In the business world, we are bombarded with headlines like “Adaptability: the new competitive advantage” and “Adaptability is key to business growth”. However, when it comes to adaptability, how easy is it to adapt modern technologies such as specialty machines and robotics into your business for that competitive advantage and business growth?
Enter: modular robotic design, the future of agile manufacturing. Imagine your assembly line as building blocks. Each block represents a module or sub-assembly, that has a particular function but is designed to be integrated into a larger assembly.
Modules are a cost-effective way to provide manufacturing companies with the flexibility to respond to customer demands with efficiency. Whilst flexibility is increased as modules can be upgraded, downgraded, mixed or matched with different robots.
At the heart of this revolution are machines that move with purpose and precision:
“The global adoption of industrial robots has dramatically reduced costs while increasing capabilities,” explains Dr Wong.
“With 4.3 million industrial robots installed worldwide as of 2023, up from 1.3 million in 2013, these technologies are mature, reliable and more accessible than ever. While China leads with 250,000 installations, Australia has only about 8,000 units – showing significant opportunity for growth.”
Beyond robots, intelligent transport and gripper systems create factory-wide coordination:
This integration creates what Dr Wong describes as ’a dance of coordinated movement’ where products flow smoothly through production without the rigid infrastructure of traditional automation.
The ability to perceive and adapt to variations makes all the difference:
Capral Aluminium’s packing system shows these technologies in action. Their system utilises advanced 3D cameras to identify over 6,000 unique aluminium profiles – even with notoriously difficult reflective surfaces – and then determines optimal picking and packing strategies on the fly.
Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) and other advanced software – once only affordable for large enterprises – now act as the affordable, cloud-based brains behind the operation, tying everything together:
“When we deployed Australia’s first AI-based factory automation system for Capral in 2018, the intelligent algorithm could identify, grasp and nest each unique extrusion shape in real-time – something impossible with traditional automation.
“This concept was also central to Arnott’s revolutionary biscuit assortment system, which precisely processes up to 105 biscuits per second,” explains Dr Wong.
When Legrand Australia needed to maintain local light switch manufacturing in the face of offshore competition, they turned to adaptive automation. We designed a system that handles configurations from single switches to six-gang units with minimal changeover time, doubling production output while simultaneously reducing labour requirements.
Macnaught’s semi-autonomous assembly solution demonstrates how Australian manufacturers can make smaller runs profitable. The system handles over 110 SKUs of industrial equipment while doubling production rates – precisely the flexibility required to meet Australia’s diverse market demands.
“When products can’t be produced cost-effectively locally, they inevitably move offshore. Adaptive automation helps Australian manufacturers compete on factors beyond just labour cost – enabling some operations to be brought back onshore,” notes Dr Wong
Unlike fixed automation, which becomes obsolete when products change, modern systems can be reprogrammed to meet new requirements, protecting capital investments over the long term.
The results speak for themselves.
Capral Aluminium’s implementation of AI-powered robotic packing slashed freight volumes by 50% while accelerating distribution and improving quality.
What’s remarkable is that this was achieved while handling an ever-changing range of 6,000 unique profiles with customisations – precisely the kind of challenging environment where traditional automation would fail.
At an Australian audio technology manufacturer, our innovative assembly system achieved a 95% first-pass success rate, reducing the number of operators required from 2-3 to a single operator.
Look beyond individual machines to the entire process flow. Consider how materials, information and finished products move through your operation. The most elegant solution for one department might create bottlenecks elsewhere.
Successful implementations require meticulous attention to specifications, edge cases and integration points. These can make or break commercial success over time. Rigorous testing and validation before implementation aren’t optional luxuries – they’re essential investments.
Every successful automation project needs a dedicated leader who can bridge technical and business perspectives while driving the project to completion. Without this champion, even the best technology can falter.
“The planning phase has the most influence on final results. The most brilliant project management or technology solution cannot overcome a poorly conceived business case,” explains Dr Wong.
For Australian manufacturing, success isn’t about competing on volume – it’s about leveraging adaptive technologies to create competitive advantages through flexibility, quality and innovation.
Adaptive automation breathes new life into the local industry with systems that adapt as quickly as market demands change, turning traditional disadvantages into our greatest strengths. And the transformation is just beginning.
To explore flexible automation solutions for your manufacturing operations, contact our expert team for a discussion
