Analysis of Domestic and International Suppliers of Industrial Robot Controllers

The controller is one of the three core components of industrial robots, and it serves as the brain of the robot. Its quality directly determines the performance of the robot. Therefore, whether it is ABB, KUKA, or domestic companies like Siasun and Estun, major industrial robot suppliers both domestically and internationally have all taken control of the controllers into their own hands.

Now let’s take a look at the current status of major industrial robot controller brands both domestically and internationally.

The IRC5 controller is an industrial robot controller developed by ABB, consisting of a control module and a drive module, with an optional process module to accommodate custom devices and interfaces, such as spot welding, arc welding, and gluing. A flexible controller equipped with these three modules is fully capable of controlling a 6-axis industrial robot plus a servo-driven workpiece positioning device and similar equipment. To increase the number of industrial robots, simply add a drive module for each new robot, and an additional process module can be installed, allowing for the control of up to four industrial robots operating in MultiMove mode. Only two connection cables are required between the modules: one for safety signal transmission and the other for Ethernet communication, making module connections simple and straightforward.

The KRC4 is a new system architecture developed by KUKA that is clear in structure and emphasizes the use of open and efficient data standards. All safety control, industrial robot control, motion control, logic control, and process control integrated within this system architecture share the same data foundation and infrastructure, allowing for intelligent usage and sharing. This gives the system the highest performance, upgradability, and flexibility.

KEBA is not a manufacturer of industrial robots, but one of the few non-industrial robot manufacturers in the industrial robot controller industry. Its products are industrial-grade servo control systems capable of controlling multi-degree-of-freedom industrial robots. This control system guarantees the real-time operation environment of the software through the VxWorks platform or Windows+RTX real-time extension platform, and it achieves precise control of industrial robots through motion planning and motion control units that control bus-type servo drives.

The KeMotionr5000 series controllers are a complete modular control system for multi-axis motion control, consisting of hardware including the KeMotion controller and various peripheral modules that connect to the controller via Ethernet or bus to achieve various application combinations. The core part of the control system software runs on the controller hardware platform (x86 embedded microprocessor). From the bottom up, the underlying OS is the VxWorks real-time operating system, which provides a foundation for the system’s real-time capability and reliability while also providing a runtime environment for application software.

The FANUC Robot R-30iA is a new generation industrial robot controller developed by FANUC, featuring high performance, fast response, and strong safety features. As the only industrial robot controller integrated with visual functions, it significantly reduces the surrounding equipment costs required for flexible production. Various powerful specialized software for spot welding, gluing, handling, etc., developed based on FANUC’s own software platform, not only simplifies the operation of industrial robots but also ensures that the system is completely immune to computer viruses.

Yaskawa has developed an industrial robot controller based on PC with an open structure and network capabilities. In 2016, Yaskawa also launched a robot controller equipped with artificial intelligence that can automatically set welding conditions and accurately predict the lifespan of the robot body, contributing to the efficiency of start operations and reducing downtime during mechanical obstacles.

The AI within the controller can autonomously search for the best welding conditions and apply them to the actual operations of the robot. Typically, different conditions need to be set when welding multiple positions, and the new controller’s setting work section has achieved automation. Beyond welding, it is also considered for applications in painting, machining, and other areas where fine adjustments are needed for the actions of robotic arms.

Siasun is a giant in China’s industrial robotics sector, and its SIASUN-GRC robot controller has independent copyrights and is a practical, commercialized robot controller developed independently. This robot controller features a reasonable design, advanced technology, excellent performance, reliable system, and user-friendly operation. It adopts AC servo drive, absolute encoder detection, and a large-screen Chinese teaching programming box among other cutting-edge technologies, forming an advanced high-performance robot control system. The overall performance of this system has reached an internationally advanced level, making it the first commercially viable robot controller in China, capable of small-batch production.

With nearly 20 years of R&D accumulation in electrical control, servos, and controllers, Estun has mastered robot and motion control technology, making it one of the domestic robot brands with the highest degree of localization. It is reported that the robot body, controller, software system, and drive control system in Estun’s robot intelligent system are all independently developed.

Based on a rich accumulation of CNC technology, Guangzhou CNC has complete intellectual property rights over robot controllers, servo drives, and servo motors, among which the GSK-RC is a robot controller independently developed and produced by Guangzhou CNC, possessing independent intellectual property rights.

As early as 1999, Huazhong CNC developed the control system for the Huazhong I-type robot. After nearly 20 years of development, it has significant technological advantages in the three core components: controllers, servo drives, and motors. The CCR series is the robot control system primarily developed by Huazhong CNC.

GSK Technology began developing four-axis robot controllers in 2001 and entered the six-axis robot controller field in 2006, making it one of the earliest companies in China to research robot controllers. To date, GSK’s control systems cover various models from three-axis to eight-axis robots, with the eight-axis robot control system, which has the highest technical difficulty, already capable of mass production.

Inovance Technology, starting from frequency converters and servos, expanded into the controller field in 2013. In 2014, Inovance Technology launched the IMC100 robot controller based on EtherCAT bus and the IS620N bus-type absolute value dedicated servo system, currently primarily targeting markets including small six-axis, small SCARA, and parallel robots in emerging application fields.