FANUC America Marks Milestone
They celebrate 35 years of manufacturing their painting robots in the U.S.
Posted: April 6, 2017
FANUC America Corporation (Rochester Hills, MI) marks a major milestone in the U.S. robotics industry: 35 years of manufacturing their line of painting robots at their headquarters in Rochester Hills. “We have dedicated ourselves to 35 years of product innovation and manufacturing efficiencies that provide users with the highest quality paint robots, which we design, assemble, and integrate here in the U.S. and export to users around the world,” noted Mike Cicco, the company president. “Throughout 2017, we will be taking a look at where we started, what we have achieved, and what our plans are for the future.”
In 1982, they produced their first NC Painter, a hydraulic paint robot that used key components from parent company FANUC Corporation (Oshino, Japan). Now, 35 years later, the company remains globally responsible for all paint robots and door openers of their robot lineup, which is sold to a diverse range of industries, including automotive, aerospace, agricultural products, recreational vehicles and boats, furniture, appliance, and medical devices. In fact, they have supplied their U.S.-made paint robots to all of the top 15 global automakers ranked by the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA).
Their U.S.-based product development team designs and implements a wide range of mechanical, electrical, process and software systems, including Zero Down Time (ZDT), a cloud-based application that analyzes data collected from these robots, alerting users of potential issues that need to be addressed before unexpected downtime occurs. “Our local product development team is the industry’s largest, with hundreds of years of accumulated engineering experience located here in Michigan,” added Cicco.
All of their new paint robots are ZDT-ready, which means they can monitor a variety of functions including paint canisters, spray applicators, drive health and paint process regulators. In addition, ZDT provides maintenance reminders to notify users to inspect or replace worn items. Currently, there are over 800 paint robots now using ZDT analytics with additional robots connected to the cloud each month. “Having an extensive group of local experts to provide software, product design, assembly and integration of our paint robots allows us to react quickly to user needs,” said Jon Karr, the vice president of paint shop automation.
These paint robots are ideal for automating applications that are ergonomically challenging, hazardous and labor intensive. “We’re seeing a significant increase in paint robot sales to non-automotive users both domestically and abroad,” added Karr. “These users want to improve quality and throughput while minimizing their assembly workers’ exposure to hazardous environments, similar to what automakers looked to do back in 1982.” The company recently introduced their latest paint robot, the P-350iA/45, which is designed for a variety of applications that include painting, coating, sanding, and washing. It offers a flexible six-axis design and is Class 1, Division 1 approved for operation in hazardous environments.
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