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Compiled by Don Rosato
Keyword Abstract: cost efficiency, automation, robots, KUKA Roboter, System Partner Channel, DLR, German Aerospace Center, light weight, intelligent, teamworking, RoboTeams, Daimler, modular robot, seven degrees of freedom, flexibility, manipulation
Cost Efficient Plastics Automation Advances
Many plastics processors, faced with increasing competition are looking to new cost efficient automation strategies to maximize machine utilization and part quality while reducing labor and scrap costs. The range of choices and flexibility of robots, together with reduced costs for automation technology are allowing more plastics processors to take advantage of automation.
Robot Advances and Future Trends in Plastics Manufacturing
Robots used in plastics processing applications and related automation technology are continuously evolving to meet ever expanding global demands. Robots are becoming faster and smarter, controls/drives are getting smaller, and costs are continuing to drop. Robots are now affordable for all plastics molders for use on both new and existing machines.
Tomorrow's robots will be increasingly intelligent with expandable and assignable input/output configurations and easy-to-use controls that will meet tough beside-the-press demands, including inspection, quality control, and added value functions such as decorating. Robot development is continuously influenced by advances in processing machines and tooling technology. Ongoing cycle time reductions to increase plastics processing machine productivity translates into ever shorter part removal times for automation systems. Meanwhile, advances in robot mechanical design and the use of dynamic servo drives are allowing faster, vibration free motions, while bearing designs are making significant advances to reduce maintenance intervals and increase robot reliability. Controls for today's robots also provide the plastic molder with diagnostic information for quick troubleshooting at the machine.
KUKA Roboter GmbH, a leading global supplier of industrial robots develops, produces and markets industrial robots, controllers, software and linear units. A member of the IWKA Aktiengesellschaft Group, the company is the market leader in Germany and Europe, and number three in the world. KUKA Robotics is the North American subsidiary of KUKA Roboter GmbH. KUKA Roboter's business strategy is to leverage its automotive experience by building and supporting a System Partner Channel. In this way, the company builds on direct accounts with automotive manufacturers, and non automotive growth through their 'System Partner' network. The company, focusing on core competencies, thus combines its own robotic expertise with the industry specific know how of each system partner.
KUKA Robot Group's philosophy is to foresee customers' needs in various sectors of industry and use this knowledge to develop real, practical solutions. Anticipating customer needs, KUKA has developed an innovative lightweight robot design, two new families of compact robots, a wealth of industry specific developments and many new ideas for automating production.
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Lightweight 'Intelligent' Robot with Seven Degrees of Freedom
(Source: KUKA Roboter)
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KUKA Roboter sees as its mission the establishment of the robot as an intelligent helper, able to support humans by virtue of its high quality work. Pursuing new visions for the future of robot technology KUKA developed the lightweight robot in close cooperation with industry and researchers. KUKA has long been concerned with the topic of 'Humans and Robots.' Equipped with responsive sensors and unique control algorithms, the lightweight robot 'learns' by allowing itself to be guided. This leading edge technology is being used to facilitate university research in new application fields for robotics. KUKA typically pursues its ideas with skilled partners to realize its visions and is especially proud of its long partnership with the DLR (German Aerospace Center), a partnership that has produced the KUKA lightweight robot. More human like than other KUKA industrial robots, the light weight 'intelligent' KUKA foresees the robot as a valuable every day assistant to the human worker. Based on the human arm, the modular robot has seven degrees of freedom, offering greater flexibility and manipulation ease than classical industrial robots. The joints of the lightweight robot are connected using CRP (carbon reinforced plastic) structures, fitted with lightweight heavy duty (HD) gear units and specially developed low power-weight ratio motors. Integrated with an industrial PC robot controller a new type of robot is emerging, designed to share its work envelop with humans.
Recently KUKA also introduced RoboTeams, a range of robots that cooperate with one another to form a workcell, and also allows individual robots to be integrated into more than one group. The intelligent, fully cooperating robot technology, optimized for human-machine/machine-machine interaction was developed through close cooperation with Daimler. RoboTeams enables precisely coordinated teamwork between robots, allowing the robots to work faster, with greater precision and versatility. Daimler triggered the new concept and has invested three million Euro in the project development. Ethernet-based communication is the centerpiece of the new system. Each robot through its standard controller is connected to the Ethernet through which the robots communicate with one another and synchronize themselves by means of 'geometric cooperation' new, high-performance software that allows far more flexible and efficient robot operation. One robot is in control and the others follow its lead, greatly simplifying the programming, regardless of RoboTeam size. Additional software development for collision avoidance ensures safe interplay between the machines. RoboTeams allows work to be continued on parts even as they are being transferred to the next assembly station, significantly reducing non-productive transfer times. The technology has allowed Daimler to reduce production areas by up to 20% and investment in manufacturing systems by about 5%. Daimler and KUKA Roboter have deployed up to 15 robots in RoboTeams. The cooperating robots also work well performing tasks such as welding and adhesive bonding in which one robot holds and freely moves the workpiece as the other robot accesses otherwise hard to reach points on the part. |
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