The robotics industry has been at the forefront of the industry for the past two years! Speaking of robots, we can't help but mention Musk's humanoid robots, such as the Optimus humanoid robot...
How much copper is used in humanoid robots? Let's estimate.
First, consider the copper used in motors. Humanoid robots have multiple motors to achieve joint movement and various actions. The copper windings in these motors consume a relatively large amount of copper, roughly 0.3kg to 1kg per motor. If a humanoid robot has around 30 motors, the copper used in the motors alone would be between 9kg and 30kg.
Second, humanoid robots often have numerous sensors and circuit boards installed in their heads and chests to enable vision, hearing, and voice recognition. The copper foil and wires on these circuit boards consume approximately 3kg to 8kg.
Furthermore, the power supply system and wiring and cables of humanoid robots also use copper, amounting to approximately 5kg to 10kg. In total, a humanoid robot uses approximately 17kg to 48kg of copper.
Of course, there are other types of robots besides humanoids. Industrial robots and service robots, for example, also consume significant amounts of copper.
Industrial robots include welding robots and assembly robots.
The transformers within welding robots' welding power supplies typically contain large amounts of copper windings. Large industrial welding robots can use tens of kilograms of copper in their transformers. Furthermore, welding electrodes are often made of copper alloys, with the copper usage for a set of electrodes ranging from several hundred grams to several kilograms.
In assembly robots, the copper windings in their motors are the primary copper component. Small assembly robots use approximately 1kg to 3kg of copper, while larger ones use around 5kg to 10kg. Furthermore, precision components in sensors and electrical wiring also use copper, with usage ranging from several kilograms to over ten kilograms.
Service robots generally include those used in household services, medical services, and logistics services.
Household robots, such as sweeping robots, use less copper, primarily in motors, battery wiring, and some electronic components. The copper windings in a motor typically weigh between a few hundred grams and 1 kilogram, while the copper wires in the battery connections also weigh a few hundred grams. Add to that the smaller amounts of copper used in other electronic components, and a typical robot vacuum cleaner's copper usage is around 1 to 2 kilograms.
For medical applications, copper usage varies depending on the specific function. For example, high-precision surgical robots use relatively high amounts of copper in their motors, sensors, and control systems. The copper windings in the motor may weigh between 2 and 5 kilograms, the copper components in the sensors may weigh between a few hundred grams and 1 kilogram, and the circuit boards and connecting wiring in the control system may weigh between 1 and 3 kilograms. In total, a high-end medical surgical robot may use around 5 to 10 kilograms of copper.
Simpler medical assistance robots, such as medicine delivery robots, use relatively less copper, around 2 to 3 kilograms. Logistics services require powerful power and stable control systems to carry heavy loads. Components like motors and battery connections use significant amounts of copper, ranging from 3kg to 8kg, depending on the robot's load capacity and size.
Which industry uses more copper: robots or the automotive industry?
Traditional gasoline-powered vehicles, for example, use copper windings and wires in electrical components like engines, generators, and starters, typically consuming around 20-30kg of copper per vehicle.
New energy vehicles, on the other hand, significantly increase their copper demand. A pure electric vehicle can use around 83kg of copper per vehicle, while a plug-in hybrid vehicle requires around 60kg, and a hybrid vehicle uses about 40kg.
Thus, the automotive industry generally uses more copper.
The company has a cluster of leading copper processing production lines in China, including:
German imported precision copper tube production line (annual output of 30,000 tons)
Japanese technology copper foil rolling line (thinnest up to 6μm)
Fully automatic copper bar continuous extrusion line
Intelligent copper sheet and strip finishing mill unit
Digitalized control and management of the whole production process is realized through MES system, and the dimensional accuracy of the products can reach ±0.01mm.
