Covid-19 Accelerated The Elimination of Humans and Manufacturing Automation

Perspective By: Gil Mayron, Founder and CEO of Cobot Nation (www.cobotnation.com) 

The automation of typical human repetitive tasks in manufacturing is taking over at an unusually rapid pace. Here’s why the virus only accelerated what was already known about the elimination of humans in manufacturing automation.

Manufacturer Limitations:

Manufacturers have certain limitations when it comes to implementing new ideas, new technology or even simple upgrades. This may be a partial reason as to why it has taken them so long to naturally adopt simple automation techniques such as CNC machine tending automation or continuous painting and polishing - to name a few.

The elimination of humans due to physical automation is not only because of the manufacturer's views on ethics and safety, motives and throughput, return-on-investment, or the obvious potential human error and sickness, but also because of their clients and the sudden stop of orders as a result of this virus. In this scenario, the virus accelerated the adoption of collaborative robots as a fast-paced and suitable source of increased production output and safety.

Creative Offerings: 

Automation needs to be accelerated through creative finance offerings, new collaborative robots and stunning integrated cloud software and data solutions.

In finance, we have yet to see anyone really take a look at the price point and value-add to prepare a package that is affordable and easily implemented. These specific finance offerings could include tying-in sales to lease options, step-up financing options and other prolonged combinations.

Furthermore, to get to more automation adoption, we will likely need different collaborative robots, ones that may not be of the robotic arm nature. Take painting for example: there is not much need for a customer to buy a full Cobot solution with base and custom end effector when the alternative can be a bit more crude but do just as good a job. In this example a simple actuator on a rail would also complete the application with potentially greater output at a much lower scaleable cost!

Lastly, with all that hardware and data points, new cloud-based software which allows you to access your data and adjust manufacturing speeds real-time will be needed. Included with this will be additional ease of programming solutions such as ready-made apps that allow for individual robot functionality with little to no knowledge from the customer. If you wanted to start a fully automated coffee shop with robots preparing and pouring drinks, at some point all that data will be available and the process will become commonplace and easier to manufacture and franchise. 

Long-Term Vision:

The end goal, when all is said and done in manufacturing automation will be much more significant in relation to what we have seen over the years in other technologies, such as 3D printing. 

The end goal will be full lights-out manufacturing. Meaning, the full ability to leave your manufacturing facility and know that mostly cobots and robots are taking care of the work all the way through to logistical release of the product to the customer. The production would speed up and slow down according to real-time data points, such as sales and supply.

In Conclusion:

While Covid has accelerated manufacturing automation, the manufacturers who do not act accordingly will find themselves at least six months behind their nearest competitor with even the slightest amount of automation. Just think about the pre-sales process and amount of engineering conversation that goes into it. We have seen this time and time again on some of the simplest tasks like filling a pillow or flipping a bin of strawberries on to a conveyor belt. The company who acts first has an exponential lead over any competitor.

Along with that, Cobot Nation decided it was time to come to market with a comprehensive manufacturing automation plan. This affordable and all-inclusive price is unseen anywhere else: The package, specifically for Black Friday, includes our cobot (3 kg, 5 kg, or 10 kg payload), nominal end effector for a range of applications, cobot base, cobot 3 year support package and full onsite cobot integration, installation and training. All for around $2,000/month at 24months - no interest. Meaning, all for around $50k!

The US$50,000 entry point is important. In 3D printing, that price point is considered a point at which someone has entered the industrial realm and that you have graduated to a level that not all can compete with. In manufacturing, cobot automation at an all-inclusive $50k will mean that you have now assisted or eliminated a human for less than the cost of that human for the year. This is much more impactful than 3D printing as the automated solution is creating actual exponential output results without having to double down on machinery and liability.

About Cobot Nation:

Cobot Nation is a global manufacturer and distributor of Collaborative Robots “Cobots”, specializing in automation and lean manufacturing solutions. We provide Manufacturing, Aerospace and Automotive, the Government and Medical industries with the ability to automate common human tasks such as Assembly, Dispensing, Finishing, Machine Tending, Material Handling, Material Removal, Quality Inspection, Welding and more!

About Gil Mayron:

Gil Mayron is a pioneer of the consumer 3D Printing industry as the Founder and CEO of Botmill 3D which manufactured and sold the first fully-assembled desktop 3D printers. Botmill was acquired by 3D Systems Corp (NYSE: DDD) in August of 2011. Mr. Mayron continued to lead corporate development strategies for the consumer division at 3D Systems. He composed the first ever licensing deals involving 3D printing with Sony, Viacom, NBA, DreamWorks and many others.

Over the past decade plus, Mr. Mayron has molded much of the 3D printing industry as it relates to manufacturing and innovation. His expertise in the creative application of such technologies not only led him to be a leader in capital equipment sales but also integral influencer and driver of strategic development solutions for his customers. This includes time spent as Chief Marketing Officer for Graphene 3D Labs in which he created their first collaborative conductive material agreements with Lego, Bosch, and LocalMotors and subsequently as Director of 3D at AIS.

As a recognized leader in early adoption of hardware manufacturing technologies, Mr. Mayron currently sits on the Board of Directors for the UNLV School of Engineering. He previously held a Board position with Mosaic Manufacturing, a 3D Printer Hardware Co. 

Gil Mayron currently resides in Las Vegas with his wife and two children.