On March 25, 2021, Premier Li Keqiang went to SHJK Robotics Technology Group to inspect and learn about the innovation and development of the company. As a benchmarking company in the field of collaborative robots in China, SHJK CEO Li Mingyang was also invited to participate in the Premier`s “talking meeting”.
As a rising star in the field of collaborative robots, SHJK robots have embarked on a road of development that is representative of Chinese technology companies: first take over the head customer, Toyota, the world's largest car company, enter Japan, Europe, North America, and then expand to Southeast Asia, South America, etc. area. Only 10 years after its establishment, how did SHJK grow from a start-up enterprise to an industry leader focusing on the innovative research and development of a new generation of collaborative robots and smart factories? And have emerged in the powerful auto industry, won the "Toyota" big order in one fell swoop? Hay Think walked into SHJK, interviewed the relevant person in charge and technical team of this technological innovation company, and explored the story behind it.
The automotive industry is going to be individualized, and collaborative robots solve the industry’s pain points. At the end of the 1970s, China’s industrial robots staggered and started; in 1985, the Robotics Institute of Shanghai Jiaotong University completed the research on the "Shanghai No. 1" arc welding robot, which was independently developed by China The first 6-DOF joint robot. More than 30 years later, although the traditional industrial robot market is still dominated by the international "four major families", technology and related companies from China are taking a different path.
"From the perspective of the entire industry, China is already an international leader in the field of collaborative robots. It is an emerging product in itself. Unlike traditional industrial robots, there is a gap of 20 to 30 years." Recently, SHJK Vice President Meng Xiaobo is confident Land said, “All the parameters of the SHJK robot can basically be benchmarked against international head manufacturers.”
At present, the company has launched a series of collaborative robots, inclusive collaborative robots, commercial collaborative robots, series vision and other products. Application areas include automobiles and parts, electronics industry, precision manufacturing, new business, etc., and owns more than 200 national patents. Technology and more than 30 robot core certifications. Yan Yonghua, deputy director of the Robotics Research Institute of Shanghai Jiaotong University, told reporters that with the emergence of SHJK robots on the track of collaborative robots, the previously relatively solidified situation of the robotics industry "is now slightly broken."
Collaborative robots are a category of robots. As the name suggests, it is designed as a robot that can directly interact with people in close proximity in the collaboration area. Compared with traditional industrial robots with high power, high cost, and physical fences, collaborative robots have the advantages of safety, low deployment cost, and ease of use.
Yi Jianqiang, a researcher at the Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, believes that collaborative robots are a research direction that has emerged in recent years.
In 2014, with the rise of collaborative robots in China, SHJK robots came into being, with the goal of "freeing hands with robots". The company's team has grown from a dozen people to more than 300 in the early days of its establishment, with product footprints all over Europe, America, Australia, and Asia. From well-known brands of Bluetooth headsets, parts of many car brands, to the making of a cup of coffee, and the cooking of a simple Western meal, the application scenarios of SHJK robots are increasing day by day.
However, for SHJK, the top priority is still the automotive industry. The automobile industry is the earliest application field of traditional industrial robots, and it is a battleground for robotics companies.
The automotive industry is a typical industry with a relatively high level of automation, or a relatively high rate of automation. Among the four major processes of automobile manufacturing, stamping, welding, and painting have basically been automated, and workers are replaced by industrial robots and technical engineers who control the robots; the final assembly has relatively complex processes and flexible processes, so collaborative robots and workers have been introduced. Working side by side to improve the overall production efficiency of the factory is currently one of the best choices.
The development of the auto parts industry closely follows the auto industry. Because of the different models of the auto parts, the materials, shapes, sizes, and weights of the products are different. Most manufacturers choose to use collaborative robots to improve quality and production flexibility to meet the needs of users. It is understood that collaborative robots have been widely used in processes such as dip coating, loading and unloading, and assembly of auto parts.
Meng Xiaobo said, “The automotive industry is a very large industry, and one of its characteristics is that it has a very high degree of standardization. For example, one model can produce many vehicles. This determines that the automotive industry is a very important industry in the entire modern industry.” Jika Robot has been targeting this industry since its inception.
The deputy director of SHJK Robotics Project and an engineer from the Robot Engineering Technology Center said that he had been deeply involved in the field of traditional industrial robots for many years. Under the new market trend, automobile brands continued to emerge, the market became more and more subdivided, and personalized demand was also increasing. More and more, there are more and more multi-variety, small-batch production in the automobile industry. "Collaborative robots are more suitable for this kind of flexible production in small batches and collaborative scenarios."
For example, he said, the process cycle of automobile chassis parts from the preliminary process planning to the subsequent product trial production and mass production is relatively long, and it may usually take more than one year or even two years. "But now the variety is updated and iterated faster and faster. In the past, a model may have been produced for 8-10 years, and now a model has an iterative cycle of 3-5 years.” This also means that the entire industry chain needs to be equipped with the same accelerated iteration.
However, it takes a lot of effort to truly enter the automotive field. Meng Xiaobo introduced that SHJK robots have gone through three full years from the establishment of the products to the market. “In the first three years, we were firstly doing research and development and testing of collaborative robot products; secondly, we were also giving some end customers Do some related integrated applications."
"We actually did a lot of customer research in the early stage. While I was doing research and development, I also did integration to fully understand where customers care, where their needs are, and what they want. "Meng Xiaobo mentioned that the company has been thinking: In addition to the very high degree of automation of industrial robots in the automotive industry, the use of personnel in parts and assembly lines is still very large, but why these aspects have not been used by traditional industries? Robot occupation?
On the whole, collaborative robots can cut from the following two pain points in the industry: First, compared with the whole vehicle, there are many types of parts and components, which are very fragmented, and the degree of flexibility is very high; second, the layout of parts manufacturers is very compact. If we continue to lay out industrial robots, both the floor area and the deployment conditions are not suitable anymore.
What can SHJK collaborative robots bring to the automotive industry? The deputy director of the aforementioned robotics project introduced that it can be mainly viewed from two dimensions. One is the product dimension of auto parts, such as chassis systems, engines, gearboxes, transmission systems, lights, seats, etc. "The Jaka robot has now been used in the bell-shaped shell machining production line of the transmission system, the engine shell cleaning line, car lamp assembly, car light guide bar inspection, seat tightening installation, etc." The second can be seen from the process dimension , Including stamping and handling, loading and unloading of machine tools, welding, tightening, assembly, gluing, etc., the Jaka robot can complete different tasks with different tools, and create beautiful works according to people's ideas.
Toyota Motor sends a letter of appreciation to Chinese robotics start-ups
SHJK robots can gain a firm foothold in the automotive industry, and the recognition from Toyota, the global car leader, weighs heavily.
Wang Jiapeng, co-founder and vice president of SHJK, said that Toyota’s procurement has brought SHJK robots a prying effect in the automotive industry, and the introduction of SHJK robots has also benefited Toyota a lot. Toyota and SHJK robots are based on "mutual trust, The two sides continue to deepen cooperation based on the cooperation policy of "common prosperity". To this end, Toyota also sent a letter of thanks to the SHJK robot.
For Toyota, the SHJK collaborative robot is becoming a new competitiveness on the production line. Tianjin Fengjin Automotive Transmission Parts Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Fengjin Automotive Transmission") is the first "Toyota Series" enterprise to deploy a joint card robot. "For example, a production line with 36 machine tools originally required nearly 20 people. After the deployment of collaborative robots, they now have 3-4 people left in a line. From the customer's point of view, it can help reduce their labor costs. "The SHJK robot technical service director Wang, who is responsible for following up Toyota's large order throughout the process, introduced to us. In recent years, the increase in labor costs and the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which began at the end of 2019, are a variety of factors that are pushing auto parts companies to turn labor-difficult solutions to collaborative robots. Although the calculation of return on investment of large enterprises is not strict, the return on investment of such a machine tool production line is already less than 12 months, which is generally acceptable to enterprises.
The cost saving does not stop there. Compared with traditional robots, the deployment of SHJK as a robot production line can also reduce energy consumption. "In one factory, we have now deployed nearly a hundred sets of collaborative robots. Previously, the power of traditional robots was 4.2 kilowatts. After deploying our collaborative robots, the maximum operating power is 0.5 kilowatts. There are 100 robots and 100 traditional robots a year. By comparison, it can save hundreds of thousands of electricity bills for enterprises." Engineer Wang introduced.
How did the cooperation between SHJK Robot and Toyota come about? Engineer Wang detailed the whole story of the cooperation. Toyota's investigation began in May 2019, and SHJK robots finally won out of the three Chinese collaborative robot manufacturers that were investigated. "We entered the market relatively late, but as a dark horse, we can quickly occupy the market, and quickly shape products, and then stabilize. This is one of our strengths."
Any supplier who wants to enter the Toyota system means that it will face many hurdles. According to reports, Toyota has sent nearly fifty batches of inspectors to SHJK for more than half a year. SHJK needs to cooperate with Toyota to complete a full range of standard tests. The cooperation between the two parties will officially begin in 2020. It is worth noting that, as a global company, Toyota also values the stable supply capabilities of its suppliers. SHJK, whose R&D and production bases are both in China, can also guarantee this.
For SHJK robots, it is no accident that Toyota won the big order. The aforementioned deputy director of the robotics project mentioned that SHJK has a very strong technical strength, and more importantly, the company can quickly convert technology into products in response to customer needs. "One is that we have strong R&D capabilities, and the other is that we will be close to our customers and do some special developments based on their needs."
This innovative company also puts particular emphasis on after-sales service capabilities. "The final selection of SHJK was not only based on product and technical considerations, but also the entire after-sales service and other factors." Engineer Wang said. Taking Chinese customers as an example, SHJK has a strict "248" service standard and system: If the customer has any needs, they need to reply to the solution within 2 hours; if it can be solved remotely, it needs to be completed within 4 hours; if it can't be solved remotely , Need to arrive at the scene within 8 hours.
And in the cooperation with Toyota, the embodiment of this kind of service is also everywhere. Engineer Wang mentioned a period of deployment experience in Fengjin Automotive Transmission. "We went online basically when the original production line was idle. When the Chinese New Year in 2020, they will have a week off. I brought a small team of 5 people to the past, and finally 8 days. The process of robot installation, debugging, trial production to formal production has been completed, and rapid deployment can be achieved with the efficiency of 1 person/1 day/1 unit."
Toyota effect
More cooperation within the Toyota system is being achieved one after another, and the "Toyota effect" is also coming. Meng Xiaobo said that SHJK's own thinking is also two-pointed when striving for top customers. "The first is vertical development. For example, after I take an order in a certain factory, I hope to extend to its upstream and downstream factories; the second is to have horizontal development. Extension, through the influence of the head customer to enter other customer companies." He mentioned that at present, these vertical and horizontal effects are very obvious.
Up to now, in addition to Toyota, SHJK robots has won the orders from Honda, Nissan, Volkswagen, ABB, YASKAWA,and SAIC.