Foxconn Robots Not up to Scratch for Apple

[Maura]

According to a report on MacRumors, Apple has been less than impressed with the performance of Foxconn’s robot assembly line.

Foxconn has recently been trialling the use of robots to help assemble iPhones and other Apple devices, but Chinese website Jiemian says that the current army of robots is not precise enough to satisfy Apple’s notoriously high standards.

This first wave of “Foxbots” have simple tasks to perform, such as assembling larger components and tightening screws. But it seems that even these simple tasks are beyond the robots, which are currently having an accuracy level of 0.05 mm, which is higher than Apple’s required 0.02 mm accuracy level.

MacRumors says that one reason why the robots do not appear to be fit for the task is because they were not built for the tasks that Apple and Foxconn want them to perform, being adapted from the motor manufacturing industry.

With this in mind, Foxconn is now working on developing a new generation of Foxbots that are smaller, more agile, and more able to handle the intricate tasks required of them.

Source: MacRumors