Home appliance giant wrangling intelligent manufacturing

Core tip: the rising labor costs, "machine substitution" plays in labor-intensive appliances factory frequently.On this basis, the "Internet" smart factory began to appear, connect users, research and development, supply chain, logistics resources, can speed up the inventory, reduce inventory, improve efficiency.Gree, midea, haier, the intelligent manufacturing more regarded as a new business opportunities.


      15 seconds to do?
     One of the world´s largest microwave oven supplier galanz will tell you, 15 seconds can be an ordinary steel into a complete steam electric furnace cavity.
At the end of march, the first financial journalist in galanz production base in zhongshan, the entire factory, workers are few, only a few technical personnel from Italy in manipulation.Factory director said, this is the world´s first steam electric furnace automation production line, just three mechanic, save manpower was 72%, and the production speed is 16 times.
      This is just the Chinese electrical appliances enterprise intelligence make a silhouette.As labor costs rise, "machine substitution" plays in labor-intensive appliances factory frequently.On this basis, the "Internet" smart factory began to appear, connect users, research and development, supply chain, logistics resources, can speed up the inventory, reduce inventory, improve efficiency.Gree, midea, haier, the intelligent manufacturing more regarded as a new business opportunities.

Machine substitution
    Since 2014, galanz has with Italy, Germany and other equipment manufacturing company depth cooperation, the microwave oven, washing machine, dishwasher, electric steam oven production line automation, such as investment amount equivalent to the total sum of the past 20 years.In 2016, galanz developed by introducing the first microwave oven automatic assembly production line, production efficiency is 38.89% higher than that of before., galanz also introduced the automatic production line for steam electric furnace cavity, the beat for every 15 seconds/production.
         In October 2016, galanz giant fanuc reached a strategic cooperation with industrial robot, promoting industrial robot and related automation, integration technology application in the white goods industry, is now preparing the microwave cavity automatic welding production line.The two sides also formed a professional team, the intelligent flexible production line, through the Internet of things and big data such as integration of logistics engineering.
Porch galanz microwave oven manufacturing company general manager told reporters, the first finance and economics in 2016, galanz integration and optimization of manufacturing resources configuration, continue to increase production capacity and efficiency, average efficiency increase of 15.76% compared to the 2016, 2017 will continue to optimize the production process, to ensure that the overall efficiency and increase of 30%.
         Galanz, not only in the past has been in mass production, low cost advantage to win China´s industry, faced with the challenge of rising labor costs and consumption upgrade opportunities, each big factory are busy to promote the strategy of "machine substitution".
      Midea air-conditioning plan into four or five years from 4 billion to 5 billion yuan, the six domestic production factories are transformed into intelligent factories;Haier construction of the eight major Internet factory, among them, such as washing machine factory have been completed, shunde for whole process machine operation, so also known as "black lamp factory";TCL´s LCD panel production huaxing photoelectric, automation degree is high;In jiangsu and zhejiang area, shaoxing factory, the boss of the supor appliances factory in hangzhou, A.O Smith´s nanjing factory automatic production lines have been introduced.

Customized production
   Machine substitution is only the first step, on the basis of automation in the construction of interconnected factory, is the real intelligent manufacturing.
      Haier electrical appliances industry group vice President and general manager supply chain Chen Lu city said, haier eight interconnected factory, fully application of user data and make big data.Users participate in online interactive and creative product customization, supply chain upstream, downstream logistics resources and factory also connectivity, realize the rapid response to user requirements.
Chen Lu city for example, in order to meet the needs of maternal and infant population, haier provides a full set of maternal and infant children washing machine, dryer appliance, customized solutions.This process, first of all must have the user requirements, after the online interactive creative, produce the products meet the demand of users.And then let the user experience, feedback, and then transferred into production link.After the production, make the user home, and ongoing product iteration.At present, the products have just listed, the effect is very good.
     The starting point of intelligent manufacturing, not only is to reduce labor costs, more emphasis on improving the quality of products and management benefit."We combine the user´s demand and production data", said Chen Lu city, for example, 12% of the air conditioning user data, the noise of air conditioning use process how to solve."We according to the user requirements, application technology of streaming data for the first time, found that the noise data of the production process, completely solve the problem of noise by means of the intelligent detection."
       In jiaozhou air conditioning interconnected factories, for example, high precision, achieve 100% users to participate in new product development and design, custom accounted for more than 25%;Efficient, order delivery cycle shortened by more than 50%, the efficiency increase of 100%.
The idea of intelligent factory of beauty, and haier all roads lead to Rome.Vice general manager wu, midea air-conditioning bao said, intelligent beauty factory has five characteristics - the transparency of the intelligent equipment, production, logistics, intelligent digital, systematic management and decision.Midea air-conditioning division of guangzhou nansha smart plant manager Wang Xiaojin said, adding that the plant has a data room, through the Internet of things technology, connecting the production equipment, through smart phones know each data point in real time.
        According to the customer order "T + 3" mode of production, is the beauty´s each big factory.Wu says, because in the industrial chain connectivity information, customer order, upstream suppliers immediately preparation, factory production, product line immediately after shipment.This order delivery cycle shorten 50% for beauty.

The new growth point of intelligent manufacturing
       Auto industry automation degree is high, the next step of "blue ocean" in the field of general industrial robot application.
    China is the biggest single market general industrial robot application.Gree, haier, midea three electricity giant intelligent production experience once settle, conveniently to robotics and automation, can form a new growth point.
Therefore, haier has set up a platform COSMO, thinking of intelligent manufacturing building for business growth.Beauty to buy one of the world´s top four robot company German library card group, building robots and automation of the second runway.Gree also heavily invest, and actively research and development, manufacture robots and CNC machine tools.
       In February 2017, independent research and development of haier´s first COSMO officially released version industrial Internet platforms in China and foreign provide social services.Haier specifically, its transformation at the same time, the interconnection of the factory pattern promotion copy, will made a new intelligent manufacturing industry, realize the marketization operation, the future will bring benefits.
     Gu Yanmin beauty vice President, said the China in the field of general industrial robot density, equivalent to only one over ten of the German, have very big development space.China´s labor wages rising at the same time, the robot falling cost, substitution of machine investment return period from the previous five years down to 1.6 years now.Global robot market output value will reach an estimated $24 billion in 2025, China will account for 38% of the world´s robot market in 2018.
     And gree six axis robot, during this year, the national "two sessions", also made its debut.Dong mingzhu, gree electric appliances, chairman and President, said the future gree electric appliances will closely around the robot, and conduct the thorough research to the two fields: the precision machine tool, at the completion of gree own transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing system at the same time, provide a batch of "made in China 2025" completely independent research and development of high-end equipment.
      Robot research institute (GGII) senior analyst Lu Zhang thought, the application of robot in home appliance industry, the growth rate of more than 30% in recent years.Midea, haier, gree, changhong and other home appliances giant layout especially rapidly in the field of robot.GGII survey data show that home appliance industry automation rate is still low, only about 20%, the use of robots most just stop at simple loading, handling pallet, packaging assembly, and other fields, it also provides a good opportunity to giants.