Robotics technician: Emerging profession boosting efficiency of industries

At a demonstration area of robot applications of Guangdong Cuifeng Robotics Technology Co., Ltd. in south China's Guangdong province, Zhuang Yongchun was standing in front of a row of spinning robotic arms. After he made a few taps on a teach pendant, these robotic arms moved accordingly. Zhuang carefully inspected whether the gripping and rotating actions of the robotic arms were accurate and smoothly transitioned.

"It's not easy to make robots screw in screws and fetch screws from a box using their mechanical arms smoothly," said Zhuang, who's a robotics technician. "Our profession has emerged as a result of the rise of intelligent manufacturing."

Photo shows robotic arms designed by Zhuang Yongchun and his team. (Photo provided by Zhuang Yongchun)

In simple terms, Zhuang's daily work involves the development and application of industrial robots. He is primarily responsible for providing industrial robots to companies with specific needs and designing robot production lines for factories undergoing industrial automation upgrades.

A factory that produces medical sheet metal parts hoped to upgrade its production line for automation. Upon learning the news, Zhuang visited the factory.

"First, we need to assess the condition of the press brake and determine if it is compatible with our equipment. We also need to evaluate the bending bed and molds to ensure they meet the production requirements," Zhuang added.

After noting down the key technical specifications, Zhuang returned to his office and discussed with colleagues, designing solutions, simulating movements, and conducting 3D design.

"After multiple rounds of discussions and approval of the plan, we signed an agreement, and once the customer places the purchase order, we would start with drawing, procurement, assembly, and conduct action, signal, and hardware testing," Zhuang said. He added that the automation upgrade of a production line, from design to installation of 10 robotic arms, for example, can be successfully put into production in 5-10 days.

"For the factory, using robots can save labor costs. Previously, it required two or more people for bending, but now only one bending robot is needed," Zhuang told People's Daily, adding that this significantly improves production efficiency.

In fact, bending technique is closely related to people's daily lives. Televisions, refrigerators, computer cases, vending machines, data center servers, and many other electrical products on the market rely on the technique.

Previously, during his visits to enterprises along the industrial chain, Zhuang discovered that many factories in Dongguan, Guangdong province were employing the bending technique. Before the development of bending robots, products had to be manually produced, which often resulted in deviations and the production of defective goods.

Zhuang Yongchun debugs a robotic arm. (Photo provided by Zhuang Yongchun)

"Can we develop a robot to alleviate the burden on workers and improve efficiency?" This question lingered in the mind of Zhuang and his team.

The challenge with bending robots lies in keeping sheet metal products securely attached to the robot's suction cups while the robot performs bending actions. "At that time, no one in the world had tackled this challenge," Zhuang said.

Zhuang diligently studied various comprehensive technologies related to robots, such as machine programming, circuits, machine tools, and engineering design. He continuously updated his knowledge system and devoted himself to the research and development of robot projects.

"After a year of efforts, we finally developed a bending robot and introduced this technology to the sheet metal industry nationwide, promoting the industry's transition towards intelligent manufacturing," Zhuang said. So far, this robot has been employed by more than 60 companies from over 10 provinces and municipalities, according to him.

While working on projects, Zhuang has also focused on talent training. He said that over the years, he has trained hundreds of robotics technicians, who are now working in various manufacturing companies and operating various production line robots.

"As the industry continues to develop, technology is constantly advancing, and we must keep pace with the times and make continuous progress," Zhuang said. He hopes that while China works to make its industries intelligent, more people will take on the jobs of robotics technician and other emerging professions.