Non-Standard (Custom) Automation

Automation equipment custom-designed for the specific needs of one production line.

Non-standard automation refers to automation equipment custom-designed and built for the specific needs of a single customer's single production line, as distinct from “standard” products like general-purpose industrial robots or standardized conveyor lines. This kind of project is usually taken on by system integrators or non-standard equipment makers; each project requires fresh mechanical design, electrical work, and programming and commissioning, with long delivery times and experience that's hard to reuse across projects, so the business tends to be project-based. Its connection to embodied AI is this: today, a great many factory processes are still handled by non-standard equipment or by hand, and one of the claims embodied-AI companies make is that general-purpose robots paired with transferable models could replace “a custom equipment set for every line,” turning project-based work into a standardized product.

ExampleA machine custom-designed for one battery factory that combines cell loading with appearance inspection is a typical piece of non-standard automation equipment.

Also called

Non-Standard Automation Equipment

Related

System Integrator · Project-Based Delivery vs. Productization · Flexible Manufacturing · Industrial Robot · Lights-Out Factory · General-purpose Robot

Sources

Automation - Wikipedia