2016 Completed Selection of Fair Innovation Support Project
for Robot Utilizing Small & Medium Manufacturers

- Confirmation of 2.75 billion won support to 13 companies, Support of strengthening
the competitiveness of small & medium manufacturers-

This year, the government will conduct a support project of a robot engineering consulting service, a robot system installation and a robot utilization education targeting small & medium manufacturers who will engage in the innovation of production process by utilizing robots. Through this, small & medium manufacturers have a strategy that will actively introduce robots to increase their competitiveness, and prepare a basis to expand domestic market and exportation. Such plan is a promotion as a part of the strategy 'Manufacturing Business Innovation 3.0'.

<Assistance Process to Fair Innovation Support Project
for Robot Utilizing S & M Manufacturers>

Recently, the Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement has conducted a public contest for 'Support Project Task for the Process Innovation of Robot Utilizing S & M Manufacturers' and selected thirteen S & M manufacturers to support total funds of 2.75 billion won. Selected companies shall receive a fund to purchase robot for manufacturing purpose and a fund to install the robot system that are needed to introduce a robot system inside the production factory. During the task period (‘16.7~’17.5), it is scheduled to verify the effect out of the introduction of robots such as the increase in productivity. The government plans to utilize the result for three years after the termination of task and to monitor its improvement in productivity continuously to expand its result.

The increase in productivity out of the introduction of robots has been already proved in 'Market Creation Type Supply Project'. The Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement promoted 'Market Creation Type Robot Supply Project' from 2011 to 2014 and supported total 12.2 billion won governmental expenditure to fifty nine manufacturers in the S & M manufacturing field. From the result of verification on the performance of this project, it showed that the production amount was increased by 44.5%, and industrial disaster was decreased by 2.3% from 4.3% to 2.0%. Defect rate also was lowered from 5.29% to 1.36%. At this time, those S & M manufacturers who have been selected for ‘Support Project for Process Innovation of Robot Utilizing S & M Manufacturers, expect to have an effect of improvement in productivity and reduction in industrial disaster.

The Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement has presented a selection principle around the manufacturing fields, which are predicted to cause a large ripple effect, such as ▲ a manufacturing field with higher utilization of robots worldwide ▲ a manufacturing field with urgent utilization of robots due to a lack of manpower despite the large number of companies ▲ the expansion of productivity and sale with the application of robots. Selected manufacturers under such principle are the press and welding for automobile parts, the precision process for parts, the heat treatment for parts, the chemical polishing for cosmetics container, the loading and unloading part or material and the plastic working, the precision casting, coating, injection molding and inspection. Selected companies shall receive governmental expenditure within 50% of total project cost. Small & medium size manufacturers shall receive maximum 300 million won(within 600 million won of total project cost) and large size manufacturers shall receive maximum 1 billion won (within 2 billion won of total project cost).

The representative examples among selected thirteen tasks in this year are ‘The establishment of the robotic automated press process for vehicles’ parts, and ‘The establishment of the robotic automation of chemical polishing process for cosmetics metal container '.

‘The establishment of the robotic automated press process for vehicles’ is to establish an entire line robotic automated system that is connected from material supply to press, welding, inspection and shipping which are the entire process of manufacturing vehicle's body parts. YUWON Co., Ltd and YUJIN MS Co., Ltd will participate in the task. They will establish a system of 32 units of robots for press process, 10 units of robots (6-axis multiple joint robot) for welding and inspection, a vacuum gripper and a vision for material recognition.

Yonwoo Co., Ltd, WaterWorks Yujin Co., Ltd, and Inchon Creative Economy Innovation Center will participate in the task of ‘The establishment of the robotic automation of chemical polishing process for cosmetics metal container 'The chemical polishing process for cosmetics metal container is the process to handle hazardous chemical materials of nitric acid, sulfuric acid, and hydrochloric acid that workers try to avoid. They have a plan to establish a robotic automation line by introducing robots to the chemical polishing process for metal processing. They will introduce 4 units of 6-axis multiple joint robots per process for rack movement, a gripper for rack gripping, a chemical tank, a rinsing tank and PLC. They will promote the task that will introduce a multiple axis robot to the coating spray process for kitchen utensils such as frypan, etc.