Where robots work hand in hand with aluminum cranes
Robot manufacturer KUKA relies on human-machine collaboration with eepos
KUKA Roboter GmbH is one of the world's leading suppliers of industrial robots. Its core competencies lie in the development and production of industrial robots, controllers and software.
When manufacturing robots, KUKA relies on the collaboration between humans and machines. And on the support of eepos aluminum crane systems.
The orange KUKA robots are considered a very efficient and powerful solution within a production line. With them, recurring activities can be carried out quickly and precisely at a consistently high level of quality. It goes without saying that KUKA at its Augsburg headquarters makes full use of its resources when setting up its own production line and also uses its own solutions for its own production.
Ergonomic workplaces at workstation 2
In several stations where screwing takes place, KUKA employees work at ergonomically optimized workstations with the eepos one crane systems. Edmund Bahr explains the decision for this partial automation: "We have an incredible variety of variants for our robots and also the constant improvements to the product lines, so we decided to deliberately use our employees here and use their flexibility. The screwdrivers are suspended from the eepos crane systems for better ergonomics and safety. Otherwise we would have had to automate the screw feed as well. It's simply not worth it."
Regarding the digital connection to the cloud-based software platform KUKA Connect, Bahr adds: "The robots and screwdriver controls fulfill everything that one would imagine under Industry 4.0. They receive their orders via the internal system and are self-registering with quality control, logging and acknowledgement. This means that we have all the relevant information for every assembly step and the equipment used available in the KUKA cloud at all times."
Assembly with eepos cranes and KUKA lightweight robots
Overall, the main line at the automation expert was set up according to two principles:
- Automation only to the extent that it pays off and makes sense.
- Automation wherever heavyweights and dangerous substances are involved or where it is worthwhile for reasons of occupational safety, process reliability or economic efficiency.
Edmund Bahr
Production Manager KUKA, Augsburg
“At KUKA, Industry 4.0 means that all machines work together with people to achieve the best possible work results”
The modular system is convincing
When assembling the robots, Edmund Bahr opted for the aluminum crane systems from eepos because he was convinced by the entire concept of the modular crane system: “The variety of eepos components and the clarity and consistency of the systems give us the flexibility we need here in production.
The eepos crane profiles with the item grooves, the attachment options, jacking ups and the service stations gave us a lot of freedom in our planning. In addition, additions and conversions can be implemented quickly and easily.
All employees appreciate the lightness of the crane systems and the smooth running of the systems at their workstations. We are impressed by the large selection of the eepos modular system. The cost-benefit analysis convinced us both for the surface crane and the jib crane. The feedback from employees is consistently very positive. We would do it again and again."
eepos crane system relieves the strain when positioning and holding
How innovative KUKA is can be seen at individual production stations. KUKA employees, the HRC-capable lightweight robot LBR iiwa and eepos crane systems work together on screwing processes during assembly.
Edmund Bahr's experiences are consistently positive: "The eepos crane system is very good at handling parts and screw systems, which relieves the worker of positioning and holding. The LBR iiwa works with the worker to screw the individual components together to form an assembly. The lightweight robot meets all safety regulations that are relevant for collaborative systems. If the worker touches the robot arm, it stops immediately. In addition, the KUKA controller monitors everything and everything is passed on to the relevant systems."
A look into the future
By implementing human-robot collaboration, KUKA has become a pioneer of “Manufacturing Industry 4.0”: completely networked and consistent hardware and software structures for KUKA tools, which are based on the flexibility of aluminum crane systems and floor conveyor systems.
Friedhelm Mücher, Managing Director of eepos GmbH, sees this as crucial for the future of manufacturing in Germany: “The collaboration between crane systems and robots is only just beginning. Conventional tools will increase their productivity many times over thanks to robots, and cranes will make a decisive contribution to this.”
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