In a move that strengthens robotics and manufacturing in the Pacific Rim, ABB Australia has just opened a regional robotics packaging application hub in Singapore.
Reinforcing ABB?s position in robotics in Southeast Asia, the new hub provides value-added engineering solutions in industrial manufacturing processes tailored for the Asia market, a trade publication says.
ABB Robotics, an RBR50 company is a public company with a focus on industrial and manipulator robotics; its headquarters is in Zurich in Switzerland.
The new hub will serve as a live learning and collaborative environment through research and problem-solving from real industrial cases. ABB will also collaborate with training industry partners and educational institutions to help develop highly competent engineering talents to serve the region, accelerating the growth of technical competencies locally and regionally.
ABB?s head in Singapore and South Asia, Haider Rashid says robotics automation is revolutionizing the face of manufacturing and that ABB will share its knowledge to help companies become more cost-competitive while meeting the highest standards of productivity and quality.
The hub?s establishment was part of the reason for the convening of a July 23 symposium to raise awareness of robotics’ significance for business in Singapore.
The Singapore Manufacturing Federation reported that close to 50 leading industry players participated to learn more about the current and future trends of robotics technology, including the keynote address by Tay Jih-Hsin, Chairman of SMF?s Electrical, Electronics and Allied Industries Industry Group (EEAI IG).
?The hub will be a platform to develop novel robotics manufacturing solutions in hardware and software to benefit growing industries such as food and beverage, pharmaceutical, consumer electronics, and solar photovoltaics,? wrote the Federation?s Kiki Zheng.
According to Lim Kok Kiang, Assistant Managing Director at the Singapore Economic Development Board, the nation?s Future of Manufacturing initiative aims to position the country as the leading advanced manufacturing hub in the region.
The Board wants the manufacturing sector to co-create and implement future manufacturing solutions in Singapore, leveraging technologies such as advanced robotics and automation, additive manufacturing and ICT solutions. By setting up its Regional Robotics Packaging Application Hub, ABB believes that it has given a major boost to the country?s advanced manufacturing ambitions.
An extension of ABB?s Robotics Application Center that was set up in 2010, the new 600m^2 workshop features demo units for picking, packing and palletizing processes. The facility will allow end customers, channel partners and ABB to run trials with actual products, assemble robotics systems and conduct factory acceptance tests before delivery.
ABB?s contactless robotics technology allows a high degree of hygiene, accuracy and consistency in manufacturing. The robots? speed and flexibility allow fast changeover in products to meet customization demands, while installation in hazardous environments without lighting, heating or air-conditioning enables businesses to be more efficient in their energy usage, also reducing employee exposure to potential hazards and risks.
