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KUKA Roboter presents the KR 1000 titan for the first time in a foundry environment |
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 | | | A world record holder at GIFA | |
Augsburg/Düsseldorf, May 2007 – At this year’s GIFA, the international flagship fair for the foundry industry, KUKA robots are certainly the greatest in the physical sense of the word. At least one of them. KUKA Roboter GmbH of Augsburg, Germany is presenting a genuine world champion, the KR 1000 titan, to visitors at Booth 17/A25 in Hall 17. The robot for all things that are heavy, bulky and big copes effortlessly with a payload of 1,000 kilograms. And although it is by far the world’s only robot in this category, it is not alone at the center of attention. It is sharing the spotlight with other new automation solutions for the foundry industry.
As the largest international platform of its kind in the world, GIFA is once again showcasing all the technical innovations and trends of the foundry sector in 2007. And here of course KUKA Roboter has a lot to offer. The demand of the market for higher-quality products at ever lower prices has considerably quickened the pace of technological progress in the foundry industry. In order to optimize process reliability and the human working environment, cost-effective and quality-assuring automation solutions are implemented in many areas, such as the dressing of raw castings, the die casting processes and in the actual pouring operation. And everything that moves in automation comes from KUKA Roboter. As one of the world market leaders, the industrial robot manufacturer has a diverse portfolio on offer. A whole range of brand-new products brings the user greater process reliability, more flexibility and high quality.
World heavyweight champion
Having just recently gained the title “world champion” and won a place in the Guinness Book of Records, the new KR 1000 titan is making its first public appearance at GIFA. With a payload capacity of 1,000 kilograms and a reach of 3,200 mm, it can ideally be put to work handling large and heavy castings.
And that is exactly what it shows the trade fair visitors by holding a large-size workpiece for a KR 150 F in a milling application demonstrated by KUKA partner Lieber Automation. |
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| | In foundries robots are exposed to particularly harsh conditions. Heat, a humid environment, sand and cleaning agents subject the drives, gear units and RDC (Resolver Digital Converter) boxes to constant high stress. KUKA Roboter now therefore offers its customers an optional protection package for all KUKA Series 2000 robots. “KUKA ProtectionPlus” is the name of the equipment that can be retrofitted at any time for the purpose of protecting all the axis drives and the RDC box. The counterbalancing system is additionally protected by a spiral spring. This special equipment not only protects the robot from dust and dirt deposits but also withstands the user’s cleaning measures. Anyone wanting to try that out for themselves can test the stability of a KUKA foundry robot with a steam-jet cleaner at the KUKA booth. | |
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| | Easy operator control of the robot in the spray process – impossible? Not for the users of KUKA robots. With KUKA Smart GUI, a new user interface, complex processes can be parameterized without any programming work being required. Time-consuming teaching procedures are thus a thing of the past. KUKA Roboter GmbH is demonstrating this at GIFA in a simulated spray process together with system partner Wolling GmbH. | |
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| Die casting automation made easy | | |
| Processes associated with die casting require several axes to be controlled simultaneously. It is highly practical after all if the die casting, unloading and spray processes all run on just one controller. KUKA Motion Control (KMC) makes this possible. This clever solution, which provides the well-known range of functions of the KR C2 robot controller for the purpose of operating gantry systems and special machines, enables even approximate positioning motions and several different movements to be controlled synchronously.
At KUKA Roboter’s booth, show visitors can experience at first hand all the other benefits that this technology brings for foundry applications. | |
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| KUKA Safe Handling casting axis | | |
| | KUKA Roboter’s presentation at the show is rounded off by the KUKA Safe Handling casting axis. This is a technology for automating the casting process in prototype, pre-series and small-series production. It was developed jointly with the company ROBOTEC and is ideally suited to sand casting and permanent mold casting. Using a joystick, the foundryman guides the robot through all the necessary motions, including the pouring curve itself. A simple system based on practical experience which visitors to the show can try out at KUKA Roboter’s booth. | |
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| KUKA Roboter – powerful partner for foundries | | |
| | KUKA Roboter knows its customers’ requirements very precisely. The Augsburg-based company has been a world market leader in industrial robotics for many years. KUKA offers a uniquely wide range of standard, shelf-mounted and heavy-duty robots for multifunctional and flexible use. These systems are complemented by task-related additional applications and by “hub technologies”, based on intelligent networking of standard controllers. Irrespective of the individual technologies involved, KUKA Roboter’s foundry portfolio is characterized by an integrated system philosophy, a uniform look and feel, common application devices, and consistent maintenance and upgrade concepts. The modular structure of KUKA robots means they can quickly and easily be reconfigured for other tasks. All component parts of the robot are painted as separate items. KUKA thereby ensures that the paint finish at the interfaces does not have to be completely reapplied after maintenance or repair work in order to satisfy the requirements of the protection rating for operation of the robot. | |
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Any questions? We would be happy to help |
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KUKA Robot Group
Head of Communications
Jürgen Schulze-Ferebee
Tel.: +49 821 4533–3318
presse@kuka.com
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