A continued investment of capital for automation in many industries and regions driven by globalization is expected to result in a compounded annual growth rate of 6.1 percent over the next five years for the general motion control market (GMC), according to a new ARC Advisory Group study.
For 2005, the market was over $5 billion and it is forecasted to grow to nearly $7 billion in 2010.
GMC market trends are mainly driven by manufacturers who are trying to achieve flexibility and agility in manufacturing operations at the lowest possible lifecycle cost of plant equipment, the ARC study said.
Manufacturers are demanding solutions that provide seamless integration, reduce packaging size, and are easy to install.
“While faster-cheaper-better remains a continuing background trend in the GMC market, these goals translate into high productivity, flexibility, and agility which GMC equipment provides,” according to Senior Analyst Himanshu Shah, the principal author of ARC’s “General Motion Control Worldwide Outlook, Market Analysis & Forecast Through 2010.”
Ethernet-based networks designed for motion control are opening the door to high-end application performance by enabling levels of speed, capacity and determinism not possible just a few years ago.
GMC suppliers are collaborating with machine builders’ electrical and mechanical engineers to create a mechatronic solution, an integrated view of mechanics, electronics, and motion control software.
These economical solutions offer an integrated system approach to achieving enhanced performance rather than the independent optimization of components.
Integrated safety in new motion control solutions supports a wide variety of safe drive functions without the use of external safety hardware. These functions greatly increase machine productivity by allowing operators to perform tasks without removing power from the drives.
In Asia, the global flat panel display (FPD) market has experienced strong growth in recent years, and few Japanese suppliers have benefited by targeting related semiconductor and LCD manufacturing equipment, ARC said.
