Under the motto “Hello Industrie 4.0_we connect you”, KUKA unites automation and digitization expertise at this year’s Hannover Messe. The Augsburg-based automation specialist has developed its “smart factory” further – and is now opening the next chapter in Industrie 4.0.

Highly customized products and a transparent, digitally networked manufacturing process which can be enhanced by human operators and innovative KUKA products: In the further developed “smart factory” at the 2017 Hannover Messe, all of the expertise of the Augsburg-based automation specialist comes together in one system. This enables flexible, fast and intelligent production which visitors can interact with on site.

“Mass Customization” – the inexpensive manufacture of customized “batch
sizes of 1” in automated production – is thus becoming a reality: From the settings in the system to the various networked production steps (including the associated intralogistics) through to the delivery of the product. Through this intelligent interaction of machines, mobile systems, software and robots, human operators hold the reins in their hands. Thanks to cloud-based communication, various end devices, such as the smartphone, can be used to comfortably track and influence the progress.

Behind this central “smart factory”, the largest networked trade fair application in the history of KUKA, there lies an intelligent interplay between various companies of the Bavarian automation specialist: Robotic and system expertise from Systems, Industries and Robotics as well as production logistics from the Swisslog subsidiary. Add to this the IT and software expertise of various associates parties. In this way, KUKA supports customers from the idea through to the finished factory.

Innovative partners for new business models
From 24 to 28 April in Hanover, KUKA offers insights into new areas – customized products and services for customers which even stretch beyond KUKA’s core business area. KUKA also has innovative partners to create a comprehensive ecosystem for customers in which flexible Industrie 4.0 solutions become a reality. You can thus easily gain an overview of your entire production process and also network and control it. Here, KUKA brings its experience to help customers, partners and start-ups to jointly create something new.

Connyun, a KUKA start-up company for cloud technology, will introduce itself directly at the KUKA booth in Hall 17 in the “Industrial Automation” area. Roboception – a young Munich-based company that develops 3D-perception for robot systems and an enterprise in which KUKA holds a stake – will also be represented directly at the KUKA booth.

The scientific competition for young talents: The KUKA Innovation Award
Whether an airbag system for human-robot collaboration, robot use for human rescue and new automation solutions for finishing processes or the mounting of heavy parts: this year’s finalists for the Innovation Award 2017 will presenting their applications on the topic of “Advanced Mechatronics” at Hannover Messe.

Directly at the KUKA booth, the teams of young researchers from all over the world present their concepts, which they have implemented in a few months using KUKA products. Finally, an international jury of experts selects the winner of the scientific competition and the 20,000 euro prize, and the champion is crowned directly at the KUKA booth.

LBR iiwa solves tasks with a sensitive touch

Many engineering careers are no doubt born in early childhood out of a fascination for Lego bricks and robots. The next step up the career ladder then occurs in the assembly and robotics laboratory at Rosenheim University of Applied Sciences under Prof. Dr. Christian Meierlohr. Using an application with the LBR iiwa from KUKA, engineering students no longer stack Lego bricks themselves. Instead, they leave this task to the sensitive seven-axis lightweight robot. The LBR iiwa picks up the pieces, stacks them and sensitively pushes them together. Lego mazes can be created in this way and the sensitive lightweight robot passes through them with its gripper. The students make use here of the robot’s sensitive ability to detect and avoid obstacles and collisions in order to find its way out of the labyrinth. Since the robot is mounted on a specially manufactured laboratory trolley, it can be moved freely around the room and thus flexibly used in other teaching events.
Handling workpieces with a KUKA small robot

The KR AGILUS sixx small robot is extremely fast. It is located in a training cell with a transparent table, automatic workpiece supply by vibratory feeder and an image processing system for workpiece recognition. Depending on the study level – Bachelor or Master – it can be used to accomplish different tasks. Pick-and-place is a typical automation scenario. Here the robot is used to grip workpieces and position them accurately. The image processing system can also be used to recognize and sort different parts. Another task is programming the robot to find its way through a foam labyrinth.
Programming by means of software simulation

As far as programming is concerned, students can use the simulation software KUKA.Sim Pro to program robots offline on the PC and test the sequence with KUKA.OfficeLite In this way, they learn to create motion sequences that can be used, for example, in robotic cells for production and assembly. Following the simulated tests, the sequences programmed offline can be checked directly on the real machine and optimized under practical conditions. “Simulation is a good first step when planning what can be done with a robot, but sooner or later it reaches its limits. The real world behaves slightly differently from the simulated world in certain respects. That is why the ability to transfer the planning on the computer directly to the real robot and apply it there is so valuable,” says Prof. Dr. Meierlohr. Moreover, the integration of the simulation workstations makes it possible to divide the students into smaller groups that can work at multiple stations. This increases the intensity and success of the learning process. In this way, the students can work through the typical engineering tasks from planning through to real implementation.

A mini robotic cell developed by integrator Paul von der Bank GmbH is in operation at Brüninghaus & Drissner in Hilden. In the confined space of this “Welding To Go” (WTG) 1200 cell, a KUKA KR 6 R 700 sixx robot from the AGILUS series reliably performs welding tasks.

KUKA KR AGILUS ROBOT FOR PARTICULARLY HIGH WORKING SPEEDS

“With the same dimensions as a Euro pallet – 1200×800 mm – the WTG 1200 is the smallest robotic cell on the market for arc welding,” explains Cornelia Hornemann, responsible for product launch, project management and production planning at Paul von der Bank. Furthermore, depending on the specific requirements of the customer, the optimum small robot from the KR AGILUS series can be flexibly operated in the cell. The robots of the KR AGILUS series are systematically designed for particularly high working speeds. The KR 6 R700 sixx integrated into the mini robotic cell at Brüninghaus & Drissner, for example, has a maximum payload capacity of 6 kg and a reach of approximately 706 mm. The sliding doors of the WTG 1200 can optionally be opened either automatically or manually before a worker loads the workpieces into the welding fixture. Once the door has closed, the robot starts its welding tasks.

KUKA KR 6 R700 SIXX SMALL ROBOT ACHIEVES ALMOST 50% BOOST IN PRODUCTIVITY

“At our plant, the WTG 1200 works reliably in 3-shift operation,” explains Markus Nickolai, Head of Production at Brüninghaus & Drissner. With great success: the mini robotic cell has resulted in significant productivity gains of up to 50 percent, as the operator is now able to prepare the next workpieces while automatic production is in progress. That is not all, however: thanks to the repeatability of the small robot, the quality of the weld seams has also improved noticeably. It is therefore no surprise that Paul von der Bank GmbH is already working on the next mini-cell generation with KUKA robots for its customers. The WTG 1500 will then have an external axis for turning the welding fixture.

With KUKA Toledo Production Operations, or KTPO for short, KUKA set a new milestone in terms of the digital supply chain and Industrie 4.0. The manufacturing solution consisting of networked systems and architectures was set up as long ago as 2006 and was ahead of its time. The plant enabled a quantum leap in productivity.

Up until 2006, the efficient production of high volumes and a wide range of models and variants on the same production line had always been considered impossible. KTPO proved the opposite: the body-in-white plant for Jeep® Wrangler bodyshells is pioneering in terms of networking and process control – as well as offering unprecedented flexibility. KUKA was already implementing Industrie 4.0 in reality back then.

The “Internet of Things in a Box”

A vehicle body – of whatever model and whatever version – comes off the production line every 77 seconds. Reliably, day in, day out, for the last ten years. To achieve this, KUKA linked the plant’s 259 robots and 60,000 other devices with powerful back-end monitoring systems and a master data management system. This was essentially the development of “IoT in a Box” which has evolved dynamically and continuously ever since.

For years, the plant has been one of the most efficient body-in-white lines in the US automotive industry and one of the pioneers of Industrie 4.0. So far, at a rate of nearly one a minute, around one and a half million bodies-in-white for the Jeep® Wrangler have rolled off the same line, irrespective of whether they are for the classic two-door model or for the four-door “Unlimited” series.

Pioneering operator model
The Jeep® Wrangler is a success story – in terms of both production and demand. In order to keep up effortlessly with the increasing production figures, KTPO made use of an intelligent control system to enable non-stop output of bodyshells in two-shift operation. “KTPO reliably produces top-quality vehicle bodies,” emphasizes KTPO Managing Director Jake Ladouceur.

The operator model at KTPO is also pioneering. In the four production facilities at the “Toledo Supplier Park”, several suppliers take on responsibility for the manufacture of entire preliminary stages in their own production shops. Chrysler itself is responsible for painting and final assembly.

KTPO as an intelligent lifecycle management platform
What began with the networking of production processes via back-end monitoring systems, has meanwhile developed into an intelligent lifecycle management platform as part of Industrie 4.0. The fully digitized solution, linked to production, controls and monitors the entire value chain in real time, from receipt of materials to the actual production processes and goods dispatch. It also identifies weak points and optimizes capacity utilization.

Day in, day out, KTPO impressively demonstrates that KUKA is operating a body-in-white production facility that can meet the most exacting standards of the global automotive industry in terms of quality and efficiency as well as the requirements of Industrie 4.0.

At Asset International in South Wales, a KUKA 120 R2700 extra HA robot, a KL 1500-3 T linear unit, and two KUKA MG 360 servomotors for the external rotational axis and the KUKA CNC controller relieve workers of strenuous milling tasks.

THE KUKA KR QUANTEC SERIES FOR PAYLOADS OF UP TO 120 KILOGRAMS

The KUKA 120 R2700 extra HA robot from the KUKA KR QUANTEC series for payloads of up to 120 kilograms is designed for high-precision requirements such as milling and laser applications. At Asset International, it machines the large plastic pipe components with a specially designed high-speed milling spindle. Prior to machining, workers clamp the components to a multi-functional clamping table or a large, self-centering table controlled by the rotational axis. As a result of the barrier-free system, the robot, mounted on the KL 1500-3 T linear unit, can move directly to the plastic pipe to be machined and then flexibly carry out the job on the component as required. The solution was developed by integrator Eugen Riexinger GmbH & Co. KG in Bad Liebenzell.

40 PERCENT PRODUCTIVITY BOOST AND INCREASED SAFETY

“Thanks to the KUKA 120 R2700 extra HA robot, our employees are relieved of very strenuous manual work involving strong vibrations,” says Graham Bennett. “The solution has enabled us to increased productivity by more than 40 percent,” says Asset’s Operation Manager with pleasure. “Shorter production times have allowed us to boost capacity by more than 50 percent. At the same time, there has been a significant improvement in quality and precision,” he emphasizes. Thanks to its modular design tailored to the customer’s requirements, the system can be adapted to the needs of Asset International at any time. The integrator is also very pleased with the result. “We are very proud to have designed the first system worldwide that can process such large plastic parts with this precision and speed – all the while increasing occupational safety,” emphasizes Manuel Kratz, head of the project at Riexinger. For this reason, the Bad Liebenzell-based company is sure that robot-based automation in the plastics processing sector will be seeing further growth.

In a Ford Motor Company factory in Cologne, Germany, KUKA’s LBR iiwa robot is helping to transform their production line into Industry 4.0 – the 4th industrial revolution – in which humans work hand-in-hand with robots and factories become smarter.]

The robotic factory of the future can be found in Cologne

The LBR iiwa on Ford’s production line help to install heavy shock absorbers into the popular Ford Fiesta, a task that was very difficult to implement with traditional automation. This left the human workers on the line to do repetitive, ergonomically difficult and technically challenging work in a fast paced environment all on their own.
Worker and robot work together hand in hand.
Humans and robots augmenting each other’s strengths

Now, with the LBR iiwa, the human workers can focus on ensuring the production is running smoothly, while leaving the heavy and straining tasks to the robot – each augmenting the other’s efficiency and particular set of skills. This is one of the key tenets of Industry 4.0 and LBR iiwa is the perfect robot to do it safely and flexibly thanks to its unique set of integrated sensors that make it extremely touch sensitive and dexterous. Not to mention it’s pretty fun to be able to get a backrub from, and have a coffee with, the LBR iiwa. The workplace of the future is here today!

The interaction of robots and machine tools is the focus of KUKA’s trade fair appearance at AMB 2016. KUKA will be presenting solutions for the metalworking sector at the international exhibition for automation. The trade fair will be held in Stuttgart from 13 to 17 September 2016. Visit us in Hall 8, Booth 8A69.

KUKA demonstrates customised automation solutions for machine tools

The world of machine tool users is spinning ever faster, which is why automation solutions must also be implemented more and more quickly. KUKA aims to provide its customers with the best possible support. For this, KUKA is expanding its product portfolio with additional automation components, such as a gripper package, and is supplying its partners with “ready-to-use“ robots.

Operating KUKA industrial robots, even without special programming knowledge

Visitors can take a closer look at KUKA at the company’s trade fair booth. Among other things, they have the chance to see industrial robots of the KR QUANTEC, KR CYBERTECH and KR AGILUS series as well as operator control elements and robot cells. The KR AGILUS, for example, will be on display in its waterproof variant, equipped with a gripper package. It is ideal for use in machine tools, since it is not affected by high external stress factors such as swarf, cooling lubricants, water spray or oil. To make operator control of robots as simple as possible, KUKA has developed KUKA.mxAutomation, an interface that allows the user to program robots even without special programming knowledge. With the Siemens SINUMERIK Operate user interface, execution of the machine tool and robot programs can be controlled and monitored on parallel channels.

Airbus uses two powerful KUKA omniMove heavy-duty mobile transport vehicles for the construction of its A380 flagship in Hamburg. With their Mecanum wheels, they are able to transport aircraft components weighing up to 90 tonnes with millimeter precision in confined spaces.

Canum wheels of the KUKA Omnimove enable maximum maneuverability

Construction of the Airbus A380 in Hamburg involves moving aircraft components measuring 15 meters in length and weighing up to 90 tonnes. This is made possible by the KUKA omniMove mobile transport platform, a transport vehicle for heavy loads that is equipped with omnidirectional Mecanum wheels. This wheel design ensures unrestricted maneuverability without the need to steer the wheels. For a year now, Airbus has been using two of these vehicles in the hangar in which the A380 is produced. This enables implementation of the desired cycle time for transportation of the fuselage sections and the parts are moved along the production line.

Robot platform maneuvers from a standing start

Due to the different work stations and the huge fuselage sections, space in the Airbus hangar is limited. The ability to turn from a standing start is the greatest advantage of the KUKA omniMove. The Mecanum wheels move in every direction and operate with the utmost precision even with a maximum payload of up to 90 tonnes. “Our success is unequivocally based on innovation and we also implement state-of-the-art technologies in our production facility,” explains Dr. Kai Brüggemann, Airbus plant manager in Hamburg.

KUKA Omnimove impresses with simple handling, flexibility and precision 

The KUKA omniMove meets these requirements very well. It is easy to operate, quick to learn and particularly easy to steer. Furthermore, the batteries are very powerful: the transport platform operates tirelessly for 48 hours without the need to recharge them. The ease of handling, flexibility and precision of the KUKA omniMove have greatly impressed the team at Airbus that operates the platforms. “The omniMove has always been the optimal solution for handling and transportation of the A380,” summarizes Dr. Brüggemann, and adds: “I hope to be able to introduce further KUKA products to our hangers.”

While smoothly loading the grinding center of type UW I F at SAACKE, the KUKA small robot KR AGILUS WP (waterproof) ensures fast and precise transfer and unloading of workpieces.

Robot-based automation of the grinding process shortens the changing times for workpieces

The KR AGILUS WP removes the workpiece to be machined – an indexable insert or a shank tool – from a pallet in the robot cell and sets it down on a pin. Following this, it positions the workpiece in front of the door of the cell, which opens automatically. The robot arm then moves through the open door to the grinding device outside of the robot cell, where a machined workpiece is already located during ongoing operation. Using the second gripper, the KR AGILUS WP picks up this workpiece and then loads the new workpiece with a quick rotation of the gripper arm. Machining of the new workpiece with the type UW I F tool grinding machine begins. In the meantime, the robot arm returns to the robot cell. There, the machined workpiece is cleaned in the blowing station and then set down again on the pallet before the robot grips the next workpiece to be ground and the work sequence is repeated from the beginning.

Waterproof KUKA small robot  also works precisely under intensive outdoor production conditions

The KUKAsmall robot works extremely precisely for the optimal handling of indexable inserts weighing just a few grams as well as for shank tools of up to 2.5 kg. The robot used to achieve this at SAACKE is the KR 6 R900 sixx WP robot – the most robust waterproof variant from the KR AGILUS series. It features stable stainless steel covers, resistant surface treatment and additional seals in the interior, enabling it to be used in a machine tool environment. This prevents ingress of cooling lubricant and grinding oil into the robot. As a result, the robot fully meets SAACKE’s expectations. Thanks to a shortened cut-to-cut time, the capacity utilization of the machine has been substantially improved. Furthermore, the reliable procedure has enabled the operator control requirements of the machine to be simplified to a great extent.

The Tool Dynamic Automatic from HAIMER is a truly universal, vertical 4-axis CNC-based balancing machine with a Siemens 840 D sl control. Thanks to this innovation, machine users can measure the unbalance of their tools, locate and remove it by drilling or milling in one or two planes. Operators no longer need to go to a separate drilling machine. Thanks to highly accurate clamping and precise metal removal, excellent balance can be achieved. This innovative development of the time-tested HAIMER balancing systems has led to further increases in efficiency for tool balancing.

To bring efficient tool balancing to a completely new level, a flexible solution was sought to automate the manual process of loading and unloading tool holders. In addition to automation, further emphasis was placed how to avoid the issue of bulky safety guards, commonly associated with robotic equipment.

The sensitive lightweight robot LBR iiwa (intelligent industrial work assistant) from Kuka takes on this task. The LBR iiwa moves tools holders waiting in queue and inserts them in the balancing adapter of the TD Automatic, which automatically clamps the rotor with highest precision. After measuring and correction of unbalance in less than 1 minute the KUKA flexFELLOW removes the chuck from the balancing adapter again and places it back in its original docking position.

Due to the KUKA flexFELLOW ease of mobility, other Haimer balancing machines can be automated in less than 10 minutes, and productivity can realized for mid-sized and large batches.

In the complete loading and unloading process of the balancing machine, the machine operator can stay close to the KUKA flexFELLOW robot, and if necessary remove parts or make adjustments, without fear of injury. This is made possible by touch-sensitive sensors in the robot that stop movement immediately upon any disruption. These new touch-sensitive features make it possible to permanently eliminate bulky safety guards, thereby reducing space requirements. The KUKA flexFELLOW makes it possible to sustain a fully automated and autonomous work cell, ideally suited for Industry 4.0.

By recording process data and analyzing this data afterwards (which was previously only possible to a limited extent as all data was manually recorded) there now exists the possibility to optimize processes to a completely new level.