SCHUNK opens new CoLabs in China and the USA
Automation is advancing at a rapid pace and increasingly finding its way into new fields of application. As a technology leader for gripping systems and clamping technology with extensive application knowledge, SCHUNK accompanies its customers on the way to automated processes. The ideas for this are wide-ranging, as are the solutions. This year, SCHUNK has already validated several hundred robot-assisted process steps at the new CoLab and optimized them for successful use. Now the company is expanding this service to China and the USA. At the end of October, the Chinese SCHUNK subsidiary opened a CoLab in Shanghai. Across a total of 215 square meters, the experts on site can now test and optimize industrial applications for the automotive industry, aerospace, or medical technology, for example, in live operation. The emphasis is placed on new digital processes using smart products such as the gripper for small components EGI and the toolholder iTENDO2, as well as the power-free gripping technology ADHESO. "With the CoLab, we want to ease our local customers the entry into automation. We are testing how robots interact with our products," explains Dr. Simon Du, General Manager of SCHUNK Intec China. For this purpose, all necessary tests and examinations are carried out at the application center. The application experts provide answers to all questions in a detailed report. At the end, the customer receives a recommendation on the ideal application modules.
Testing and understanding automation
Customers in the USA have also recently been able to benefit from new opportunities. In Morrisville, North Carolina, the experts began their work at the CoLab in early November, accompanied by a digital opening ceremony. The well-known US influencer Jake Hall (#TheManufacturingMillennial) was also a guest at this event. He spoke with SCHUNK automation specialists about how the CoLab can propel the manufacturing industry forward. In the USA, the CoLab complements the existing Tec-Center. Milton Guerry, President of SCHUNK Intec USA, explains: "At our Tec-Center, visitors have for some time now been able to experience the SCHUNK product world live, and learn about new technologies during workshops. With the new CoLab robot application center, we are now creating further opportunities for testing, training, and the development of automation processes."