The hottest tide of industrial robots is coming. H

As the tide of industrial robots is approaching, how can domestic cables/connectors find a way out

according to the relevant data of the National Bureau of statistics, China increased by 33.7% in 2018. It can be seen that the proportion of industry in industrial production is constantly increasing, and the market demand is increasing year by year. In the future, it will become an irreversible trend for industrial robots to replace manual labor

as a cable and connector manufacturer that provides internal connections of robots, naturally, we will not miss this promising sunrise field. At the same time, industrial robots are also undergoing continuous iterative upgrading of technology, which will inevitably bring great changes to the field of lines and connectors, and will bring revolutionary prospects for progress to the entire connecting device according to the data

industrial robots are booming

the inflection point of demographic dividend is approaching, and the rise of the wave of "machine replacement" has led a large number of enterprises to enter the robot industry. Among them, the performance of the Chinese market is very bright. By 2018, China has become the largest consumer of industrial robots for five consecutive years

according to the prediction of IFR, the sales volume of China's robot industry is expected to maintain a growth rate of about 25% - 30% in the next few years, and the sales volume of China's industry is expected to exceed 150000 units in 2018, which will continue to be the strongest driving force for the growth of the global market. In 2020, the sales volume of working robots in China is expected to reach 270000

Gai Xiaoyu, Minister of Shenyang Xinghua Aviation Appliance Co., Ltd.: "Industrial robots appeared in the 1960s. After decades of development, they have been constantly updated and developed faster and faster. This is due to the development of science and technology, and it is also the demand of the industrial production market. Industrial robots are gradually developing from simplification to complexity and versatility. At present, it has become a trend for machines to replace labor, and I believe that industrial robots will flourish."

he Jiancheng, general manager of Shenzhen xinerchang Electronics Co., Ltd., said: "In terms of the current situation of China's economic development, the change of population structure and the continuous increase of labor costs, many enterprises introduce industrial robots for industrial production and processing. On the one hand, it can improve production efficiency and ensure quality; on the other hand, it can reduce production costs and have obvious advantages in competition; on the other hand, the management is simpler now and can better meet the requirements of future production. Therefore, industrial robots There will be more and more domestic demand. "

however, Chinese robot products are concentrated in the low-end field, and the overall competitiveness is not strong. In the market, local enterprises basically rely on low prices to maintain their own advantages. At the same time, the layout of the four international families in the Chinese market is perfect, and the consultation on equipment can be contacted at any time, and the domestic competition pressure is also great. At the same time, the robot body faces the risk of price reduction, and the market competition is more intense

according to the preliminary statistics of the Ministry of industry and information technology, there are more than 800 enterprises involved in the production of robots in China, of which more than 200 are robot body manufacturing enterprises, most of which are mainly assembly and OEM, at the low end of the industrial chain, with low industrial concentration and small overall scale. According to the data of the industry association, the order volume of industrial robots in Japan in 2017 increased by 27.8% over the previous year, reaching 944.7 billion yen

however, in order to change this situation, Luo Baihui, vice president of Dongguan Association, said that China's "" strategy clearly proposed the development plan of CNC machine tools and robots

zhengyunfeng, general manager of Shenzhen Lihui Motor Co., Ltd., said: "the localization of industrial robots in China is not high, and China still relies on foreign countries for high cutting-edge technologies, such as industrial robot connectors. The support of national policies is of great help to our enterprises, and has advantages in cost control and R & D investment."

tuv Xu Shu, general manager of business product services in Greater China of Rhine, said that as an important part of robots, the market demand for wires and cables showed explosive growth, and wire and cable enterprises will usher in rare opportunities for development and transformation

Yang Siyuan, regional manager of Helian Trading (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., believes that at present, industry 4.0 does have a significant pull on connectors. Compared with 2015, the overall sales of Helian in 2016 and 2017 have nearly double-digit growth, and industrial connectors account for 10% to 15% of the company's total connector revenue

on May 11, 2017, Tyco (TE) even officially launched the "Suzhou factory and customer experience center". Lars brickenkamp, global senior vice president and general manager of te Industry Department, said: "Suzhou factory focuses on meeting the market demand for Internet technology in automation control, mechanical equipment, electricity, energy, railway, intelligent building and other fields."

generally speaking, the cable and connector enterprises entering the field of industrial robots are mainly foreign-funded, but domestic enterprises have targeted this market

Mr. jiangtaike said, "there is still a lot of room for development in the industrial robot market. At present, there are a few enterprises in this field, which can be developed with great value. Soon, many enterprises will invest in R & D and strive for a share."

although there are not many domestic robot cable enterprises at present, a considerable number of factories are interested in getting involved in the robot cable business, and some of them have begun to prepare to enter the market. According to Xu Shu, "some time ago, we visited some large cable enterprises in Hubei and Southeast China and communicated with their R & D departments. Almost every factory has plans to make robot cables, and some are already in the process of project approval."

import substitution road manxiuyuan

driven by the growth of downstream shipments, the amplification of the global supply gap of cable connectors, the gradual maturity of domestic technology and other factors, domestic cable connector enterprises have ushered in rare development opportunities

however, it is understood that more than 80% of China currently uses imported cables and connectors. In this market, foreign enterprises are far ahead. For example, fooconn has successively invested a lot of funds in supporting research and development. At present, its products have been applied to servo drives such as Mitsubishi, Yaskawa, Panasonic, Delta, Sanyo, Omron, Easton, central China CNC, Guangzhou CNC, etc

for this reason, he Jiancheng said, "China has a good congenital condition, that is, our market is large. China will have great demand for development, so the development of connector localization is urgent and grasp the initiative. As far as I know, a considerable number of connector enterprises in China have invested in the research and development of industrial robot connectors."

also has great potential in import substitution, but it is still early. In addition to the price and service life of domestic cables and connectors, there are also problems of imperfect product series and consistency. The performance of some products in the actual use environment does not match the laboratory performance, which hinders the localization process

Wu Changshun, deputy director of China National Cable Research Commission of international power, said: "there are many cable enterprises in China, but there are only a few that really have the ability to develop special cables. Because of the differences in technical strength, development ideas and information sources, most domestic enterprises follow suit and imitate."

Jiang Taike said: "Domestic industrial connectors still have a long way to go. In the short term, domestic industrial robot connectors are still at a considerable disadvantage. At present, the latest technologies are mastered by foreign enterprises, which are largely limited by foreign enterprises. In the long run, we should seek independent development, strengthen research and development, and keep up with the trend. We should treat it as a long-term project, so as to break the current monopoly of high-end connectors by foreign countries Break the deadlock. "

among them, the weakness of raw material technology is one of the keys affecting localization. Shenzhen jintaike environmental protection cable Co., Ltd., which once provided robot cables for Ubisoft and Dajiang, is developing reptile robot cables. Jintaike's director Jin Tao said frankly that jintaike used imported raw materials before. The main reason is that after using domestic raw materials, customers reported defects, and jintaike itself clearly felt the gap

however, although the "import substitution" has a long way to go, the industry is still full of confidence. Cao Kefeng said, "with some guidance and support, the localization route of industrial robot connectors can be taken. In the future, China's demand for industrial robots will continue to increase, and its development will inevitably drive the development of connectors, which will be a great opportunity for domestic connector enterprises."

high technical difficulty and long investment cycle

although cables and connectors are only a small part in the process of intelligent control, they are the foundation part to ensure the overall quality and realize intelligence. As an indispensable part of industrial robots, cables and connectors have become the focus of attention

as the carrier and important part of transmitting power and control ability, robot cable is particularly important for robots. Robot cables are to robots what the central system is to humans. If any link fails, the whole system will not work normally. Due to the harsh environment, the robot cable must have a series of special properties

tuv Yang Hailong, senior project manager of commercial and industrial product services in Greater China of Rhine, said that in addition to the electrical performance, weather resistance and other basic requirements that can match the equipment, the main basic feature of robot cable is that it can withstand long-term bending movement and large angle twisting movement to ensure normal work, which is different from drag chain cable

dr.-ing, executive director of oudou group Dr. Kurt woelfl also said, "without high-quality connectors and cables as the basis of connector technology, digitalization and industry 4.0 are difficult to achieve."

Yang Siyuan said, "industrial connectors have strict requirements for reliability, IP level, working temperature and shock resistance, and even many indicators are required to meet automotive and even military standards. In this way, the original factory needs a longer cycle, more consideration and more rigorous testing when developing new products, and the R & D cost will be high, which will test the comprehensive strength of the manufacturer."

Gai Xiaoyu also said, "the reliability of domestic industrial robot connectors needs to be improved