MANUFACTURING
Advanced passive components support industrial robot design for manufacturing sector
By Riyo Nagae, marketing specialist, Panasonic Industry Europe
T
he manufacturing sector is changing considerably, particularly in developed economies facing labor shortages associated with aging populations and declining birth rates. Factory automation is increasingly being adopted to maintain productivity, improve process consistency and address workforce constraints.
According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), approximately 540,000 industrial robots were installed globally in 2023. The worldwide operational stock exceeded 4.28 million units, representing a 10 per cent year- on-year increase.
This growth is placing greater demands on electronics inside robotic systems. Servo drives, motor controllers, power supplies, sensing circuits and control electronics must operate reliably despite vibration, thermal stress, high switching frequencies and limited PCB space. Passive component selection is therefore increasingly important to system reliability, effi ciency and miniaturisation.
Capacitors: Balancing capacitance, ESR and reliability
DC-link, smoothing and decoupling capacitors are critical to robot control and power- conversion circuits. Engineers must consider nominal capacitance alongside DC-bias characteristics, temperature stability, ESR, ripple current capability and lifetime. MLCCs provide excellent high-frequency performance and low ESR, but effective capacitance can fall substantially under DC bias. In a representative example, a 22µF MLCC can lose approximately 80 per cent of its nominal capacitance at 15V DC bias, with further variation due to temperature. Achieving an effective 47µF capacitance may therefore require multiple MLCCs in parallel. Conductive polymer capacitors offer a different trade-off. Their capacitance remains comparatively stable under DC bias and temperature variation, allowing a single 47µF device to potentially replace multiple MLCCs. This can reduce PCB area, component count and assembly complexity while maintaining required bulk capacitance.
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Mechanical reliability is another consideration in robotic applications. Articulated arms can expose components to continuous vibration and mechanical shock. Panasonic’s vibration-resistant conductive polymer hybrid aluminum electrolytic capacitors are available in 6.3mm to 10mm diameters and support vibration acceleration levels up to 30G. These components can reduce the need for additional reinforcement such as adhesive bonding.
Temperature capability is equally important. SEPTEMBER 2026 | ELECTRONICS FOR ENGINEERS
Panasonic’s SP-Cap aluminum polymer capacitors are specifi ed for operation up to +135°C, with endurance ratings of up to 5,500 hours. POSCAP polymer tantalum capacitors provide high capacitance in compact packages, with ratings up to +125°C and endurance of 1,000 hours. OS-CON aluminum polymer capacitors offer endurance ratings of up to 20,000 hours at +105°C. Their low ESR helps reduce I²R losses and improve thermal performance in power-conversion stages.
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