World’s first industrial robot with 1000 kg payload and 4000 mm reach introduced to North America at Cast Expo 2008 CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich., May 9 /PRNewswire/ — KUKA RoboticsCorporation is unveiling the KUKA 1000 Titan to the North American market at the upcoming Cast Expo 2008 from May 17-20 in Atlanta, Ga. in booth #2251

The KUKA KR 1000 Titan is the company’s latest product and with itsheavyweight capabilities has earned an entry in the Guinness Book ofRecords. The KR 1000 titan is the world’s first industrial robot that canlift a payload of 1000 kilograms with a reach of 4000 mm.

“KUKA developed this product based on understanding its customers’requirements and responding to market needs,” said Stu Shepherd, presidentKUKA Robotics Corporation. “By understanding future market needs, KUKA candevelop working ideas that break all the records. The Titan can handle theheaviest of payloads over the greatest of distances with unrivaledflexibility.”

With the KR 1000 titan, the company has succeeded in producing not onlya heavyweight champion, but also a technology powerhouse combining payload,reach and precision thanks to an innovative drive concept. The KR 1000Titan opens up many new fields of application for this new automationsolution – wherever power, reach and precision are required.

KUKA Titan – the heavyweight champion

Yet it is not only the giant’s strength that is impressive. Thephysical attributes of the KR 1000 bring about clear advantages that aresimply not possible with alternative machines. The Titan is aseries-manufactured machine, which makes it a far more cost-effectivesolution than conventional systems. In addition, there is no comparableproduct on the industrial robot market in terms of payload capacity, reachand handling flexibility.

KUKA, one of the world’s leading providers of industrial robots, cameup with this unique development in response to customer requests. Theywanted a new robot type that is ideally suited to the handling of heavy,large or bulky workpieces. The heavyweight champion was developed forsectors such as the building materials, automotive and foundry industries.

KUKA developed the Titan after over a year of research, programming andtesting, which means one of the leading manufacturers of industrial robotsreacted quickly to customers’ wishes for a new robot model suitable forlifting large, heavy or bulky components.

For example, the Titan is capable of moving whole car bodies entirelyunaided. Prior to the Titan, this was only possible using at least tworobots – or by using complex special kinematic systems for heavy loads. Inthe building materials sector it can lift concrete staircase segments,taking the place of a crane that is much heavier than the Titan.

In addition, the Titan can handle large castings or meter-thick panesof glass. The robot is strong and robust, without compromising on precisionor accuracy. At full stretch, it reaches a height of over four meters. Nextto this giant, its predecessor the KR 500 – a powerful lifter in its ownright – appears almost small and delicate.

Nine drive units with the power of a mid-sized car

Nine motors are installed, which together deliver the power of amid-sized car. As a result, its design called not only for a robust steelbase frame but also for a completely new drive concept. In axes 1 and 3,two motors feed into a single gear unit. Axis 2 is also powered by twomotors, each with its own gear unit. The KUKA Titan can also withstand astatic torque of 60,000 Newton meters (Nm), which is all the moreremarkable if you consider that a powerful car has a maximum drive torqueof only 600 Nm (just one percent of the power of the Titan). Its workenvelope of 78 cubic meters puts its fellow robots in the shade.

KUKA look & feel

For all the record-breaking new features, KUKA remained true to itsprinciples with regard to the look & feel of the robot, offering all theregular advantages of the KUKA family – from the wrist right down to thecontrol concept. From its modular construction to programming and intuitivecontrol, the KR 1000 has all the standard features. With its user-friendlydesign, the Titan has an excellent weight-to-payload ratio of less than 5.The KR 1000 can thus be transported in a standard container and can beinstalled in any industrial production shop thanks to correspondingmounting plates.

KUKA Robotics Corporation

KUKA Robotics Corporation, with its parent company KUKA Roboter GmbH,Augsburg, Germany, is one of the world’s leading manufacturers ofindustrial robots, with an installed base of over 75,000 units. Thecompany’s robots range from 5kg to 1000kg payloads, and 635mm to 4000mmreach, all controlled from a common PC based controller platform. KUKArobots are utilized in a diverse range of industries including theappliance, automotive, aerospace, consumer goods, logistics, food,pharmaceutical, medical, foundry and plastics industries and in multipleapplications including material handling, machine loading, assembly,packaging, palletizing, welding, bending, joining, and surface finishing.For more information contact KUKA Robotics at 866-873-5852 or visit theirwebsite at http://www.kukarobotics.com.

About the KUKA Robot Group

KUKA Roboter GmbH, Augsburg, is a member of the IWKA AktiengesellschaftGroup and ranks among the world’s leading suppliers of industrial robots.Core competencies are the development, production and sale of industrialrobots, controllers, software and linear units. The company is the marketleader in Germany and Europe, and the number three in the world. The KUKARobot Group employs about 1,850 people worldwide. Of these, 1,200 areemployed in Germany, either at the KUKA Robot Group headquarters inAugsburg, or at various subsidiaries. In 2006, sales totaled 375 millioneuro. Over 20 subsidiaries provide a presence in the rest of Europe, the USand Asia.

Reference: kukarobotics.com

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