UK robot facts 1997: annual report of UK investment in robot automation in manufacturing industry

Industrial Robot

ISSN: 0143-991x

Article publication date: 1 August 1998

87

Keywords

Citation

(1998), "UK robot facts 1997: annual report of UK investment in robot automation in manufacturing industry", Industrial Robot, Vol. 25 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.1998.04925dab.001

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 1998, MCB UP Limited


UK robot facts 1997: annual report of UK investment in robot automation in manufacturing industry

UK robot facts 1997: annual report of UK investment in robot automation in manufacturing industry

Keywords Automation, Manufacturing, Robots

Overall

The total number of robots installed in the UK in 1997 was 1,792. This is an increase on 1996 of 60 per cent. 1996 was a record year and therefore this result in 1997 is outstanding. In addition, 638 machines were sold for export, which is 2.8 times the previous year. Therefore the activity of the robot industry in the UK has increased significantly over the last couple of years with a total of 2,430 machines being handled, a growth of 77 per cent over 1996.

The total accumulated sales of robots reached 12,975 units. The BRA started collecting statistics in 1978 and obviously some of the early units are no longer in service. It is not currently possible to determine how many robots are retired each year. It is also true that over the years since 1978 not all robot installations have been counted and therefore it is difficult to obtain a true measure of the actual number of robots in use in UK industry.

In an attempt to estimate the true robot population, the United Nations, in their statistics, use a measure of operational stock. To produce this measure it is assumed that all robots installed over 12 years ago have been retired. The UK operational stock for 1997 would therefore be 9,958 machines, which is an increase of 8.8 per cent from 1996.

Industry analysis

The automotive industry continues to be the most significant user of robots with 71 per cent of the installations for 1997. The number of installations for 1997 shows a 114 per cent growth over 1996. The automotive industry consists of the automotive plants and the component suppliers. The installation split between these two sectors was 832 and 442 machines respectively.

This compares with 381 and 215 installations for 1996. The growth in 1997 was 118 per cent for automotive plants and 106 per cent for the automotive component sector.

If the automotive and automotive component installations are removed from the results the total installations in all other industries was 518 in 1997 and 520 in 1996. Therefore the growth that occurred in 1997 was in overall terms due to the automotive industry.

Within the other industries there has been some changes with some sectors growing and some declining. It is difficult to determine any significant trends given the relatively small numbers of installations per sector. One point of interest is the growth of installations in education and R&D from 14 in 1996 to 29 in 1997.

Application analysis

Spot welding is the largest application with a 48 per cent share. This application has shown the most significant change since 1996 with a growth of 152 per cent. The number of arc welding installations also increased in 1997 by 92 per cent. This reversed the decline of the last few years. The large growth in these sectors equates to the large growth in the automotive sector.

The number of installations for water jet and laser cutting shows significant growth, which perhaps indicates these processes are becoming more widely used. As has been discussed above education and research also show significant growth albeit from a very low base. There is also continuing growth in the handling, palletising and machine, press load applications. This appears to reflect the continuing need to remove dependence on operators for handling.

For further details and to obtain a copy of the complete report please contact: BRA, Aston Science Park, Love Lane, Birmingham B7 4BJ, UK. Tel: +44 (0) 121 628 1745; Fax: +44 (0) 121 628 1746. Internet: http//www.bra-automation.co.uk; E-mail: bra@globalnet.co.uk

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