ABB local R&D brings world-class achievement, improving the technology strength of “Chinese Design”
Shanghai, October 12, 2009 –ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, recently announced its Robotics R&D Center in Shanghai has successfully developed ABB’s smallest ever industrial robot: the IRB 120. The new robot marks the Robotics Division’s latest R&D achievement in China. It consolidates the company’s technology leadership in the global robotics market as well as addresses the increasing customer demand from various industries in China and around the world.
Tormod Gunleiksrud, Head of ABB Robotics Division, North Asia Region and China, said, “The introduction of the IRB 120 once again demonstrates the strong R&D strength of ABB’s Robotics business in China. These locally manufactured robots help our extensive domestic and overseas customers to increase productivity and quality while improving the overall strength of ‘Chinese Design’. It also further reflects our business philosophy – ‘In China, for the world’ ”.
As the smallest ever robot from ABB, the IRB 120 is also the company’s fastest six-axis robot, featuring an agile, compact and lightweight design. Despite a small size and weight of only 25kg, it offers exceptional functionality and delivers world-class performance with a reach of 580mm and a picking cycle reduced to 0.58s.
With superior performance in materials handling and assembly, it is ideal for a wide range of industries, including the electronics, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, medical and research sectors. As a cost effective application, it is also the perfect solution for handling and assembly of small parts, especially where space is at a premium. In addition, ABB has simultaneously released the IRC5 Compact controller for the new robot, offering best in class path accuracy and motion control.
The Robotics Division is one of the five mainstays of the ABB Group. In 2006, ABB relocated its Global Robotics Business headquarters to Shanghai. Established in 2005, its Global Robotics Research Center in Shanghai is the division’s third such R&D facility after those in Switzerland and Sweden and has yielded numerous R&D achievements and awards in China, including the world’s first Software Product RobotWare Plastics Mould and the release of its RobotStudio Machine Tending PowerPac, for which it received the 2008 Ringier Technolgy Innovation Award for the Plastics Industry. By the end of 2008, the center had filed 14 patent applications and published 30 papers in China. In addition, the center has jointly boosted local innovation by partnering with a number of leading universities, including Shanghai Jiaotong University, Tsinghua University, Zhejiang University, and the Harbin Institute of Technology. The ABB Robot Painter System, jointly developed with Shanghai Jiaotong University, has won high recognition from the industry and is permanently displayed at the Shanghai Science & Technology Museum as an exemplary case of local innovation.
ABB also opened its Flexfinishing Regional Application Center-Asian in Shanghai in 2008. This May, ABB Engineering (Shanghai) Ltd. inaugurated its brand new production base in Shanghai, doubling ABB’s robot manufacturing capacity in China.
To date, ABB is the only multinational company to produce industrial robots in China, operating a full range of business activities including manufacture, R&D, sales, engineering and services. In early 2009, it commissioned the country’s first large scale robot-powered fully automated press line for China National Heavy Duty Truck Corp (SINOTRUK), redefining the industrial benchmarks of heavy truck manufacturing. ABB’s locally developed and manufactured robotic products and systems are shipped around the world to equip the production lines of leading manufacturers, including the motor production line of Volvo Cars in Europe, the arc welding robot workstation of Tata Motors Ltd. in India, and the robot paint line of Flextronics in Malaysia.
As the pioneer and global leader in robotic technology, ABB invented the world’s first industrial robot in 1974, and possesses the broadest range of robotics, technology and service. ABB has installed more than 160,000 robotic units, making it the leading industrial robotics supplier with the largest robot installation.
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 120,000 people. ABB has a full range of business activities in China, including R&D, manufacturing, sales and services, with 15,000 employees, 27 joint ventures and wholly owned companies, and an extensive sales and service network across 60 cities.