June 6, 2022 - Automate attendees watched a live demonstration of KUKA’s robotic friction stir welding (FSW) process featuring the company’s new KR 10 CYBERTECH Nano and KR 500 FORTECH robots enhanced with Roboception and SICK PLB 3D vision technologies, as it welded an assembly from aluminum parts. KUKA’s advanced FSW joining process is the optimal joining process for non-ferrous metals and mixed metal combinations frequently encountered in fabricating EV battery housings and trays. In the demonstration, the heavy-duty KR 500 FORTEC picked and placed parts to be welded by a precise, compact KR 10 CYBERTECH Nano. With a reach of up to 3,326 mm and payload capacity of 340 to 500 kg, KR 500 FORTEC combines power, precision and efficiency for a wide range of applications.
The six-axis KR 10 CYBERTECH Nano offers a repeatability of 0.04 mm and mounts in any installation position for maximum flexibility. With the smallest in-line wrists in their class worldwide, these new robots enable work to be carried out in positions inaccessible for other robots and provide maximum performance with minimum disruptive contours that open up previously unreachable workspaces. They can cover long distances with an extremely large workspace to the rear and a long downward reach. The CYBERTECH Nano family of robots are protected against uncontrolled electrostatic discharging (ESD) and are suitable for use in humid or harsh environments.
KUKA’s FSW process is used in a variety of industries from automotive, e-mobility and aerospace to electronics. Even materials that are difficult to weld or dissimilar materials such as aluminum with magnesium, copper or steel can be friction stir welded. FSW is cost-effective, sustainable and provides superior weld quality with high seam strength, minimal distortion and no welding defects.
About KUKA
KUKA is a global automation corporation with sales of around 3.3 billion euro and roughly 14,000 employees. The company is headquartered in Augsburg, Germany. As one of the world’s leading suppliers of intelligent automation solutions, KUKA offers customers everything they need from a single source: from robots and cells to fully automated systems and their networking in markets such as automotive, electronics, metal & plastic, consumer goods, e-commerce/retail and healthcare.
