by Gary Mintchell | Jul 22, 2025 | Robots
More robot news emanating from a trade show in Germany. This one concerns additions to the ABB product line.
- Company launches the IRB 6730S, IRB 6750S and IRB 6760 with class-leading performance
- New robots, powered by OmniCore, offer significant performance and sustainability benefits
- ABB’s industrial robot portfolio is the most comprehensive in the market – 11 next generation robot families offering 60 variants
ABB Robotics is expanding its large robot portfolio with the launch of the IRB 6730S, IRB 6750S and IRB 6760. The lineup of 11 next generation robot families comprising 60 variants offers customers new levels of flexibility and choice as well as class-leading performance and sustainability benefits.
The IRB 6730S and IRB 6750S are both shelf-mounted robots and have been designed to support an increase in robot density in the production line. Capable of handling industry-leading payloads of up to 350 kg, the shelf robots can be installed at a height (or on a second floor) and can work with floor-mounted robots to maximize productivity. In addition, the robots provide excellent full vertical and horizontal motion to increase downward reach, making them ideal to optimize the space for die casting, injection molding, and spot welding for use in automotive, foundry, construction, and general manufacturing industries.
The new IRB 6760, a member of ABB’s latest generation of press tending robots, is the highest performance solution to date for mid-sized press lines. When combined with ABB’s carbon-fiber tooling boom, it can boost production output to a market-leading rate of up to 15 strokes per minute or 900 parts per hour. The IRB 6760 press tending robot is recommended for automotive, electronics and general manufacturing industries.
All three new robots are powered by OmniCore, ABB’s advanced controllers for automation, delivering a 20% reduction1 in energy consumption and class-leading performance. For example, the IRB 6750S in conjunction with an OmniCore controller can deliver path accuracy down to 0.9 mm.
The comprehensive lineup of next generation robots has been launched to work in partnership to further optimize plant performance. For example, ten IRB 6730S or IRB 6750S shelf-mounted robots can work in unison with eight floor-mounted IRB 6710~IRB 6740 robots to increase the number of spot welds on a car body from 70 to 80 joints in just 15 seconds, compared to predecessors. In addition, the groundbreaking modular design of the lineup can help reduce total cost of ownership through shared spare parts and service tools.
by Gary Mintchell | Jul 21, 2025 | Robots
Innovation continues in the collaborative robot market in Denmark. And to think I once thought the robot market was mature and not interesting.
Universal Robots (UR), a part of Teradyne Robotics, has presented UR Studio, a powerful online simulation tool built on PolyScope X, UR’s most advanced, open and AI-ready software platform.
UR Studio enables customers, partners and integrators to build 1:1 online simulations of their work cell and simulate every key aspect of their setup. With UR Studio, users can test robot movements, simulate reach, speed and workflow, and calculate cycle time, making it the simplest way to configure an optimized cell, maximizing return on investment before deployment even starts.
UR Studio gives users the ability to interact with UR’s robot portfolio and various components – such as pallets, machines and workpieces – and end effectors, including standard grippers often used with UR cobots. Items can be configured to the user’s preferences with the option of importing elements to mimic the workspace. This ensures the final solution fits within the real-world environment, which results in smoother deployments and faster return on investment. UR Studio also allows for potential issues to be identified early on, reducing downtime and avoiding the risk of costly adjustments.
UR Studio is provided without charge and runs directly on desktop browsers requiring no installation – users simply log into the UR Studio website, to get started. With the intuitive interface, navigation of the simulated environment is effortless with pre-made templates for the most common applications such as machine tending, screwdriving, palletizing and pick-and-place, fast-tracking the building and configuration of the virtual work cell. New application templates will be added continuously.
UR Studio is designed to work hand-in-hand with the PolyScope X software platform, which is built to support simulation from the ground up, bridging the gap between concept and operation.
UR Studio is initially available in English and will soon be released in German, Spanish, Chinese (simplified) and Japanese.
by Gary Mintchell | Jul 18, 2025 | Automation, News
I’m not a huge fan of market studies. My skepticism began at university in my first macro economics class. However, Interact Analysis’s methodology comes closest to winning me over than any others. Here are two recent reports from China-based market analyst Samantha Mou.
Growth Forecast for Machine Vision Market for 2025
- Machine Vision market declined by 3.9% in 2024
- Area Scan camera suffered largest decline
- Market set to recover in 2025, despite Trump’s tariffs
The global market for Machine Vision declined by 3.9% in 2024 as global industrial automation markets struggled due to challenging macro-economic growth, according to Interact Analysis. However, the market intelligence specialist forecasts a return to revenue growth from 2025, despite worldwide uncertainty caused by the introduction of US trade tariffs by the Trump administration.
A contributing factor to the overall decline of machine vision revenues was excess inventory, which customers and distributors worked through in 2024. This led to a decrease in purchases of new machine vision products over the year. Many end customers also performed badly in 2024, with the general slowdown in manufacturing having a significant impact on the worldwide machine vision market.
Despite the decline of the machine vision market and the uncertainty caused by US tariff announcements, Interact Analysis projects market growth of 1.5% over the year to reach $5.7 billion. The general outlook for manufacturing and machinery production is starting to strengthen, driving machine vision growth in 2025 and the market is projected to reach a value of only $7 billion by 2028 (slightly lower than previous forecasts).
Commenting on the latest Machine Vision report, Jonathan Sparkes, Research Analyst at Interact Analysis, says: “Looking ahead, the outlook for 2025 is proving to be much more subdued than previously expected, with additional uncertainty in the market coming through as a result of the threat of tariffs. However, into 2026 and beyond, our belief is the fundamentals for the industry remain strong and the expectation is for a return to levels of growth more inline with our previous projections.”
Global industrial robot shipments declined in 2024, recovery expected in 2025
The global shipment volume of industrial robots in 2024 totaled just over 505,000 units, reflecting a 2.4% decrease compared with 2023. This reduction in shipments, coupled with a decrease in average prices, resulted in a drop in sales revenue of -5.8% year-on-year.
A slowdown in investments in the manufacturing sector has been observed across all major regions. The Asia-Pacific region saw a relatively modest decline in robot shipments at -1.1%, while the Americas and EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) experienced sharper drops of -3.7% and -8.1%, respectively.
However, while 2024 closed on a challenging note, there are signs the market will stabilize. Positive trends in some regional markets during the first quarter of 2025 support the outlook for a gradual recovery.
All three major regions saw robot revenue decline in 2024, with modest growth expected in 2025
Manufacturing recovery signals industrial robot market stabilization
Since the second half of 2024, monthly indicators for the industrial sector in both the US and China have shown signs of recovery. Europe, while still trailing behind, has also begun to show improvement more recently. Although looming tariff uncertainties pose risks to machinery orders in the second half of 2025, current demand trends in major regions suggest these will not lead to a market-wide contraction.
According to the Japan Robot Association (JARA), orders for manipulators and robots rose 32.2% in Q1 2025, with export shipment value increasing by 22.8%. Japanese robot vendors, which accounted for 47% of global robot revenue in 2024 (according to the Interact Analysis Industrial Robot – 2025 report), are often seen as reliable indicators of broader market health.
In this context, global shipments of industrial robots are projected to grow by 5% in 2025. However, due to continued downward pressure on average prices, revenue growth is expected to be more modest, at just 2.6%.
With rising production volumes and intensifying competition, the average revenue per unit (ARPU) of industrial robots declined significantly – from around $31,100 in 2018 to $25,600 in 2024. While there was a temporary price surge in 2022 amid the global supply chain crisis, prices resumed their downward trend in 2023 as demand cooled and competition increased. In 2024, ARPU fell more sharply than in previous years, dropping by -3.6% due to easing inflation and growing competition.
Fierce price competition has taken a toll on manufacturer margins, particularly among non-collaborative robot suppliers, where pricing flexibility has hit its limits. Many emerging brands have aggressively pursued market share at the expense of profitability. This has led to expectations that the pace of price erosion will slow in 2025, with ARPU declining at a more moderate rate of 1%-2% annually through to 2029.
Still, certain product segments may help support pricing. Rising shipments of large-payload collaborative robots and SCARA robots could help stabilize ARPU moving forward.
Collaborative robots (cobots) have experienced the steepest declines in ARPU, largely due to the rise of low-cost, pure-play vendors. In 2023 and 2024, cobot ARPU declined by -6.4% and -4.1%, respectively, with a further -3.5% drop expected in 2025. The influx of these budget-oriented players has shifted the competitive landscape and accelerated price-based competition within the segment.
The global industrial robot ARPU forecast has been reduced further compared to previous projections
The industrial robot market has consolidated over the past few years, with the “Big 4” industrial robot manufacturers – FANUC, Yaskawa, ABB, and KUKA – having long maintained a dominant position. However, 2024 marked a shift toward increased market fragmentation. The top 10 vendors saw their combined market share fall from 64.6% in 2023 to 62.3% in 2024, indicating meaningful inroads are being made by smaller and emerging players, challenging the established manufacturers amid slowing demand and increasing price pressures.
Several factors contributed to this fragmentation:
- Many pure-play and emerging collaborative robot manufacturers successfully transitioned from niche pilots to scalable, general-purpose solutions, driving substantial revenue growth.
- The automotive industry, a traditional stronghold for leading suppliers, saw sluggish demand for robots, disproportionately affecting the Big 4.
- In China, aggressive price competition deterred major international vendors from participating in low-margin tenders, whereas domestic suppliers remained highly competitive.
In summary, 2024 was a year of contraction and strategic realignment in the industrial robot industry. Slowing shipments, declining prices, and intensifying competition challenged both revenue and profitability. However, regional signs of recovery, particularly in Asia and the US, and strong order books from major players like Japanese vendors point toward a likely rebound in 2025.
The industrial robot market is undergoing a critical transition. While 2024 reflected short-term headwinds, the structural trends – automation demand, labor shortages, and advances in robotics technologies – remain firmly in place. The ongoing fragmentation of the supplier base and evolution of pricing dynamics are redefining the competitive landscape, particularly in cost-sensitive segments like collaborative robots.
Looking ahead, we continue to view the market with cautious optimism. As investment cycles pick up and demand stabilizes across key industries, 2025 could mark the beginning of a new growth phase, albeit one characterized by tighter margins and more nuanced competition. Robot manufacturers will need to balance innovation, efficiency, and market agility to thrive in this next chapter.
To learn more, get in touch with Samantha Mou directly: [email protected].
by Gary Mintchell | Jul 15, 2025 | Productivity, Technology
The marketing people at Hexagon tried to set up a meeting with Mike Payne, co-owner and president, Hill Manufacturing in Tulsa, OK, while we were at the Hexagon Live event in June in Las Vegas. We couldn’t connect then, but we finally caught up this week. I wanted the meeting because while talking to product people at the company brings in depth product information, people who actually use the products for daily success bring an entirely refreshing perspective.
Payne graduated from the University of Tulsa with a degree in management information solutions. He and a couple others founded a software company focused on shop floor data collection. The software collected data from automation and sensor devices providing the data to ERP. He eventually left the company pivoting into making investments. After a period of time, he decided he missed manufacturing purchasing Hill Manufacturing from the Hill family around 2017.
Hill Manufacturing is a production machine shop. The company had been in business for about 40 years pretty much making the same parts for the same customers in the same way.
Payne dived in studying Hill’s current processes. He began to bring technology into the processes leveraging it for productivity improvements. Now, he says, it’s more of a tech company that makes parts than a standard machine shop.
The key driver is driving productivity. Like everyone these days, he experienced the pain of finding new employees. Plus, leveraging technology to improve processes enables his current employees to produce more parts. It’s a tough business. Whittling out a little more profit for each part keeps the company healthy.
Staying active on the investment side, Hill had acquired several other machine shops. The company has grown from 22 spindles to 63. With each acquisition, he’s discovered many improvements to productivity and profitability comes with upgrading technology on the machines he’s acquired. Upgrading older machines with new technology provides a new lease on life that he calls a Second Round of Life.
He mentioned AI in the front office. Since I was working on a podcast and essay on AI, I was all ears. Hill uses AI in a couple processes. Using Toolpath application, they take the 3D model from the drawing and use AI with their CNC programming software to do the actual programming. It’s theoretically capable of providing 100% of a program. They’ve discovered that it’s really about 80% good. But that makes his programmers 80% more efficient.
AI is also pretty good at reading G code from the CNC program. They can translate the code to English and enter into their shop floor management software. Workflows, tool setups, and other work instructions are provided to operators to make them more efficient and effective.
They use laser measurement devices from Hexagon (remember Hexagon?) close to the machine for immediate quality feedback. They also use Datanomix, a Hexagon partner, to improve productivity.
Payne searches constantly for new technology to improve processes. He mentioned how new coatings on a drill, for example, improves productivity. Tooling and workholding advances also contribute.
Using technology to improve processes and productivity is the foundation of Hill Manufacturing’s success. He can’t solve problems by adding more bodies, so he fills in with technology. Hill now does 2x revenue with 2/3 of the people. With today’s demographics, Payne provides a great example of intelligent use of technology to solve business problems.
by Gary Mintchell | Jul 11, 2025 | Networking, News
Up at my usual 5:30 am this morning. In place of my usual routine, I joined a Microsoft Teams conference at 6:00 (1300 CEST) for the announcement of two network associations from Germany, each promoting Single Pair Ethernet (SPE), have joined forces for joint marketing, PR, and most likely development.
Several of the major fieldbus associations joined forces recently as companies looked at the costs of overlap. This one appears to be a group begun by HARTING, TE Connectivity, HIROSE, Würth Elektronik, Bizlink, MURR Elektronik and Softing called SPE Industrial Partner Network and one headed by Phoenix Contact, Weidmüller, Sick called Single Pair Ethernet System Alliance.
The groups have been working separately for about six years for the development and promotion of SPE technology.
The SPE Industrial Partner Network e.V. and the Single Pair Ethernet System Alliance e.V., consisting of numerous well-known industrial companies, have been committed to the dissemination and further development of SPE since their inception. Until now, they have operated independently with their own members, working groups and areas of focus. With the growing awareness and relevance of SPE in the market, the networks have come closer together since the Hannover Messe 2025 and now plan to coordinate their activities in the future.
The aim is to bring the strengths and combined expertise of both networks even more effectively to bear in the market and to further accelerate the spread of SPE. The first joint activities are already planned for 2025: both networks will be represented with a joint stand at SPS Atlanta 2025 – Smart Production Solutions USA from 16 to 18 September. Both networks will also play a key role in shaping the SPE Forum on 22–23 October in Ludwigsburg, Germany, with coordinated presentations. The year will conclude with a joint exhibition stand at SPS – Smart Production Solutions from 25–27 November 2025 in Nuremberg.
Both networks have been committed to the development of international standards for SPE since the beginning. Together, they support the SPE connector standard IEC 63171-7 and are consistently driving forward its expansion to include a uniform IP20 SPE mating profile. This standard forms a connecting element for the world of automation and creates a uniform basis for future-proof industrial communication. Other existing connector solutions and the associated international standards remain unaffected and continue to be valid for the numerous fields of application of SPE.
A central focus of the collaboration is the further internationalisation of Single Pair Ethernet. The aim is to make the advantages of SPE visible worldwide and to give users around the globe access to a powerful, efficient and future-oriented network technology.
The numerous member companies of both networks are pooling their extensive expertise and innovative strength to create a strong and sustainable SPE ecosystem. This will enable users worldwide to benefit from practical solutions that pave the way for digitalisation.
by Gary Mintchell | Jul 8, 2025 | Asset Performance Management, Process Control
Process automation companies like sending press releases when they get a new project. This news in interesting on two fronts. One, it details the use of drones and robots for monitoring and maintenance. Two, this details Yokogawa and Shell working together on the project.
Yokogawa Electric Corp. announced that it has formalized a long-term agreement with Shell Global Solutions International B.V. (“Shell”) to integrate and further develop technologies for utilizing robots and drones in plant monitoring and maintenance. Under the agreement, Yokogawa will add an advanced machine vision tool called Operator Round by Exception (ORE), developed by Shell, into its own OpreX Robot Management Core. The enhanced software service will be made available by Yokogawa to customers in the energy, chemicals, and other industries.
ORE is a digital solution that uses machine vision and AI analytics to enable robots to autonomously perform a number of tasks in the operator round process, such as reading gauges and checking for leaks and machinery issues. It is the result of a two-year collaborative effort within Shell, which combined machine vision strategy with deep capabilities in the field of integrity management, remote site inspection, and corrosion management.
OpreX Robot Management Core is a key product in Yokogawa’s robot solutions. The software helps customers maintain their facilities in a safer and more efficient manner by integrating the management of various types of robots that perform plant maintenance tasks conventionally carried out by humans. When connected to a plant’s control and safety systems, the data acquired can be used to issue instructions to robots, thus enabling the first step to be taken toward autonomous plant operations. The addition of Shell’s ORE technology will significantly increase the number of use cases available to customers through OpreX Robot Management Core.
Moving forward, Yokogawa robotics operations will deploy at two Shell facilities as a pilot into how robotics and drones can deliver value through efficiencies in plant monitoring and maintenance.
This collaboration is the first key milestone for Yokogawa working alongside Shell in the collaboration space at the Energy Transition Campus Amsterdam, which was created by Shell in 2022 to provide a platform for collaboration between companies, societal organizations, governments, and universities to work on tomorrow’s energy solutions. Shell and Yokogawa have also agreed to collaborate on an aligned R&D roadmap to further develop and enhance the machine vision technology, ensuring continuous innovation and improvement. This collaboration underscores both companies’ commitment to providing cutting-edge solutions to the energy and industrial sectors.
