Industrial robots are actually standard equipment in modern factories. Without these automation devices, it's embarrassing to call oneself an intelligent factory. We know that industrial robots have been very mature since the 1950s, and intelligent people have maximized the use of this human helper. Their presence can be seen in large factories, small workshops, high-end industries, and labor-intensive industries.
The current robot market is diverse, with high-end robots and cost-effective robots such as the "rural encirclement city route" (such as the BORUNTE). Prices range from tens of thousands to tens of thousands, with some brands offering premium prices and others having strong supply chains. For consumers, it is difficult to judge the level of this industrial robot. What we're going to talk about today is the cost issue of robots.
The cost of contemporary industrial robots has become increasingly transparent, especially for the core components of robots: motors, reducers, and servo drives. The prices of these three major components are not particularly inflated.
1. Overview of the Cost Proportion of Core Components
The composition structure of industrial robots is relatively simple, including three major systems: body, drive system, and control system. Among them, the ontology is the executor of robot operations, the driving system is responsible for providing power to the robot, and the control system is the brain of the robot, responsible for issuing instructions. These three components make up the industrial robot.
In terms of the cost proportion of these three components, the main body and other parts account for approximately 30%, while the core components of the robot (reducer, control system, and servo system) account for 70% of the total cost of industrial robots, with reducer accounting for 35%, servo motor accounting for 20%, and controller accounting for 15%.
The importance of motors, reducers, and servo drives
① Servo motor
A servo motor is an actuator that achieves precise control of mechanical components through a closed-loop control system. It converts electrical signals into torque and speed, which are used to drive mechanical components to operate. Servo motors usually consist of three parts: the motor body, encoder, and controller, which can achieve high-precision position, velocity, and acceleration control. Simply put, servo motors convert electrical signals into kinetic energy to drive the arms of robots to move.
② Gearbox
The main function of the reducer is to convert the high-speed low torque output of the servo motor into the low-speed high torque output required by the robot joints. For example, through mechanisms such as gear transmission or planetary transmission, the gearbox can reduce the high-speed rotation of the input shaft to a speed suitable for robot joint work, while increasing the torque of the output shaft, thus meeting the power and accuracy requirements of robots when performing complex tasks.
At present, industrial robot reducers are mainly divided into two categories: RV reducers and harmonic reducers.
③ Servo drive
A servo driver is a controller used to control servo motors, also known as a "servo controller" or "servo amplifier". It is mainly used in high-precision positioning systems to precisely control servo motors through position, speed, and torque, achieving high-precision positioning of transmission systems. The servo drive is a part of the servo system, and its function is similar to that of a frequency converter acting on a regular AC motor.
Why is there not much water?
These components are the core components of the upstream of the robot industry chain, with a high cost proportion and relatively stable gross profit margin, making them a key factor affecting the overall cost of robots. The price and technological level of these components directly affect the composition and transparency of the overall cost of robots. At the same time, the promotion of localization and technological progress are gradually reducing the cost of these components, further enhancing cost transparency.
① Price transparency
The technology of reducers and servo motors is relatively mature, and the market competition is fierce, with relatively stable prices. In addition, with the advancement of localization, domestic manufacturers have gradually mastered some core technologies, further reducing costs. For example, the localization rate of domestic enterprises in the field of reducers is gradually increasing, and their dependence on imports is decreasing, which makes the price of reducers more transparent.
② Localization and Cost Reduction
The promotion of localization process has also led to a gradual decrease in the cost of these components. With the increase of localization rate, the cost of reducers and servo motors will significantly decrease. The technological accumulation and quality management in areas such as reducers and servo motors in China have been improved, which is expected to further reduce costs.
③ However, it should be noted that although the hardware cost transparency of industrial robots is high now, research and development investment (such as algorithm optimization and control systems) is still an implicit cost.
The cost of industrial robots is actually quite transparent, but this does not mean that there is no competition between different robot brands. In the future, manufacturers will compete for supply chain systems, software systems, and service systems.