Industria meccanicaAutomazioneTecnologia di controllo > Trends in control technology 2012

Results of the market survey 2012

Integrated control technologies furthermore preferred, technology change slightly intensified

The changes in the control technology at the machines the machine-builders are considering this year show the results of the current change survey, Quest TechnoMarketing accomplished at the beginning of this year.

April 19th, 2012 - With 25% each fourth of the investigated machine-builders intend to change the control technology at the machines this year. In the previous year there were 24%.

 

In 2010 fine-tuning determined the changes in the control technology. So the machine-builders adapted or improved the used control technology at the machines. The crisis year 2009 and the following strongly increasing incoming orders pushed the technology change in 2010 into the background.

 

Last year the technology change returned again in the control technology, however, subdued and focuses on integrated control technologies.

Technology change slightly intensified

This technology change is continuing slightly intensified this year.

 

A technology change indicates three aspects i.e. new use, substitution or stability or fine-tuning. For instance the PC substituting the PLC means new use for the PC while substitution for the PLC. Stability or fine-tuning means e.g. that two small PLC displace one large PLC.

 

Now we pick out the aspect of the new use of a technology. How high is the portion of machine-builders, which decide changing the control technology for new use?

 

With three of six control technologies the new use is the shaping factor, concerning the PC technology, the integrated control platform and the PLC.

 

The diagram shows that e.g. 67% of the machine-builders intending to change the PC technology this year will decide for a new use or extended use of this technology.

Control technology in the German mechanical engineering industry 2012.
Source: Market survey by Quest TechnoMarketing about control technology in the German mechanical engineering industry 2012.

Integrated control technologies furthermore preferred

So the trend to integrated control technologies, PC ranks among them of course, is carrying forward as it already did last year.

 

For a long time the PLC again is playing an active role in the technological change with a portion of the new use of 33%. In the final years the PLC worked as a blood donor for the PC, then stabilized a bit and this year is winning new users among the change-willing machine-builders.

Representative results

37% of the approximately 650 machine-builders with 100 and more employees in the 10 automation-relevant sectors called their planning to Quest TechnoMarketing at the beginning of this year.

 

The results concentrated to trends by Quest TechnoMarketing are published in the study „What the machine-builders want to change in the automation technology 2012“. This study is to support also the automation manufacturers to match the technological changes in the machinery industry in time and purposefully.