Trendy News Client Reporter Lu Jia
At the beginning of 2023, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the "Implementation Plan for the 'Robot+' Application Action", which clearly stated that in the manufacturing industry, "we will promote the construction of intelligent manufacturing demonstration factories, create typical application scenarios for industrial robots, develop intelligent manufacturing systems based on industrial robots, and help the digital transformation and intelligent transformation of the manufacturing industry".
Key infrastructure from 'manufacturing' to 'intelligent manufacturing'
In the context of a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, major economies around the world are fiercely competing around the intelligent manufacturing industry dominated by industrial robots. As a key infrastructure for building from "manufacturing" to "intelligent manufacturing", industrial robots play an increasingly important role.
Industrial robots are multi joint robotic arms or multi degree of freedom machine devices widely used in the industrial field. They have a certain degree of automation and can rely on their own power energy and control capabilities to achieve various industrial processing and manufacturing functions. Industrial robots are widely used in various industrial fields such as electronics, logistics, and chemical engineering. Generally speaking, industrial robots consist of three major parts and six subsystems. The three main parts are the mechanical part, sensing part, and control part. The six subsystems can be divided into mechanical structure system, drive system, perception system, robot environment interaction system, human-machine interaction system, and control system.
With the continuous development of robotics technology, the intelligent manufacturing model with digitization, networking, and intelligence as its core features is becoming an important direction for industrial development and transformation. Compared to traditional industrial equipment, industrial robots have numerous advantages, such as ease of use, high level of intelligence, high production efficiency and safety, easy management, and significant economic benefits, which enable them to operate in high-risk environments. Developing industrial robots not only improves the quality and quantity of products, but also has significant implications for ensuring personal safety, improving the working environment, reducing labor intensity, increasing labor productivity, saving material consumption, and reducing production costs.
According to Tianyancha data, there are over 231000 existing industrial robot related enterprises, of which over 22000 were newly registered from January to October 2023;
In terms of regional distribution, Jiangsu leads the way among provinces with over 42000 related enterprises, followed closely by Guangdong and Shandong, with over 38000 and 23000 related enterprises respectively.
From the perspective of establishment time, 52.8% of industrial robot related enterprises were established within 1-5 years, and the proportion of those established within 1 year is about 27.2%.
Industrial robot industry chain link: higher proportion of core components and higher technological barriers
The industrial robot industry chain mainly consists of several links, including raw materials, components (upstream), robot body (midstream), system integration (downstream), and industry applications. In the production cost structure of industrial robots, upstream core components account for a relatively high proportion, with servo systems, controllers, and reducers accounting for over 70% of the cost. Among them, reducers account for half, while body manufacturing only accounts for 15%. The reason for this is that the driving and control functions of industrial robots come from core components, which have higher technical barriers compared to the manufacturing of the main body, resulting in a higher proportion of production costs.
Upstream: The proportion of core components is relatively high, resulting in higher production costs
The upstream components mainly include controllers, servo motors, reducers, and execution systems. Among them, controllers, servo motors, and reducers are key components for producing industrial robots, and they are also the core competitiveness that industrial robots at home and abroad are striving to build. In terms of development difficulty, the controller is a supporting equipment for industrial robot development, and the development difficulty is moderate; Servo motor is the core driving mechanism of industrial robots, and its development difficulty is relatively high; The reducer is an independent component composed of gear transmission, worm drive, and gear worm drive enclosed in the rigid housing of industrial robots, and is the most difficult to develop.
Midstream: Robot Body
Industrial robot manufacturers are mainly responsible for assembling and integrating industrial robot bodies. At present, the proportion of domestic brand robot sales is continuously increasing. According to data from the Machine Economy Network, the proportion of domestic investment in China's robot body market increased from 18.6% to 28.6% from 2015 to 2020, and further increased to 33.7% in 2021. At present, domestic industrial robot manufacturers mainly focus on the mid to low end market, while the high-end application market is still dominated by four foreign-funded enterprises: Fanuc, KUKA, ABB, and Yaskawa. The high-end market is monopolized by the "four major families", and the domestic brand Estun is moving closer to the leader. According to MIR Databank's statistics on the shipment volume of industrial robots in China, the "four major families" collectively accounted for 41.5% of the market share in 2021, namely Fanuc (13%), ABB (12.3%), Yaskawa (8.8%), and KUKA (7.4%). The domestic leading brand Eston has a market share of 2.4%, ranking eleventh, while domestic brands such as Huichuan and Xinshida also rank high.
Downstream: Robot Integrated System
Industrial robot system integrators are located at the downstream application end of the industrial chain, responsible for targeted system integration and software secondary development of industrial robot bodies according to different scenarios and uses, so that they have specific work capabilities.
Industrial robots are widely used in fields such as automated production, automotive manufacturing, and logistics
The application of the robot market is accelerating and expanding. By 2022, the installed capacity of industrial robots will account for over 50% of the global market, firmly ranking as the world's largest market. The density of manufacturing robots will reach 392 units per 10000 workers. Industrial robots are widely used in fields such as automated production, automotive manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and 3C electronics.
Automated production. In the field of automated production, industrial robots are a very important equipment. It can perform repetitive, tedious, dangerous, or high-precision tasks, freeing traditional labor to learn more innovative work. On the production line, industrial robots can autonomously perform tasks such as component assembly, inspection, and packaging, increasing the production efficiency of enterprises. In addition, the programmability and high-precision control technology of industrial robots can quickly adapt to constantly changing production needs and achieve rapid conversion between batch or small batch production.
Automobile manufacturing. In the automotive manufacturing industry, industrial robots have a wide range of applications. In the process of automobile manufacturing, industrial robots can undertake various tasks such as welding, painting, assembly, and dispensing, thereby improving the efficiency of production lines and enhancing product quality. Moreover, in the manufacturing of automotive parts, industrial robots can also be used in various processes such as mold casting, milling, and clamping, improving production efficiency and yield.
Logistics. In the logistics industry, the application of industrial robots is becoming increasingly widespread. It can be used for multiple processes such as handling and sorting goods, warehouse management, and transportation, improving the efficiency and safety of logistics. Industrial robots can also help companies reduce personnel costs and lower operational risks.
3C electronics. In the 3C electronics industry, industrial robots have been widely used in the manufacturing and packaging of electronic products such as mobile phones. They move and operate in a highly flexible manner, enabling precise execution of complex assembly tasks and providing critical support for efficient automation of production lines. Industrial robots can improve production efficiency. They can automate repetitive tasks, not only improving manufacturing speed but also reducing human errors. In addition, the high-precision execution capability of the robot system can ensure that the accuracy and quality of the produced products meet the requirements, effectively avoiding the adverse effects of manual operation errors on product quality.
medical care. In the medical industry, industrial robots also have many applications in the medical field. They can be used for various tasks such as surgery, treatment, and rehabilitation, improving the accuracy and safety of work. In addition, industrial robots can also help hospitals solve the problem of insufficient medical staff and provide patients with more diversified rehabilitation treatment plans.
Investment and Financing Analysis: Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Guangdong rank among the top in terms of the number of financing events
China's massive manufacturing industry has nurtured the world's largest industrial robot market, and since 2013, China has occupied the world's largest industrial robot consumer market for many years. As a "pearl" in the field of intelligent manufacturing, industrial robots continue to receive attention from venture capital firms.
From the industry distribution of financing events, the number of financing events related to robot bodies ranks among the top, with 60 cases; In addition, downstream application areas closely related to industrial robots, such as intelligent equipment, logistics equipment, and warehousing services, are also hot topics for investment and financing.
From the geographical distribution of financing events, at the provincial/municipal level, Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Guangdong have the highest number of financing events, with 16 (Jiangsu and Shanghai tied) and 15 respectively; From a city level perspective, Shenzhen, Nanjing, and Hefei have the highest number of financing events, with 11, 10, and 4 respectively. The geographical distribution of financing events clearly shows that the relationship between industrial robots and strong manufacturing provinces is also very close, which strongly supports the upgrading of the manufacturing industry.
From the distribution of financing events, strategic financing, Series A, and Series B rank among the top, with 14, 12, and 11 cases respectively.
From the perspective of investment and financing institutions' actions, institutions such as Lanchi Venture Capital, Daosheng Capital, and Lenovo Venture Capital are all on the list; In addition to institutions, well-known industrial capital companies such as BYD, Haier, and Ecovacs have also appeared on the investor list of companies such as Huandong Technology and Tianchuang Robotics.
Patent analysis: As of January 2023, there have been over 1400 patent applications
As a technology intensive industry, the number of patent applications for industrial robots indirectly reflects the technological content and level of industrial development.
In terms of the total number of industrial robot patent applications, the number of patent applications has exceeded 10000. Among them, utility models rank first with over 6200, invention patents rank second with over 5100, and design patents rank third with over 880.
From the annual distribution of patent applications, the number of patent applications has been increasing year by year in the past three years (2020-2022), from over 1500 to over 2100, showing a significant increase. In addition, as of January 2023, there have been over 1400 patent applications.
6、 Development prospects: Performance improvement and price reduction, broad prospects for domestic substitution
The performance improvement and price reduction of domestic robots have significant economic effects. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the average import price of industrial robot products has gradually decreased from 162300 yuan/unit in 2019 to 85200 yuan/unit in 2022. Generally, the price of domestically produced robots is lower than that of imported robots. With the improvement of performance and the decrease in price, the economic effects of industrial robot applications become more significant, which will help the industrial robot industry broaden its application scenarios and expand downstream demand.
Industrial upgrading and domestic substitution depict broad prospects. On the one hand, it stems from industrial upgrading. China's economy is currently in a critical period of transforming its development mode, optimizing its economic structure, and transforming its growth drivers, which urgently requires the transformation and upgrading of labor-intensive industries. Industrial upgrading will drive a large demand for industrial robots in the market. On the other hand, the country has set a goal for the localization of industrial robots. The "Made in China 2025" has set goals for the development of domestic industrial robots, with clear requirements for the localization rate of domestic robots and key components; The "14th Five Year Plan for the Development of the Robot Industry" clearly states that by 2025, China will achieve breakthroughs in a number of core robot technologies and high-end products, with comprehensive indicators of the entire machine reaching the international advanced level, and the performance and reliability of key components reaching the level of similar international products. Domestic industrial robots will gradually increase their market share with the rapid breakthrough in product performance, more advantageous cost-effectiveness, and service level.
Robots going abroad will become an important direction for future development. The performance shortcomings of domestic industrial robots are gradually being filled, and with the "going global" of domestic manufacturing and the transfer of global manufacturing to Southeast Asia and Latin America, robots going global will become an important direction for future development.
Tianyancha Research Institute believes that under the guidance of the digital economy and the background of the integration of data and reality, vigorously developing the industrial robot industry and effectively promoting the structural transformation and upgrading of China's manufacturing industry will help to continuously enhance and maintain the competitiveness of Chinese manufacturing in the international market.
Note: The investment and financing events in the field of industrial robots analyzed this time are based on the period from January to November 12, 2023 as a reference