Whether you’re an automotive manufacturer, precision watchmaker or need to pack thousands of packages, automation can deliver the speed, safety and accuracy you need to succeed. It’s easy to see the advantages of CNCs and industrial robots. After all, they have been around for decades. In recent years, however, innovations have made them more flexible, easier to use, and affordable than ever. That means that no matter how big or small your business may be, FANUC has automation solutions that can improve your company’s productivity and profits.
Factory automation used to be limited to all-in-one systems that required special builds and extensive investments. But today’s advantages of automation are clear. Modern manufacturing processes must be nimble, and industrial solutions and industrial robotics have evolved for easy updates. That means that instead of mammoth installations, a series of industrial robot and CNC applications work throughout the production or manufacturing process, often fitting within existing factories and footprints.
Today’s large and small manufacturers trust FANUC CNC systems, robotics and factory automation systems. With more than 50 years of experience, FANUC understands how to help businesses develop automated solutions that result in less downtime, increased productivity, better support in downstream production and delivering on targeted production goals.
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Industrial automation relies on machines to complete work quickly, repeatedly and without the need for manual processes such as pushing buttons or flipping switches. The old-school automation strategy was usually an all-or-nothing proposition. Facilities had to invest in large machines that handled one part of the process, sometimes connecting those machines via a complex system of conveyors. Any changes in the production process were left behind.
People ran these machines, calibrating them to ensure accuracy and complete quality control. If any part of the process could not be replicated with the existing technology of pulleys, rollers, conveyor belts, extruders and molds, people were needed to complete the process. In this era, automation challenges were speed, manpower and accuracy. These kinds of limitations posed severe limits to growth and change.
Now when we ask, “What is industrial automation?”, we’re discussing the kind of flexible automation applications that provide industrial solutions and allow companies to automate in ways that make sense for their business. The advantages of automation of this kind include building in stages. Businesses can now bring in industrial robots and factory automation to take over tasks and processes as needed, when and where they can add the most value. Another part to the advantages of automation is that you can now combine people, automation and existing automated processes together in unprecedented combinations.
Automated system examples can include collaborative robots (or cobots) that work side-by-side with employees, handling heavy lifting or tasks that may lead to repetitive stress injuries. Unlike traditional robots of the past, cobots do not need cages and stop safely when coming into contact with people or objects, preventing injuries. These kinds of cobot applications combine the strength and mechanical accuracy of a cobot while humans bring more flexibility, intelligence and sensitivity.
CNC technology is also a critical part of many factory automation strategies. FANUC’s industry-leading 52-year Mean-Time-Between-Failure (MTBF) ensures that machine tools with FANUC controls experience less downtime and produce more parts. Cutting-edge CNC and motion control systems can be used for both high-repetition commodity production and high-precision, advanced-machining techniques.
As industrial robots become more prevalent, entire parts of the production process can now be handled by combining robots with AGV systems and CNC machines. From material loading at the front end to palletizing robots when the product is ready to ship, industrial robots can now increase safety, productivity and efficiency, showcasing the advantages of automation at every stage of production.
The term “industrial automation” covers thousands of types of robots, CNCs and factory automation solutions including vertical machining centers (or VMCs). They’re placed into groups here, but even within each area, almost endless customizations and combinations make it possible to apply automation applications to your processes.
FANUC CNC controls, integrated with drive system hardware, use AI-based adaptive processing like smart contour control, nano-smoothing, and high-speed look-ahead for precision machining. High-response vector drives with optical communication and ultra-high-resolution feedback enable nano-level positioning and optimized machine performance.
CNC General Motion Control supports up to 32 axes with 24-axis simultaneous interpolation for high-performance, multi-axis operations. It enables precise control by position, speed, or torque across applications like presses, stamping, loaders, wire saws, and winding systems.
FANUC CNC turning controls use AI smart functions to support complex machining, with up to 10 machining paths and 32 axes. They enable efficient single-setup operations on hybrid machines, improving threading, grinding, and high-precision Swiss-type turning.
FANUC’s complex machining solutions support unusual shapes and hard-to-machine materials with advanced automation and compensation for nanometer-level precision. Customizable HMI screens allow OEMs to create intuitive interfaces for specialized hybrid machining processes.
FANUC integrated CO2 laser systems feature the latest laser technology. Your laser cutting machine design can be configured and controlled by a FANUC CNC or robot to a range of processes, from high-speed fly sheet metal cutting down to plate processing.
Material removal robotics apply to a variety of applications. Industrial robots offer exceptionally precise ways to quickly cut, grind, deburr, deflash, polish, waterjet cut, route and more.
When you need industrial welding, select from arc welding robots or spot welding robot processes. First used decades ago as a tool for the automotive industry, welding robots now offer more advanced and efficient features to safely meet all your industrial welding needs.
Robotic pick-and-pack systems can handle up to 2,000 items per minute, significantly boosting efficiency in industrial operations. They also reduce repetitive strain injuries, improving worker safety and overall productivity.
Machine tending robots enable automation of large equipment like forges, presses, and injection molding machines for improved efficiency. FANUC robots and software connect, monitor, and optimize processes to increase throughput and overall equipment effectiveness.
Your business may have very small parts and packages to move or palletize or the parts may be very large. FANUC offers a wide range of robotic part transfer and palletizing robot solutions that can move parts from 0.5 kg up to 2,300 kg in payload.
From automotive to woodworking, FANUC offers production-enhancing solutions for almost any application. FANUC Authorized System Integrators for Robotics (ASIs) can help you develop and implement solutions, big or small.
CNC system integrators/rebuilders will review your system requirements and provide a solution created to meet your customized needs. You will find that automation exists in all kinds of companies and throughout almost every industry. In the automotive industry, industrial robots have a long history of improving quality and lowering costs. A manufacturer can handle especially dangerous tasks with welding robots, and ensure a particulate-free coating process using paint robots. On the assembly line, workers might put door insulation in place, and a collaborative robot then presses it firmly into place.
More examples of the application of automation in industries exist in the aerospace industry, where the inspection process is critical. Tight tolerances mean inspections must meet exacting standards. Several inspection procedures can be performed by robots using laser scanners that can detect minute inconsistencies.
Many industrial robot examples can be seen in CPG factories, where FANUC delta robots have been picking and packing for years. Recent innovation includes the use of robots to ice cakes, even piping hand-drawn decorations onto cakes in a conveyor line.
Produce processors come to FANUC to help with flexible automation that includes using articulated robots with gentle, flexible end-of-arm tooling to pack soft fruits like apples and cucumbers into crates.
In the U.S. Department of Treasury, tracking money is crucial. Industrial robot applications include palletizing robots that weigh currency packs precisely, within a fraction of an ounce, to protect against theft. The pallets are then weighed again by material handling robots that load them into sealed shipping containers.
In the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, applications of industrial automation can be seen in delta robots that singulate bottles as they unpack them and place them onto an assembly line. They can also remove light, flexible packets from the line and pack them into boxes. Bottle sizes or box sizes often change in this industry, which means manufacturing applications vary significantly. Through the flexibility of FANUC robots, the robots can be reprogrammed to accommodate changes quickly and easily.
In die and mold industries, automated system examples include using deburring robots that finish metal pieces and smooth away any irregularities. Material removal robots can help with cutting, grinding, deflashing, polishing, waterjet cutting, routering and more.
For more examples of the application of automation in industries, look to construction. Stacking heavy panels of drywall or pallets of lumber used to be slow, heavy work. Today, FANUC supplies heavy-duty palletizing robots that make it possible to stack even very large objects into predetermined configurations.
In watchmaking, industrial robots are focused on precision. Internal watch works must be exactly cut and precisely fit together. The applications of industrial automation include combining the right robots with FANUC CNC programming to help watch manufacturers produce exceptional quality and consistency, offering the highest levels of precision on even the smallest parts.
No matter which industry you represent or which manufacturing applications you’re working with, you’ll find intelligent automation solutions from FANUC that meet or exceed your expectations for customization, ease of use, efficiency, reliability and safety.
