This is just one finding revealed in new research carried out by Visual Components, a developer of 3D simulation software.
A third of manufacturers state that this process takes between a week and a month, with robots unable to complete automated tasks during this time. Nearly three quarters of US manufacturers and almost all French companies (98%) also say the same.
With excessive time needed to get robots up and running, utilisation rates are poor among manufacturers, with an average of 37% reported. This is delaying the opportunity to bring products into production quicker, as they are unable to take care of the repetitive actions that humans are currently performing, with more than a third of all processes falling under this description.
One in four manufacturers are also being hindered by having three or more different robot brands on the factory floor, further complicating programming procedures. Over three in ten French respondents deploy three or more different robot brands.
With only 8% of manufacturers having had collaborative robots (cobots) in place for a prolonged period of time, fears among employees about the time taken to program them effectively may be preventing wider uptake.
Mikko Urho, CEO at Visual Components, said: “Robots and cobots are highly valuable technologies in the factory environment, but manual programming is impacting on the ability of manufacturers to fully utilise their capabilities. Offline robot programming (OLP) allows operators to combine the planning and designing of a new robot work cell in a virtual environment. Offline programming avoids any disruption to production and ensures that robots get to work much quicker, leading to increases in productivity and output.”