Robots enable higher precision and more flexible electronics manufacturing

HT Choong, Sales and Marketing Manager of ABB's Robotics Electronics business unit, said robots can help electronics manufacturers optimize production and enable them to quickly and flexibly adapt their processes to the relatively short life cycle of consumer products.

From wearables and mobile phones, to home entertainment systems and smart cars, modern consumers have a soft spot for electronics. This enthusiasm continues to grow, with the global consumer electronics market predicted to exceed $1.05 trillion by 2030*.

However, as the electronics industry struggles to meet growing consumer demand, it also faces challenges.

Electronics manufacturing is extremely complex. The high density of electronic components, the complex internal structure, and the small and precise components require extremely high precision in the assembly process. While maintaining high accuracy and repeatability, the entire solution also needs to be fast, efficient, compact and reliable.

At the same time, consumers are still hungry for the latest "essential" electronic devices, which is driving manufacturers to change their production lines to meet the continued demand for new products. Only the most flexible production solutions can cope with changing market demands and safeguard existing investments.

From component manufacturing, PCB assembly (printed circuit board assembly), to finished product testing and packaging, robots support manufacturers at every stage of production in the consumer electronics industry. What's even more striking is that the latest generation of robot programming simulation software allows users to virtually "teach" robots to perform new tasks before changing the actual production line, allowing new tasks and programs to be introduced more smoothly, allowing manufacturers to adapt more quickly and flexibly to their needs.

Seize the opportunity and meet the challenge

Robots are often more flexible than traditional mechanical devices because they can be programmed as needed to perform different new tasks. ABB's offline robotics programming and simulation software, RobotStudio®, takes this adaptability to a whole new level.

RobotStudio's state-of-the-art virtual controller technology allows you to accurately simulate the robot's movement in a real-world environment using an on-screen simulation (or digital twin). This allows manufacturers to build, test, and improve robot deployments in a virtual environment before making any changes to the actual production line, speeding up actual commissioning, minimizing production interruptions, and significantly improving productivity.

Robots enable higher precision and more flexible electronics manufacturing

And the benefits of ABB robotics go far beyond that.

Electronic components are often very small, and any slight mistake in the assembly process can have a serious impact on the yield and impact. The superior accuracy, repeatability and stability of ABB robots all contribute to increased productivity, efficiency and throughput. This is all thanks to ABB's TrueMove and QuickMove motion control technologies, which ensure precise and fast production, saving valuable operating time. In addition, these technologies are programmable and synchronized with external devices, making the production process more flexible.

ABB's groundbreaking high-speed alignment software provides vision servo technology for six-axis robots, further improving the speed and precision of production in the electronics industry. Developed specifically for electronics manufacturing, this state-of-the-art technology reduces cycle times by up to 70 percent while improving accuracy by 50 percent, resulting in superior performance in applications such as high-precision assembly, part alignment, fixture picking/placing of parts, and part mounting.

ABB's robotics portfolio also includes cleanroom versions with a variety of features that work together to minimize the risk of contamination. The cleanroom version of the robot uses a rugged exterior paint that effectively reduces degradation when exposed to cleaning agents and is designed to minimize crevices that can harbor bacteria. In addition, the cleanroom version has a dust filter and a hermetically sealed design to prevent grease, oil, and dust particles from contaminating the product.

ABB also offers robots with ESD (electrostatic discharge) protection.

ABB offers a range of compact robots that are particularly suitable for the manufacture of small electronic devices, helping to save space even further. Among them is the IRB 1010 robot, which has a maximum payload of 1.5kg and provides 0. Best-in-class repeatability of 01mm. The robot has been optimized to be 30% smaller than the previous generation of small robots, with a 10% smaller footprint and more than 20% lighter body, making it easier to install in tight spaces.

As a leading global supplier, ABB Robotics offers global service support and a complete portfolio of robotics, application cells and feature packages designed to simplify and standardize production processes. You can create specific service packages to ensure the highest levels of performance, uptime and longevity for individual robots, application cells or entire production systems. ABB's global support network of more than 1,300 service specialists in more than 53 countries and more than 100 locations ensures that any issues can be resolved quickly and that customers receive expert help and service around the clock.

Robots enable higher precision and more flexible electronics manufacturing

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