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| Source: UR. A Universal Robots UR3 receives position data about products arriving on a conveyor belt, then places them onto one of two racks. |
The first two applications that SKYMECH will work on include “vision pick & place” as well as “machine tending”, two common applications in precision engineering. The vision pick & place application involves robots being equipped with vision sensors, allowing them to identify parts in any orientation and pick them up safely, while the machine tending application enables robots to identify and pick up raw materials, then feed them into another machine for further processing. The robots then respond when the processing is complete, moving the product elsewhere. Such applications could help to improve productivity.
UR opened its Singapore-based APAC headquarters to tap on the increase in demand for collaborative robots across the region in January 2015. Shermine Gotfredsen, General Manager, APAC, UR said, “Together with SKYMECH, we are excited to work alongside EDB and SPRING Singapore to widen the current pool of robot applications as well as encourage local enterprises to enhance their processes using robotic automation. This will make the technology increasingly accessible for companies across many sectors to deploy industrial robots for various functions."
Ralph Foong, Director of Precision Engineering at the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), said, “We welcome Universal Robots’ plan to develop new industrial robot applications for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) using its collaborative robots. This is in line with Singapore’s efforts to partner robot manufacturers and system integrators to develop a diverse range of affordable robotic solutions that can meet the needs of our industries. Through this, we hope to see more companies here adopting robotic solutions to enhance their competitiveness.”
John Lu, Director, Manufacturing & Engineering, SPRING Singapore, said, “The local robotics landscape shows promising growth, especially with the increasing demand for innovative manpower-saving technologies. As the national agency for enterprise development, SPRING Singapore has been supporting local SMEs and startups across sectors to adopt automated solutions. As system integration is an important part of any robotics solution, there is a need to encourage SME system integrators to design new industrial robotics applications. Through this collaborative effort with UR, we are helping local system integrators such as SKYMECH create standard scalable solutions for their end customers.”
SPRING is an agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry responsible for helping Singapore enterprises grow and building trust in local products and services. Its Capability Development Grant (CDG) supports local SMEs in technology innovation and adoption, such as in developing robotic applications. The CDG will cover 70% of SKYMECH’s project qualifying costs.
“This grant will allow us to innovate for development in new areas, explore scalable applications that will help SKYMECH enhance its business propositions as well as enable SMEs in Singapore to adopt these solutions more easily for productivity,” said Heo Yew Seng, Managing Director, Skymech Automation & Engineering.
Interested?
The applications will be showcased in UR’s Singapore office from January 2016. Five new applications are planned every 12 months. This project will also see the launch of a series of technical workshops and seminars that will be open to anyone interested in learning more about new technologies and how to apply them into their everyday work environment. Contact a local distributor to visit the UR Application Showroom or attend seminars and workshops
The Capability Development Grant by SPRING Singapore provides financial assistance to SMEs for building capabilities across key business areas such as technology innovation, brand & marketing strategy development and business strategy innovation. Find out eligibility for the Capability Development Grant
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