The 19% of the machine-builder are not limited to special applications but distributed over nine of ten investigated machine-building industry sectors.
Machine-builders having already experiences with robots appear to be the engine of the rising use of robots. These machine-builders account for 68% while machine-builders intending to implement robots for the first time represent only 32% of the change-willing machine-builders.
These factors suggest that the use of robots at the machines is becoming a trend.
Three sectors are focused on the first application of robots in 2011, i.e. rubber/plastics machines, food processing machines and printing/paper handling machines. The robots are set to substitute manual activities, partly facing uncharted waters for the sector as statements by the machine-builders confirm.
Six sectors are expanding the current use of robots in 2011. These sectors are building/glass/ceramic machines, conveyer, wood processing machines, robotics + automation (only mounting and handling machines considered), packaging machines, machine tools.
The machine-builders in these sectors partly stress the trend character of the use of robots.
Selected statements of the machine-builders are contained in the Quest Trend Magazine’s article “Use of robots increasing in the German machinery industry 2011” on http://www.quest-trendmagazin.de/....
How the changes of the use of robots in the sectors are divided into experienced users and first users, the diagram shows.
These results are based on the Quest study „What the machine-builders want to change in automation technology 2011“. It was accomplished in January/February and covers scarcely 250 representative machine-building industry companies. Highlights, table of contents and budget of the study are available as download on http://www.quest-technomarketing.com.