ABB is unveiling a wide range of new digital and robotics automation products, solutions and services helping customers become more flexible and addressing the key trends that are fundamentally changing the face of manufacturing at the 2020 China International Industry Fair (CIIF).

“Automation has never been more relevant than it is right now and we are pushing the boundaries of technology to energize and transform a wide range of industries with more than a dozen robotic products and solutions all designed to help our customers adapt to a rapidly changing business landscape,” said Sami Atiya, President of ABB’s Robotics and Discrete Automation business area. “Designed and built in China, the IRB 1300 is the latest addition to our robot portfolio and a great example of how we are innovating to help our customers pivot to flexible manufacturing.”

ABB’s new IRB 1300 robot offers class-leading lifting ability and reach and path accuracy, in a faster, more compact package. Designed to enhance productivity and production-line flexibility, the IRB 1300 will help customers meet the demand for a faster and more compact robot able to rapidly lift heavy objects or loads with complex or irregular shapes. 60 percent lighter, with an 83 percent smaller footprint and 27 percent faster cycle time*, this six-axis industrial robot has the reach and lifting capacity to serve high load applications in electronics, general industry, food & beverage, logistics and tier 1 automotive production.

“Today China is a global driving force in robotics and automation. The promotion of new economic development models and new infrastructure in China has enabled us to explore new opportunities in many industries, such as new energy vehicles, 5G and consumer electronics, logistics, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, education and areas such as healthcare where robots have huge potential,” said Chunyuan Gu, Chairman of ABB China. “At this year’s CIIF show, we are delighted to showcase our vision for the Hospital of the Future, as well as the Factory of the Future and how we will enable a more flexible approach to the manufacture of the Vehicle of the Future.”

Hospital of the Future: ABB is showing its vision for the hospital of the future, demonstrating a Robotic Pharmacy automation system for hospitals and a collaborative cell for a medical laboratory, where a dual-arm YuMi® collaborative robot can operate alongside lab workers on a range of pipetting, liquid handling, compounding and microbiological culturing tasks.

ABB’s flexible Robotic Pharmacy automation system, developed with Shanghai Seventh People’s Hospital, is a robotic intralogistics solution for an inpatient pharmacy based on ABB’s MiniLoad robot and 3D bin-picking solutions.

Highly modular and expandable to match the demands of the installation environment, the Robot Pharmacy can handle the workload of up to two pharmacists. Medicine storage and retrieval is performed by the MiniLoad robot system using an IRB 2600, while an IRB 1200 with 3D vision and AI technology sorts and dispenses medicines according to prescriptions. The system is also fully compatible with ABB’s Ability™ digital platform to help customers manage the pharmacy, with a dedicated medicine storage management system to ensure 100 per cent medicine traceability.

Vehicle of the future: ABB is showcasing several intelligent products and technologies for the automotive industry, including automotive electronics assembly, quality inspection and its innovative new PixelPaint solution. This uses an inkjet to eliminate overspray, enabling two-tone paint and individual designs to be applied in one pass, without masking and de-masking, making customized painting 50 per cent faster and more sustainable.

Factory of the Future: ABB is featuring its digital solutions designed to increase performance and help traditional industries accelerate their digital transformation. Visitors to ABB’s digital experience center can explore how ABB Ability™ enables customers to securely integrate their data, combine with wider industry data, apply big data and predictive analytics, and generate insights that can help them drive performance and productivity improvements.

The next stage in the development of ABB’s China business is already under way with the company’s investment in its Robotics Factory of the Future in Shanghai. Combining state-of-the-art manufacturing, self-learning machines and digital and collaborative solutions, the factory will push the boundaries of automation and bring flexible manufacturing to the next level. The production and research facility, which will be the most advanced, automated and flexible robotics factory in the world, is scheduled to open in 2021.

Spanning nearly 800m², the ABB stand will be in Hall 8.1 booth E001 at National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).