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Universal Robots, a part of Teradyne’s industrial automation group, not too long ago launched its UR20 cobot. | Source: Universal Robots
Teradyne noticed a small backslide in income in its industrial automation group, a 2% lower, in Q3 of 2022 in comparison with the identical time interval final 12 months. The group introduced in $89 million in income for Q3 2022.
The industrial automation group’s income is a decline from Q2 of this 12 months when it introduced in $101 million in income. The group consists of Energid, Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR), which simply merged with AutoGuide Mobile Robots, and Universal Robots (UR). Energid’s income is included with UR’s.
During Q3, UR introduced in $73 million, and MiR introduced in $16 million. UR gross sales decreased 5% through the quarter, whereas MiR gross sales rose 17% from the identical quarter final 12 months. Both firms noticed a lower in gross sales from final quarter when UR introduced in $83 million and MiR introduced in $17 million.
For the primary 9 months of 2022, 41% of Teradyne’s industrial automation gross sales have been to Europe, 29% to the U.S. and 11% to China and the rest to the remainder of the world.
Greg Smith, named president of Teradyne on July 1, 2022, attributed the slower-than-expected progress to 2 components.
“First, slowing industrial activity, especially in Europe, where PMI has dropped below 50 in July and has remained in that contraction zone since. Europe is our largest end market for automation, and this is a 10-point headwind to growth,” Smith stated through the firm’s Q3 earnings name. “Second, labor scarcity continues in our distribution channel, which we expect to reduce growth by about five points.”
Despite sluggish progress, Teradyne is optimistic about UR’s future. The firm has seen larger demand than anticipated for its larger payload UR20 cobot launched earlier this 12 months. Teradyne expects the UR20 to begin transport in 2023 when it would begin contributing to monetary outcomes.
UR has additionally seen a variety of progress in welding. Its welding channel grew over 80% within the first 9 months of 2022 in comparison with the identical time final 12 months, and it expects to ship over 1,200 robots in that vertical.
Inside the AutoGuide/MiR merger
Teradyne mixed MiR and AutoGuide Mobile Robots on the finish of Q3, with the built-in firm formally being known as Mobile Industrial Robots. The firm’s headquarters can be in Odense, Denmark, the place MiR has been primarily based since 2013 when it was based.
Prior to the merger, MiR provided a variety of AMRs able to carrying payloads and pallets as much as 3,000 lb. (1350 kg). By combining with AutoGuide, the portfolio will broaden to incorporate high-payload AMR tuggers and forklifts that can function on the MiRFleet software program.
Smith stated Teradyne determined a couple of 12 months in the past that the easiest way to distinguish its AMR enterprise was to supply a broad product line below a single software program management.
“We heard over and over again from big customers that they were struggling to implement complex workflows because complex workflows generally need AMRs to interact with each other,” Smith stated. “The dominant way people were talking about that happening was through fleet management. That was putting those customers into an uncomfortable position where they didn’t know who to go to when things from multiple vendors didn’t work right. ”
Smith stated Teradyne needs to take duty for the efficiency of the {hardware} and software program and switch to companions to make sure a optimistic buyer expertise.
“If you look at any AMRs, whether they’re ours or someone else’s, customers can take up to two years to go from an initial pilot to a volume deployment. That’s because they have to work out their processes and adapt to the technology,” he stated. “In some instances, like automakers, they must invent new jobs. They don’t have individuals who know find out how to preserve AMRs, so that they have to determine find out how to match that into their union laws. That’s a posh subject to work via. We imagine the final word vacation spot for AMRs has unimaginable potential, however we have to simplify the method. And simplifying that course of for us meant placing all of our AMRs below one software program management and fascinating with prospects as one group.
Smith stated the majority of the of labor went into remodeling the sensor suite of the AutoGuide robots to optimize their efficiency with MiR’s software program and to boost the MiR software program to deal with the upper speeds of the heavy payload autos from AutoGuide.
“The basic chassis stays the same, but because of the higher top speeds, we need to look much further ahead of the vehicle to react to obstacles and do the right thing. We had to modify the sensor suite of the AutoGuide robots and enhance the MIR software so it could handle the specific requirements of the heavy payload space. And that’s faster speed and more control of the path the AMRs take.”