it expects this situation to continue. The modernisation of the UK manufacturing industry will also be boosted by the availability of the “super-deduction” tax incentive between April 2021 and March 2023, during which time UK companies can claim 130% of capital allowances as a tax relief for plant and machinery investments. The global leader in robot density remains South Korea, which has held this position since 2010. Its density of 932 robots per 10,000 workers is more than seven times higher than the global average, and has been increasing by 10% on average every year since 2015. The world’s second-highest robot density (605) can be found in Singapore, where densities have been growing by 27% on average every year since 2015. Japan is ranked third with 390 robots per 10,000 manufacturing workers. In 2020, Japan’s robot-makers built 174,000 machines, representing 45% of the global total. In China, the robot density rate rose from 49 in 2015 to 246 in 2020, placing it in ninth position globally. Five years ago, it was 25th. Europe’s most automated country, Germany, ranks fourth globally with 371 robots per 10,000 workers. It accounted for a third of the industrial robots sold in Europe during 2020. An estimated 38% of Europe’s operational robots are in Germany. “Robot density is the barometer to track the degree of automation adoption in the manufacturing industry around the world,” says IFR president, Milton Guerry. UK robot density rises by 77% in 5 years, as the world doubles p The Italian data acquisition specialist Datalogic is has launched a new brand, Datasensing , which will combine its sensor, safety and machine vision businesses with those of the industrial sensor manufacturer, MDMicro Detectors . It will offer technologies including optoelectronic devices for machine safety, andmachine vision systems for smart manufacturing. The move will strengthen Datalogic’s position in the industrial automationmarket and is expected to generate a turnover of €76m in its first year. p A Government-funded study by Less CommonMetals (LCM) has investigated the possibility of establishing a UK operation to produce NdFeB (neodymium iron boron) rare-earthmagnets, instead of relying on imports, mainly from China. Such a plant could be built by 2024 and could produce powerful magnets for use in electric vehicles, wind turbines and other applications. p Siemens Digital Industries Software and AmazonWeb Services (AWS) have expanded their collaboration which combines Siemens’industry expertise with AWS cloud services to help industrial companies accelerate their digital transformation in the cloud. The partners plan to drive adoption of Siemens’Xcelerator as-a-service and make its portfolio of software, services and application development more accessible, scalable, and flexible. p GKNAutomotive is investing £3.5m in an Advanced Research Centre which will develop next- generation eDrives to power future electric vehicles. It is partnering with the University of Nottingham and Newcastle University to accelerate innovations, focussing on the development of ultra-high efficiency drives. The Centre will be co-located at three engineering facilities. p A London CNCmachining services provider called Get It Made is offering £10,000 grants to manufacturing start-ups led by entrepreneurs aged under 30. The grants are open to start-ups launched in the past three years with fewer than 25 employees, as well as university-based research projects. The grant will provide manufactured parts (to the value of £10,000) as well as access to Get It Made engineers. https://get-it-made.co.uk/ grants/under-30s NEWS BRIEFS FOR THE PENULTIMATE Talking Industry online panel discussion of 2021, DFA Manufacturing Media teamed up with the robot manufacturer Kuka to organise a discussion of rotary friction welding – an efficient, cost-effective means of joining a variety of materials. Experts from Kuka, Thomson Friction Welding, American Friction Welding and TWI took part in a lively discussion of the topic, chaired by Drives & Controls’ consultant editor, Andy Pye. A video of the session can be found on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFd3oCAtm2c Industrial robot densities around the world in 2020 Source: IFRWorld Robotics 2021 Talking Industry: Friction Welding Talking Industry