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AutomationJunkie Newsletter Nov 15
irreverant take on robotics and automation
Thomas Norris
November 15, 2022
It's Beer Thirty
Automation is like a box of chocolates, sometimes you get a mouthful of crap
📣 Topics of the Day 📣
Automation isn't for everyone
What's up with the sales gap between robotics companies?!
You're the apple of my eye, robotic eye!
Tech of the Day: Cobot
⭐ NEW SECTION!!! Job Posting of the DAY! ⭐
Dog robots(Boston Dynamics) are so yesterday
Automation isn't for Everyone
Not every company can afford to automate and sometimes the companies that can afford to are just too damn cheap or ignorant to do so. I've met with tons of people to discuss automating their facilites. Sometimes I meet folks that are all in and understand automation and the real value it brings to their company. Other times, well it's just a meeting with someone checking off a box because their boss told them to look into automation. For the latter...stop calling in salespeople to give them busy work. Nobody has time to mess with your pet projects. Unfortunately big companies sometimes suck to work at. You're measured on the hours you put in as an engineer and not the value you bring so you put in the time but you don't bring the heat.
So bring it. Don't just do a job, instead become a student of the automation craft. Be that expert everyone turns. This..makes..your..job..fun. Companies looking to automate need creativity not conformity. And if you're at a company and don't feel valued and fulfilled, find another job because there are businesses out there looking for you, Mr. Automation nerd. We love working with companies that want to be on the cutting edge, willing to take risks, and above all want to show their competitors who's got the coolest toys. For these companies, automation is the future and they are heavily investing in it.
Do you see the gap?
So stumbled across a pretty interesting article the other day when I was researching my Tech of the Day that got me thinking. Why the hell is there such a disparity between robotics companies?
FANUC $600B+ company..Yaskawa $448B..ABB $28B
Seriously? Thats a 33% gap between the top 2 manufacturers. You could fit all of the other robotic arm manufacturers in that gap. Mind blowing numbers when I see reports that the global automation market is estimated in the $80B ish range.
I know the reason why, because I'm smart. FANUC, a japanese company has been at it for a long time in a market (Japan) that adopted automation early. The irony is that the US helped build up Japan's manufacturing dominance yet the first non Japanese entry is 3rd. FANUC built a name for itself in the asian market but is also a dominant force in the US market and unless ABB steps up to the plate will continue to be the undisputed champion. NOPE... WRONG ANSWER. It's cause whoever or whomever (using both cause I don't feel like checking which is right) wrote the report totally messed up. They got their currencies messed up and were comparing JPY and USD values in the same list. FANUC does NOT have revenues north of $600B USD and Yaskawa doesn't even get close to the $448B mark.
ABB $28.9B USD, FANUC $4.6B USD, $3.8B USD. Approximately.
This report sucks and should have been fact checked! Link below..
Tech of the Day: COBOTs
COBOTS are f'n awesome and you should get one!
Ok so what problem do cobots solve, let me count the ways... but I'll spare you. It's simple. Buying and implementing a robotic arm used to take a small fortune for hardware, expert robotic implementation teams, software, etc. AND the projects would take forever! Buy a robot and if you're lucky in 1 year it's up and running.
Not since the cool kid named cobot came to town. Want to get a robot up and running in a few hours to days? No problem. Cobots were designed to make robots easy to implement and relatively safe for humans to interact with. These little guys are great for probably the 80% of repetitive human tasks that exist in manufacturing. Machine tending is a great example. Why pay an operator to load a part in a machining center and then unload it? Bobby Joe can just sit on his rear and be the master of his cobot minion.
This isn't a plug but the guys that deserve credit for making cobots main stream are Universal Robots out of Denmark. They've got over 1K employees making these bots and have basically created a magical hub of robotic nerds companies in Odense.
Buy this companies stuff Plug of the Day
I used to sell my time for $2.35 an hour. Now I trade it for random stuff to add to my collection of hoarded items. This week's newsletter is brought to you by SteelGuard Safety Products. I asked them for $2,500 but they said we'll give you a goat and a baseball. DEAL!!! These guys make all kinds of stuff that you walk around all day long. Welding curtains, machine protection, room dividers, tarps, welding blankets, and a bunch of other stuff I didn't know existed.
Want your company to be featured? Sign up HERE
You're the apple of my metallic, non-squishy, camera eye
The industry thats quietly and creepily adopting automation is agriculture. Those farmers are pretty smart. They buy up all the land use it up, then turn around and sell it for a fortune so developers can put up matchstick houses. But now they're getting into robots too.
Apple farmers and packers are using something called the Aporo Produce Packer. I'll call it an APP for short. This right here is the type of automation that makes COMPLETE sense. Why pay for a worker to pick up an apple from a conveyor belt and place it into a cardboard carton? That's just dumb. This machine does it for you. Feed the apples and cartons to the unit and BAM you have apples ready to ship.
Tuesday is tool day! Who doesn't love a good tool? My buddy Mike is my favorite tool.
If you want to help us pay the bills check out our directory of robotics and automation companies.
JOB POSTING OF THE DAY
Nexus Pharmaceuticals is hiring a Senior Automation Engineer for their Wisconsin facility. If you like cheese and crazy cold winters this place is for you. All you need is a drivers license and an associates in engineering. Apply online or reach out to Zoe Bost
Have feedback? Not sure that I'm looking for it. If you have something constructive you can catch me on Twitter. @robotsrcoming
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