Foxconn Electronics, Apple's production partner in China, has announced its plans to automate iPhone production at its factories in three phases, with the final goal of fully automating entire factories.
Foxconn To Fully Automate iPhones Production
According to DigiTimes, general manager Dai Jia-peng for Foxconn's Automation Technology Development Committee has announced that the company plans to automate its factories in China in three phases, with the final aim to achieve fully automated production of iPhones. In the first phase, the Taiwanese high-tech manufacturing company aims to set up individual automated workstations for tasks that are dangerous or workers are unwilling to do, according to Dai.
In order to decrease the number of robots used during the second phase, entire production lines will be automated, Dai said. Entire factories will be eventually automated in the third phase, leaving only a minimal number of workers assigned for logistics, production, inspection and testing processes, Dai explained.
Foxconn has manufacturing facilities in Shenzhen, southern China, Chengdu, western China and Zhengzhou, northern China. Most of the company's factories have been brought to the second or third phase, according to the manager Dai. There are already 10 fully automated production lines at some factories, including all-in-one (AIO) LCD monitor and PC lines at a factory in Chongqing, western China, table line in Chengd and a CNC line in Zhengzhou, Dai said.
Up to date, Foxconn has deployed more than 40,000 Foxbots at factories in China, according to Dai. The Foxbots are industrial robots developed and produced in-house by the Taiwanese company. Foxconn has the ability to produce about 10,000 Foxbots a year.
Foxconn is also developing robots for use in medical care, in addition to industrial robots, Dai indicated. The general manager of Foxconn's Automation Technology Development Committee explained that industrial robots will not be able to completely replace workers despite the fact robotic technology keeps improving. The reason for this limitation is the fact that humans have the flexibility to quickly switch from one task to another, Dai explained.
Consequences Of Foxconn's Automation Plans
According to SlashGear, Taiwan's electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn builds Apple's iPhone along with dozens of other high-tech devices. Since the release of the iPhone 6, Foxconn has already reduced its total workforce to over half the company's workforce present in the year 2014.
While Donald Trump made a promise during the presidential electoral campaign of getting Apple to move its product manufacturing to the U.S., Foxconn's plans seem to contradict the President-elect. Foxconn has one major iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, China, locally referred as "iPhone City."
The local government is providing significant financing and tax facilities in order to help the company to build worker housing and portions of the factory. The "iPhone City" has been an important factor for the local development. But now tech analysts believe that the gradual elimination of human workers at Chinese factories that employ almost entire cities could not only stop any plans of expanding the production out of China but also be detrimental to the livelihoods and economies of local Chinese areas.
