深圳市高川自動化技術有限公司總經理薛永
從求生存，到求發展
Xue Yong, General Manager of Gaochuan Automation, called 2020 "a key year for survival." The outbreak of the COVID-19 has disrupted the industrial automation market. When the epidemic occurred, the company had only been in operation for one and a half years, with a relatively small scale and weak risk resistance, "Xue Yong said. On the other hand, at that time, Gaochuan Automation went through the product development stage in 2018 and the product validation stage in 2019, which was a critical period for the introduction of the new generation of PCle high-performance motion control cards into the market. It will take time to test whether its stability can be recognized by the market after its official launch. This year was extremely important for Gaochuan Automation.
Holding core technologies and being able to quickly turn them into products, the development potential of Gaochuan Automation has been highly regarded by both capital and the market, ultimately enabling it to smoothly pass this year. In June 2020, Gaochuan Automation successfully completed the A-round strategic financing, with Shenzhen High tech Investment as the investor. In addition, the innovative PCle high-performance motion control card, which integrates the great achievements of motion control technology, caused a significant stir in the industry once it was released in July last year.
Gaochuan Automation also made its debut at industry exhibitions and jointly established an intelligent control laboratory with Shenzhen University of Technology. In the words of Xue Yong, "In 2020, Gaochuan Automation overcame external environmental pressure and made leapfrog progress in both management and business
2021 is a crucial year for rapid development, "Xue Yong said.
Building a solid foundation and making sufficient preparations, Gaochuan Automation will boldly move forward in 2021. Currently, there is a global shortage of chips, and many motion control manufacturers have had to extend delivery times or even suspend orders due to a lack of chips. Thanks to sufficient stock of main chips, Gaochuan Automation appears to be at ease. Last November, we ordered a large number of main chips before the price surge, which could last for a year and currently have sufficient production capacity to ensure normal supply this year, "Xue Yong affirmed.
Both the market response for motion control cards and the research and development progress of intelligent control laboratories have made a good start. Our performance goal for 2021 is to more than double last year's level. Based on orders from January to May, there is not much problem in achieving the expected goals
From seeking survival to rapid development, Gaochuan Automation has taken its own path in the domestic motion controller market step by step.
Focus on motion controllers and create platform based products
With the intensification of market competition, many domestic motion control manufacturers are trying to extend their product lines to areas beyond controllers, such as servo drives and motors, and package them together to provide customers with system solutions. Perhaps it was his twenty years of career in the field of motion control that gave Xue Yong a profound and clear understanding of the market, which led to his exceptionally firm positioning for the development of Gaochuan Automation. We focus on motion controllers, at least for the next three to five years, at most extending to machine vision without specialized systems, let alone products such as servo drives, motors, and encoders. "He said that Gaochuan Automation's early goal was to provide a comprehensive motion control technology platform for intelligent equipment.
The release of PCle high-performance motion control cards means that Gaochuan Automation has sounded the horn of charging towards the high-end market. It is understood that the GC PCle series multi axis motion control card is a high-performance motion control card that integrates motion control technology and network communication technology. This control card can control 1-10 axis pulse/analog servo motors, while supporting EtherCAT IO module expansion, high-speed point motion, multi axis trajectory interpolation, multiple single axis and synchronous motion modes. In addition to the card insertion type, Gaochuan Automation's motion controller also has a network type, with different positioning. Xue Yong further explained, "Network based products are positioned towards the mid range, while plug-in type products are positioned towards the mid to high end. The plug-in type motion controller has greater advantages in system universality, scalability, anti-interference ability, and openness, and can meet the algorithm requirements of complex motion. It has become the fastest developing motion controller product in applications such as semiconductors, 3C electronics, and laser processing
Xue Yong seems to believe in a saying: Professional people do professional things. In less than an hour, he mentioned 'professional and focused' no less than three times. On the day of the unveiling ceremony of the Gaochuan Intelligent Control Laboratory at Shenzhen University of Technology, Xue Yong said, "Leaving technology research and development in the laboratory and product research and development in the enterprise is a very good practice, and both schools and enterprises can complement each other's advantages." Leaving the machine vision project to the laboratory, in addition to investing in cooperation costs, Gaochuan Automation does not interfere more. To Xue Yonglai, this is a professional matter that both parties are focused on.
With the characteristics of ultra high speed, low cost, flexibility, and openness, real-time industrial Ethernet EtherCAT technology has developed rapidly, especially in the field of motion control, which is highly favored by manufacturers. According to Xue Yong, in order to further complement the product line, Gaochuan Automation will officially release the EtherCAT full series of motion controllers at the Industrial Expo in September this year.
Emphasize scientific research innovation and bravely climb the technological peak
On the one hand, the transformation and upgrading of traditional manufacturing industry is urgent, and the requirements for intelligent equipment in flexible production are constantly increasing. On the other hand, the combination of new technologies such as big data, machine vision, and industrial Internet of Things with motion control technology is becoming increasingly close. As the core component of intelligent equipment, what aspects should the motion controller be improved in?
Xue Yong stated that as early as a few years ago, motion controllers had been developing towards digitization, networking, and intelligence. On this basis, our primary task is to improve the performance of motion controllers, specifically to improve the accuracy and speed of product applications. In the terminal manufacturing process, the accuracy of controllers determines product quality, and speed determines production efficiency. "He also mentioned that China's industrial development is changing rapidly, and industrial field applications are emerging endlessly. Correspondingly, motion controllers also need to constantly iterate and innovate, Continuously improve product performance by combining on-site application processes.
Xue Yong believes that enterprises should lay out technology research and development in advance to keep up with market trends. According to his plan, the research and development team of the intelligent control laboratory mainly focuses on tackling machine vision related technologies. At the same time,
The motion controller series developed by Gaochuan Automation not only carries out school enterprise cooperation, but also places great emphasis on talent team construction. Xue Yong said, "Our R&D team consists of post-70s, post-80s, and post-90s generations, gradually cultivating talents through the 'old leading new' approach. The top core engineers are the first batch of personnel in China to research motion controllers, all with over 15 years of rich experience. In addition, Gaochuan Automation will use some financing funds to further enhance its R&D strength and improve the high-end talent structure.
Gaochuan Automation has always adhered to independent research and development, which has shaped its core competitiveness. The strategic investor Shenzhen High tech Investment highly praised it: "Gaochuan Automation has always focused on research on motion control technology, gradually settling six core technology platforms, including motion control technology, network communication technology, embedded system technology, servo drive technology, machine vision technology, and programmable automation control technology, meeting the needs of most industrial scenarios and making a good layout for the future
Gaochuan Automation continues to bravely climb the technological peak, and in the future, it will definitely make a significant contribution in the field of mid to high end motion control.
