Robot manipulator milling. Kuka robots: surface treatment work. KUKA robots for gluing car headlights

One of the main drivers of automation modern production are industrial robotic manipulators. Their development and implementation allowed enterprises to reach a new scientific and technical level of task performance, redistribute responsibilities between equipment and people, and increase productivity. We will talk about the types of robotic assistants, their functionality and prices in the article.

Assistant No. 1 - robotic arm

Industry is the foundation of most of the world's economies. The income of not only individual production, but also the state budget depends on the quality of the goods offered, volumes and pricing.

In the light of the active introduction of automated lines and the widespread use of smart technology, the requirements for the supplied products are increasing. Today it is practically impossible to compete without the use of automated lines or industrial robotic arms.

How an industrial robot works

The robotic arm looks like a huge automated "hand" controlled by an electrical control system. There are no pneumatics or hydraulics in the design of the devices, everything is built on electromechanics. This allowed to reduce the cost of robots and increase their durability.

Industrial robots can be 4-axis (used for stacking and packing) and 6-axis (for other types of work). In addition, robots also differ depending on the degree of freedom: from 2 to 6. The higher it is, the more accurately the manipulator recreates the movement of the human hand: rotation, movement, compression / unclenching, tilts, and so on.
The principle of operation of the device depends on its software and equipment, and if at the beginning of its development the main goal was the release of workers from heavy and dangerous work, today the range of tasks performed has increased significantly.

The use of robotic assistants allows you to cope with several tasks at the same time:

• reduction of working space and release of specialists (their experience and knowledge can be used in another area);
• increase in production volumes;
• improving product quality;
• due to the continuity of the process, the production cycle is shortened.

In Japan, China, the USA, Germany, the enterprises employ a minimum of employees whose duty is only to control the operation of manipulators and the quality of manufactured products. It should be noted that an industrial robotic arm is not only a functional assistant in mechanical engineering or welding. Automated devices are presented in a wide range and are used in metallurgy, light and Food Industry. Depending on the needs of the enterprise, you can choose a manipulator that matches functional duties and budget.

Types of industrial robotic arms

To date, there are about 30 types of robotic hands: from universal models to highly specialized assistants. Depending on the functions performed, the mechanisms of manipulators may differ: for example, it can be welding, cutting, drilling, bending, sorting, stacking and packing goods.

Unlike the existing stereotype about the high cost of robotic equipment, every, even a small enterprise, will be able to purchase such a mechanism. Small universal robotic manipulators with a small payload (up to 5 kg) from ABB and FANUC will cost from 2 to 4 thousand dollars.
Despite the compactness of the devices, they are able to increase the speed and quality of processing products. A unique software will be written for each robot, which exactly coordinates the operation of the unit.

Highly specialized models

Welding robots have found their greatest use in mechanical engineering. Due to the fact that the devices are able to weld not only even parts, but also effectively carry out welding work at an angle, entire automated lines are installed in hard-to-reach places.

A conveyor system is launched, where each robot does its part of the work in a certain time, and then the line begins to move to the next stage. It is rather difficult to organize such a system with people: none of the workers should be absent even for a second, otherwise the whole manufacturing process or marriage appears.

Welders
The most common options are welding robots. Their productivity and accuracy is 8 times higher than that of a human. Such models can perform several types of welding: arc or spot (depending on software).

Kuka industrial robotic arms are considered leaders in this field. The cost is from 5 to 300 thousand dollars (depending on the carrying capacity and functions).

Collectors, movers and packers
Heavy and harmful to the human body work has led to the emergence of automated assistants in this industry. Packing robots prepare the goods for shipment in a matter of minutes. The cost of such robots is up to 4 thousand dollars.

Manufacturers ABB, KUKA, and Epson offer lifts for heavy loads over 1 tonne and transport from warehouse to loading point.

Industrial robot manipulator manufacturers

The undisputed leaders in this industry are Japan and Germany. They account for more than 50% of all robotic technology. Competing with the giants is not easy, however, and in the CIS countries their own manufacturers and start-ups are gradually appearing.

KNN Systems. The Ukrainian company is a partner of the German Kuka and is developing projects for the robotization of welding, milling, plasma cutting and palletizing processes. Thanks to their software, an industrial robot can be reconfigured to suit the new kind tasks in just one day.

Rozum Robotics (Belarus). The company's specialists have developed an industrial robotic arm PULSE, which is distinguished by its lightness and ease of use. The device is suitable for assembling, packing, gluing and rearranging parts. The price of the robot is around $500.

"ARKODIM-Pro" (Russia). It is engaged in the production of linear robotic manipulators (moving along linear axes) used for plastic injection molding. In addition, ARKODIM robots can work as part of a conveyor system and perform the functions of a welder or packer.

Good afternoon, I'm interested in prices for these gripper models: Multi-cup system Type U400-10; H-8Q -1250. Yes, it would be nice to see the entire price list for these grippers

Kuka robots: surface treatment work

Kuka robots are the flagships of the global industrial robotics. Automation of surface treatment, parts gluing and painting using Kuka industrial robots is a new level of quality, productivity, labor protection at the leading enterprises of Western Europe. In this area may be involved various models robots: from miniature to heavy.

Robot KR AGILUS glues plastic screws

The manufacturing company WKT Kunststofftechnik GmbH actively promotes the idea of ​​replacing metal with plastic and creates the necessary products, parts, and structures for this. Clients from the electric power industry (transformers, high-voltage installations), medical equipment, aircraft industry, manufacturers of switching devices and railway equipment successfully work with it.

Working with thermosetting plastic forces the use of gluing instead of welding in the production of universal plastic screws. This process requires special precision and accuracy. They are achieved thanks to modern representatives of Kuka small robotics - KR AGILUS robots.

Bonding a universal screw begins with the robot grabbing the nut and placing it in the fastening mechanism. Next, the robot grabs the threaded rod, chamfers it, turns it 180 to next step adhesive was applied to the back side. Then the stem is screwed into the nut, forming a single piece - the screw. In conclusion, the robot can only put the puck on it. The robot performs quality control using cameras. This allows you to immediately reject low-quality parts.

Success is ensured by the high repeatability and precision of the KR AGILUS family when working with small parts, as well as the unique speed of work.

KR QUANTEC robot finishing the press dies

SEMATEK GmbH presents innovative solutions in the field of mechanical engineering. Based on Kuka robots and the KUKA.CNC control system, an automated process was developed here for the production of press dies with a high-quality finish.

On many even the most modern enterprises the final processing of milled press dies (including dies for plastic injection, insert dies for products made of composite materials) is carried out manually. As a result, stamp polishing can take up to 20 man-days in some complex cases.

SEMATEK's faster, more flexible and precise die finishing system is based on Machine Hammer Peening technology that smoothes the surface of the workpiece. A KUKA KR 240 R2900 industrial robot with a large reach was chosen for the tapping process.

The process looks like this. A pneumatic tool with a hammer head swinging along the line is fixed to the flange of the manipulator robot. The robot measures the workpiece and then the KUKA.CNC software sets the program for moving the hammer along the impact path above the surface in order to level out the protrusions that have arisen during milling due to the filling of the recesses. The use of a robot and software makes it possible to quickly select the desired ball diameter, adjust the feed rate, feed angle of the hammer and other parameters. The maximum accuracy of movements is given in 5 axes.

The tapping process performed by KUKA robots removes irregularities deeper than 1 µm from the surface of the die press, while balancing the strength of the entire product and reducing the time and resources spent on finishing.

Milling robot

Robotic CNC Solutions, Inc. created an innovative version of the machining module for milling various surfaces. The task was to build a plant that could perform the function of milling workpieces up to 366 cm high and up to 1524 cm wide, and at the same time process small filigree details. Also, it had to be easily rebuilt in conditions of frequent change of materials: wood, foam, fiberglass, composite, etc. Another necessary function is spraying a gel layer or glass material using a fiber sprayer.

The 100-RTSL system enables quick and flexible workpiece and tool changeovers. Thanks to the use of the KUKA KR 100 L80 HA robot, the machine combines the functionality of a tool machine with the elasticity of a 6-axis manipulator. The robot is mounted on a linear block KL 1500 with the ability to move up to 13 meters (7th axis). And when used on 3D concepts, it relies on a turntable (8th axis). The 10-station tool changer moves with the table. Synthetic resin dispensers and a fiber sprayer are built into the robot's arm.

The result is a simple and flexible automated milling machine in a small area.

You can evaluate the accuracy of milling work performed by Kuka robots in the following video:

KUKA robots for gluing car headlights

Reinhardt-Technik is a renowned manufacturer of mixing and dosing technology. Based on Kuka robotics, it was possible to create here automated system gluing car headlight housings. The worker places the plastic housing of the headlight on a moving surface. It is delivered to the small robot KR 6, which performs plasma treatment of the plastic surface of the grooves. This increases its adhesiveness.

The body is then transported to the KR 30 medium-duty robot. It applies silicone adhesive in a perfectly correct path that follows the shape of the body. Thanks to this, the amount of glue is precisely adjusted and distributed, an increase or decrease in the adhesive substance is excluded. The robots are equipped with a control system that signals the right or left headlight has been delivered to the robot and does not allow the robots to perform their operation until they make sure that there is a part in its coverage area.

The success of this installation lies in the high stability, repeatability and flexibility, as well as the ability to quickly adapt the system to other shapes and types of headlights.

Thus, on the basis of Kuka robotics, it is possible to build compact, precise and productive automatic surface treatment systems that minimize the use of manual labor and allow you to raise the quality of products to modern requirements.

For all questions regarding our equipment, the specifics of its operation, cost, as well as any other questions, please contact our specialists

by phone +7 (495 )787-49-12, 8-800-500-49-12

You can also contact directly the specialist you are interested in by looking at his contacts in the section « Our employees"

We will be happy to answer all your questions!