The ground plan for Determine AI’s BotQ manufacturing facility. | Supply: Determine AI
Humanoid robots have been slowly making their manner into the workforce. Nevertheless, one query stays unanswered: How will robotics firms make these complicated methods at scale? Determine AI Inc. final week launched BotQ, its new high-volume manufacturing unit for humanoids. The corporate stated BotQ’s first-generation manufacturing line will probably be able to manufacturing as much as 12,000 robots per yr.
Determine AI stated is bringing its manufacturing operations in-house to manage the construct course of and high quality. The firm stated this may even assist assure that it delivers high-functioning robots to the market.
San Jose, Calif.-based Determine stated it has spent the previous eight months constructing an environment friendly and scalable manufacturing course of from the bottom up. It stated it additionally spent the previous six months making a basis to assist quantity manufacturing with software program together with manufacturing execution system (MES), product lifecycle administration (PLM), enterprise useful resource planning (ERP), and warehouse administration system (WMS).
Ultimately, Determine stated it would use humanoid robots in its manufacturing course of to construct different humanoids. As extra robots work on manufacturing traces, the corporate stated will probably be capable of enhance its capability. Determine expects to begin later this yr.
Within the strategy of retooling its robotic structure, Determine began two new groups, a security crew, and a reliability crew. As well as, the corporate stated it’s rising its deal with on robotic reliability.
The reliability crew at BotQ is in command of working extremely accelerated lifecycle assessments. These will assist the corporate perceive the lifespan of its robotic.
The reliability crew wants specialised tools, together with high-temperature ovens, devoted actuator testers, and failure evaluation tools to know root trigger failures. Utilizing this knowledge, Determine stated it will probably inform the robotic designers of enhancements wanted to make sure its reliability metrics are met.
Determine AI introduced in late 2024 that its robots are transferring growth and trials to industrial use. The corporate has delivered its Determine 02 system to a paying buyer.
Determine AI received a 2024 RBR50 award for its fast tempo of innovation. Since rising from stealth in January 2023, the corporate has iterated on its humanoid, examined its robotic on a manufacturing line, and delivered methods to a paying buyer.
Determine AI designs for top manufacturing charges
After constructing and internally manufacturing Determine 02, the Determine crew recorded and analyzed cycle instances for each course of, from half fabrication to closing meeting. It discovered the most important driver of meeting time began on the root: half rely and manufacturing processes.
Determine initially designed Determine 02 as a prototype. This meant that it used excessive complexity, tight tolerance, and gradual pc numerical management (CNC) machining processes. CNC from billet is a superb course of for prototyping and holds worth for high-tolerance elements. Nevertheless, it doesn’t scale effectively when attempting to drastically cut back each half prices and time to make elements.
As well as, Determine stated in a weblog submit that it has labored to scale back its half rely. It takes time to affix two elements collectively, so the corporate emphasised combining many elements into one to scale back cycle time.
All of those concerns went into Determine’s next-generation robotic, Determine 03. This robotic is the corporate’s manufacturing robotic constructed for affordability and high-volume manufacturing.
To realize excessive manufacturing charges, Determine switched to tooled processes reminiscent of injection molding, diecasting, steel injection molding, and stamping. The corporate claimed they enabled it to avoid wasting 1000’s of hours on manufacturing.
Determine stated elements that beforehand spent over every week on a CNC machine can now be manufactured in below 20 seconds with complicated metal molds. Whereas switching to those processes comes with a excessive capital price, the corporate stated it expects a fast return on funding (ROI) when contemplating its robotic volumes for 2025 and past.
Determine invests in its provide chain
In contrast to industrial automation, humanoid robots don’t but have well-established provide chains with varied tiers of producers constructing a system’s modules. Determine stated this led it to design virtually the complete robotic from scratch. This contains the actuators, motors, sensors, battery pack, and electronics.
Determine stated the shortage of a mature provide chain has been one of many largest hurdles it has confronted when defining the place and the way elements can be made. So, it determined to focus closely on the meeting of its core know-how: actuators, arms, and batteries. The corporate also can name on exterior distributors as wanted to fabricate piece elements.
As well as, the firm employed a crew of worldwide provide managers to assist type robust partnerships with distributors who’ve the experience to supply its complicated elements. Determine 03 stated it has greater than three-dozen commodities, lots of which require distinctive processes reminiscent of motor winding, versatile OLED screens, or exact optical designs.
Determine chosen all of its exterior companions to have the ability to scale with it. The corporate claimed that its provide chain can simply scale to 100,000 robots or 3 million actuators within the subsequent 4 years.
Determine decides the place to automate
After securing its provide chain, Determine wanted to construct up its manufacturing crew and infrastructure. The corporate stated it employed consultants in designing manufacturing traces, optimizing them, and understanding tips on how to optimize the method of turning supplies into merchandise.
Determine defined that its manufacturing engineers are accountable for breaking the robotic meeting up into sub-stations, choosing the right instruments to affix the elements collectively, designing and procuring fixtures for the meeting line, and understanding tips on how to take a look at the elements as they quickly flip right into a robotic. The engineers additionally present design-change suggestions to the corporate’s mechanical, electrical, and software program groups to lower manufacturing cycle time.
One key facet of its new product manufacturing is knowing which operations on the manufacturing line ought to be automated and which ought to be handbook. Traditionally, humanoid robots have been inbuilt low volumes, and automation has been uncommon. Determine has chosen within the brief time period to automate key components of the method by taking a look at metrics reminiscent of high quality and pace.
An instance of automation for high quality is the automated grease-dispensing station for its motor gearboxes. The corporate stated it will probably management the situation and quantity of the gearbox grease much more precisely with an automatic device than with a handbook grease gun.
An instance of automation for pace is Determine’s cell take a look at and cargo station. Right here, a robotic is way sooner than a human at choosing up, scanning, and testing each battery cell earlier than meeting into the battery pack.
Creating the infrastructure to permit robots to construct robots
To face up a profitable manufacturing unit, Determine AI added new instruments to its growth course of. It stated the MES is the spine of its manufacturing operation, and the corporate is constructing it in-house.
The MES integrates all points of manufacturing right into a single, real-time digital ecosystem. From monitoring elements by the availability chain to monitoring meeting effectivity and making certain stringent high quality management, Determine stated the MES permits it to function at peak effectivity.
Determine stated its MES integrates with its Web of Issues (IoT) units. This enables it to observe course of stream, monitor family tree, and supply a digital database of all of the take a look at knowledge associated to each part within the robotic.
The corporate added that BotQ will combine its humanoids into its meeting traces. With this month’s introduction of the Helix modal, Determine stated it will probably use its personal robots to assemble key elements on its manufacturing line.
The humanoids might act as materials handlers, transferring items between totally different stations with no need to put in cumbersome and rigid conveyor methods.
The mixture of AI-driven automation and human oversight permits for a hybrid workforce that maximizes pace, precision, and adaptableness, stated Determine. The usage of robots to construct extra robots will speed up manufacturing timelines whereas minimizing human intervention in repetitive duties, the corporate stated.
On the 2025 Robotics Summit & Expo in Boston on April 30 and Could 1, periods will embody “The State of Humanoids” and “Redesigning Atlas: Boston Dynamics on the Way forward for Humanoids.”
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