Digitisation is not a cakewalk: KUKA

By OEM Update Editorial June 29, 2017 5:18 pm IST

Unless we have stable, clean and reliable electrical supply, it is not going to be easy for the companies to reap the benefits of digitisation.

Being a specialist in the field of robotics and automation technologies, KUKA delivers products and services that are designed for the smart factory. Raj Singh Rathee, Managing Director, KUKA Robotics India highlights the pain points for Indian manufacturing sector in terms of adopting digitisation.

Importance of adopting digitisation in manufacturing process
Digitisation is a tool to enhance the productivity by providing easy access and evaluation of large amount of data collected from various sources. It also gives manufacturers a better insight into the manufacturing process and possibilities to look for improvement areas. Overall digitisation has an influence on every conceivable factor – be it quality, consistency or innovation. Digitisation also improves the demand planning of components or material from the suppliers.

Not an easy task!
At a broader level, apart from a few consumer goods and automotive OEMs, most of the Indian manufacturers are not really prepared for digitalisation at this moment. It could largely be due to the fact that they are internationally active companies. They understand the need to stay at a higher level to compete in the international markets. The small- and medium-scale are not yet ready to embrace digitisation as the industry lacks basic infrastructure like power supply. Any interruption in the power supply results in complete halt of production line operations with even the best machines in use. Unless we have stable, clean and reliable electrical supply, it is not going to be easy for the companies to reap the benefits of digitisation.

KUKA products designed for ‘smart factory’
KUKA Robotics is the global technology leader of industrial robots. Being a specialist in the field of robotics and automation technologies, KUKA delivers products and services that are designed for the smart factory.

The company combined robotics and system expertise from KUKA Systems with industries, robotics and production logistics from the Swisslog. ‘Smart Factory’ is the collaboration involving all of the KUKA companies. Of course, not to forget the co-operation with other technology leaders as our partners.

Their cloud-based software solution like KUKA Connect enables linking of all robots, cells, and logistics of the smart factory. Thanks to the standardised interface of the KUKA Smart Production solution, it is possible to observe and analyse the status of the smart factory and detect any potential malfunctions or imminent failures in good time. This reduces the costs of production by minimising downtimes and this is just one of the numerous other benefits.

Embracing digitisation in manufacturing process
KUKA’s manufacturing facility in Germany may be considered as a constantly evolving ‘smart factory’ where the technologies are used not only for production of robots but also for evaluating impacts of digitisation on various manufacturing processes or steps. This facility is well connected to a level that the entire manufacturing process can be monitored at every stage. Most components have their own unique serial numbers and it is recorded at every phase of production.