The Global SCARA Robot Market is expected to witness moderate growth during the period 2013-2018 at a CAGR of 4.38 percent.
One of the major drivers in this market is the increased automation across industries. The growing need to reduce human effort and errors in the production process has led to the adoption of SCARA robots across industries. In many industries, workers performing repetitive tasks cause errors in the production process.
However, the adoption of SCARA robots that can perform repetitive tasks with unmatched efficiency can lead to a drastic reduction in production errors. Another major growth driver is the low maintenance cost of SCARA robots.
In preparation for the AMSE’s Advanced Design & Manufacturing Impact Forum from August 17th–20th, in Buffalo, New York, TechNavio analysts have pinpointed three key challenges expected to hinder market growth during the forecast period:
Increased Demand for Articulated Robots
The Global SCARA Robot market is witnessing an increase in the adoption of articulated robots as a substitute for SCARA robots. An articulated robot is a robotic arm that includes rotary joints to carry out precise movements.
Articulated robots includes at least three rotary joints, which help the robotic arm to move in multiple planes. Articulated robots are widely used in manufacturing industries for various applications such as welding, sealing, assembling, material handling, picking, cutting, painting and spraying, and machine tending.
The market is witnessing the replacement of SCARA robots with articulated robots in the Automotive industry. Further, the integration of artificial intelligence with articulated robots has led to the high demand for such robots globally.
Decrease in Demand from the Americas and EMEA Region
The Global SCARA Robot market is witnessing a decrease in the demand for SCARA robots in the Americas and the EMEA region. Industries across these geographies are increasingly adopting articulated and Cartesian robots to carry out functions that cannot be performed by the SCARA robots. The limited movement of SCARA robots makes them a less preferred option to end-users.
On the other hand, articulated and Cartesian robots can perform the same operations as SCARA robots. Their movements are not restricted, enabling them to perform a wider range of operations compared to SCARA robots. Hence, the advantages of articulated and Cartesian robots are increasing their demand compared to SCARA robots in the Americas and the EMEA region.
Availability of Low-cost SCARA Robot Solutions
The presence of a large number of vendors in the market has led to the development of low-cost SCARA robots. International vendors investing a lot of funds in R&D and are developing low-cost robots that enable them to increase their market share.
For instance, in 2012, EPSON launched the low-cost LS-Series SCARA robots. This has a direct impact on the local and regional vendors that are unable to provide low-cost products. The domination by international vendors makes it difficult for the local and regional vendors to establish their presence and gain a firm foothold in the market.
