A New Beginning and a Spirit of Pioneering | Over the past decade, STEP Robotics has steadily climbed higher, embarking on a new journey.
2023-12-18
On December 13, at the 2023 (10th) High-Tech Robot Annual Conference, STEP has been awarded the “2023 Corporate Award.” Its product and brand strengths in the industrial robotics sector have once again been recognized. At the closing keynote session of the conference, themed “A New Journey for the Next Decade,” Zhou Guangxing, General Manager of the STEPeng Robotics Division, delivered a keynote speech titled “New Landscape and Bold Action,” reviewing STEPeng Robotics’ decade-long journey of development and looking ahead to the new opportunities that lie ahead amid industry transformation.
Award ceremony scene (STEP is fourth from the left)
Dare to Lead—Positive R&D, Forging Strength
Zhou Guangxing, General Manager of the STEP Robot Division
From its initial foray into the field to deep, sustained expertise, STEP has spent thirteen years in the robotics industry and has become one of the few domestic Chinese robotics companies that consistently pursue forward-looking R&D, building a robust robotics platform. “Key Components + Main Body + Integrated Applications” In the industrial chain ecosystem, the rate of technological self-reliance has reached 60%, and we already have domestically produced solutions for all components, including chips. We are fully committed to boosting the high-quality development of "Made in China."
Currently, STEP has established... Load range: 1 kg – 600 kg a portfolio of more than 80 industrial robot products across nine series. Zhou Guangxing believes that the presentation of these products embodies years of technological accumulation. Starting from control technology, STEP has successfully established a competitive “bottom-layer” robotics infrastructure—mastering in-house the core technologies, software, and algorithms for robot control—through which it... High-order dynamic algorithms, vibration suppression techniques, trajectory planning techniques, and static accuracy compensation techniques The robot has achieved significant improvements in key performance indicators such as operational stability, positioning accuracy, cycle time, and noise reduction, enabling it to compete on an equal footing with world-class brands.
The continuous iteration of our products relies on mature and reliable in-house R&D capabilities. STEP not only boasts a stable R&D team of over 1,000 members but also operates a CNAS-accredited laboratory, ensuring that every data point and performance metric of our robotic products undergoes thorough experimental validation.
In 2023, STEPeng Robotics’ cumulative shipments have exceeded 40,000 units, and its product innovation capabilities continue to be strengthened—particularly with the launch of robots designed for heavy payloads ranging from 25 to 600 kg. Fourth-generation robot control cabinet SRC4, Perfectly breaks through a series of technical bottlenecks, including temperature rise, high level of integration, and protection ratings. Its volume is reduced by 80% compared to conventional products on the market. It features both high reliability and ease of use. The SRC4 control cabinet will lead the trend toward miniaturization of high-load robots.
New Chapter—“Breaking Through” the Red Sea, “Mastering” the Blue Ocean
Currently, the robotics industry has entered a stage of intense red-ocean competition—particularly in the “new three horsemen”: lithium batteries, photovoltaics, and the new-energy vehicle sector, where competition is especially fierce. Leveraging its advantages in key technologies and deep insights into customer processes and pain points, STEP Robotics has achieved large-scale applications across numerous niche industries.
Zhou Guangxing shared information on the applications of STEP robots in industries such as lithium batteries, photovoltaics, automobiles, and automotive components.
Lithium battery industry
Targeting the production of lithium battery electrodes, cell assembly, chemical formation and capacity testing, module and PACK lines, STEPeng has launched the YR series SCARA robots and the heavy-duty six-axis robot series—customized models specifically designed for the lithium battery industry. STEP full product lineup can be applied to various process steps including sorting, glue dispensing, film removal, material handling, and inspection, enabling comprehensive lithium battery solutions across all scenarios. This approach enhances the automation efficiency and product yield of lithium battery manufacturers, aligning with industry trends toward flexibility and intelligence. Among these, 500 SCARA robots with a 50 kg payload have already been deployed in the module PACK stage of lithium battery production, and the performance of STEP Zhongweixing heavy-duty SCARA robots has been validated through large-scale market applications.
Photovoltaic industry
The STEP SCARA, SP, SD, and SR series products are applied throughout the entire photovoltaic production process chain, including silicon ingot handling, silicon ingot gluing, wafer basket transfer, module layout, glass feeding, and assembly box palletizing. Based on the specific needs of industry customers, these products can undergo secondary customized development to closely align with actual production requirements, making them easy to use and maintain. This helps enhance the automation level of production lines and improve product yield.
Automotive and Automotive Components Industry
The SA-series welding robots have been introduced into automotive white-body production lines, marking a breakthrough for domestic brands. They are already being applied in various process stages of automotive component stamping and testing. Our subsidiary, Shanghai Xiao'ao, boasts extensive experience in automated welding for complete vehicle assembly lines. It employs multi-robot collaboration to handle the entire process—from assembling the three major underbody components, side panels, roof panels, and door panels, through gluing, spot welding, re-welding, and final overall assembly, all the way to edge rolling—thus enabling flexible production of multiple vehicle models.
In addition, STEP has consistently adhered to the belief that “the key to success for domestic brands lies in niche markets.” Focusing on specialized sectors such as steel structures and tires, the company has thoroughly explored “blue ocean” markets, provided precise customer service, and continuously tapped into the application potential of industrial robots across an even wider range of niche areas.
Over the past decade, STEP has broken new ground in the industry through technological innovation and bold experimentation. In the next decade, STEP will leverage high-quality products, comprehensively refined processes, and timely, attentive service to build a distinctive competitive edge for Chinese robotics brands and seize greater market growth opportunities.
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