News » World News Chinese automation giant pushes into Europe
The Chinese automation giant Inovance is continuing to push into the European market and at SPS demonstrated a selection of its technologies including AC drives, servodrives and motors, motion controls, CNC controllers, PLCs and HMIs. Although still having a relatively low profile in Europe, Inovance claims to lead the Chinese servodrives market (with 3.4m drives sold in 2022) and to be just behind ABB in the Chinese LV AC drives market (with 4.4m LV and MV drives shipped in 2022).
Online community supports automation collaboration
B&R has launched an AI-enhanced online community where users of its automation technology can collaborate and share knowledge. The B&R Community brings together machine-builders, systems integrators, end-users and others interested in harnessing the power of collective automation know-how. Users can connect with a global network of experts and peers, forming a “repository of collective wisdom”.
North American robot sales dropped by 30% in 2023
Following record orders in both 2021 and 2022, sales of industrial robots fell by 30% in North America during 2023, according to the Association for Advancing Automation (A3). North American companies bought a total of 31,159 robots in 2023, compared to the 44,196 they ordered in 2022, and 39,708 in 2021.
LV AC drives sales hit $14bn in 2023, but growth is slowing
More than 20 million low-voltage AC drives, worth more than $14bn, were shipped globally during 2023 as the market continued to expand, new data from Interact Analysis shows. But the pace of growth slowed during the year and is expected to continue to do so in 2024, before steady growth returns to the market in 2025. IA is predicting a CAGR of 4% over the period to 2028, in line with expectations for the manufacturing economy as a whole.
Cyberattacks soar to 13 per second – with OT a key target
There were more than 420 million cyberattacks on the world’s critical infrastructure last year – equivalent to 13 attacks every second, and a 30% increase on 2022 – according to a new report by the cyber-research organisation, Forescout Research.
US firm developing tech to recycle drives wins $30,000 prize
A US company, Molg, which is developing robotic microfactories that can autonomously assemble and disassemble complex electronic products such as variable-speed drives, is one of three winners of ABB’s 2023 Accelerating Circularity Startup Challenge. The competition attracted entries from more than 100 start-ups from around the world. Each winner receives $30,000 to develop their concept in collaboration with ABB.
VSD is first product to win US certification using digital twins
A variable-speed drive is the first industrial product to be certified for use in the US after some of the required tests were conducted using digital simulation. The simulation was verified and validated with physical testing.
Siemens and Sony unveil immersive engineering tech
Siemens and Sony are joining forces to combine a new head-mounted display with Siemens software to create a new technology that will allow designers and engineers to create and explore design concepts in borderless immersive workspaces. The development was unveiled at CES – the Consumer Electronics Show – in Las Vegas this month, where Siemens also announced partnerships with Amazon Web Services (AWS) Red Bull Racing and others, aimed at propelling its vision of the industrial metaverse.
ABB takes control of Bosnian developer to create AI R&D hub
ABB is buying a majority stake in the Bosnian software service provider Meshmind to expand its R&D capabilities in AI, industrial IoT and machine vision. Financial details of the deal have not been released.
ABB buys Swiss AI navigation firm to boost AMR presence
ABB is buying the Swiss AI-based AMR navigation specialist Sevensense, for an undisclosed sum. ABB, which has had a minority stake in Sevensense since 2021, says that the acquisition makes it the leader in next-generation AMRs (autonomous mobile robots) that integrate Visual Slam (simultaneous localisation and mapping) technology with hardware and software. In 2021, ABB bought the Spanish AMR developer, ASTI Mobile Robotics.
LV AC motor sales likely to decline further in 2024
Growth in the global market for low-voltage AC motors market slowed from 16.4% in 2022 to 4.2% in 2023, and will fall back even further in 2024, according to a report by Interact Analysis. It expects worldwide revenues to reach almost $16.6bn this year, with average sales prices for motors increasing by 1.2%.
1,300 robots will help Volvo to cut its energy use by 20%
Volvo Cars to is buying more than 1,300 robots and functional packages from ABB to build its next generation of electric vehicles. The robots, which will be deployed at sites in Sweden and China, will help the car-maker to achieve its sustainability targets by cutting its energy consumption by up to 20% through the use of regenerative braking on the robots and efficient power electronics in their controllers.
75% of industry hit by ransomware attacks in past year
A global poll of 1,100 IT and OT (operational technology) security professionals working in the industrial sectors has found that 75% of them were targets of ransomware attacks in the past year. The independent poll, conducted for the cybersecurity firm Claroty, also found that 69% of the targeted organisations had paid the ransom, and that more than half (54%) of those who paid suffered financial ramifications worth $100,000 or more.
HMS Networks buys Red Lion Controls to boost its US presence
The Swedish industrial communications specialist HMS Networks is buying the US-based automation supplier Red Lion Controls from its UK owner, Spectris Group Holdings, for a cash sum of $345m, on a cash- and debt-free basis. The deal will strengthen HMS’ presence in North America and enable cross-selling of both HMS’ and Red Lion’s products.
Survey of 2k motors shows energy use could be cut by 31%
ABB has analysed the performance of more than 2,000 industrial electric motors in a variety of applications and found that their energy use could be cut by an average of 31% by upgrading them or using better controls. The potential energy savings equate to more than 2.1TWh across the 20-year lifetime of these systems – equivalent to the energy used every year by 1.25 million typical homes in the EU.
