February 18, 2003 - NSW-based robotic automation company, Applied Robotics has been accepted into the ABB robotic partner program; a global network of excellent partner alliances established to satisfy the market demand and encourage the development of robot-based automation. Partners accepted into the program have access to joint research and development, marketing, and business development opportunities as well as technical support and training.
Applied Robotics, the latest Australian company to join the global network, has a 16-year history supplying turnkey robotic and automation systems to both local and international customers including the USA, Japan and Europe.
"ABB is delighted to have Applied Robotics on board. This alliance has opened up numerous opportunities for both companies", said David Crossley, head of the Australian arm of the robotic partner program.
Applied Robotics’ installations are spread across a number of industry sectors including building products, plastics, industrial textile and apparel, food processing, electronics, pharmaceuticals and biotech. The company is renown for tackling installations involving the handling of difficult products or work pieces that are porous, fragile, flimsy, elastic or that simply differ from one to another.
Dr Paul Wong, managing director of Applied Robotics believes the company’s success, particularly in the export market is due to their ability to solve difficult requirements with a unique solution. "We are an innovative company and our solution to an automation task quite often turns out to be a world’s first or the world's fastest", he said.
"For example, we completed an installation involving vision system and robotic hanging and removing of products onto a paint-line chain. The system used 3D machine vision to measure in real-time the actual displacement between the object to be hung and its hanger. The ABB robot was directed through real-time feedback to a successful hanging. This is the only system of its kind in Australia", Dr Wong explained.
Since joining the program, Applied Robotics has enjoyed the benefits of better support with technical enquiries especially with unusual issues such as interfaces with vision systems, synchronizers and applications modeling.
"Generally we like the ABB product in terms of its better manuals, documentation, training programs and the excellent product knowledge of ABB’s technical staff".
"The partner program has had enormous value for Applied Robotics and we look forward to working together for the long term", said Dr Wong.
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impacts. The ABB Group of companies operates in more than 100 countries and employs about 146,000 people.