Robots like bricks

Graph/Grafik: Fanuc

»2 If the goal is energy efficiency, servomotorised grabs are very helpful. Also, attendant the gain in flexibility via servo technology should not be underestimated

»3 When palletizing is the job to be done, four-axis robots are the way to go – and wrist loads of 450 kg or so are no problem

»4 If the production process calls for rearranging bricks from one conveyor on another, or even turning them around along the way, a gooseneck robot with a fifth and sixth axis – like an R-2000i – is the right answer

»5 Even in a brickyard production environment, Fanuc robots promise high reliability and availability on triple-shift duty

If robots could choose what they best like to handle, bricks would be among their favourites. They give robots a chance to show how strong they are and how resistant to dust and dirt, and how they just love to do monotonous work with great precision.

Work around the clock? The brick and tile industry can do it, and robots can, too. So, that is an ideal combination. Indeed, those who built the very first robots saw the construction sector as a good specialty area for them.

When heavy duty lifting robots with handling capacities starting at 1 000 kg appeared, they amounted to a big step forward. Fanuc’s M-2000iA can handle up to 1 350 kg. Nevertheless, Rolf Teichert, who heads the robotics department at Keller HCW in Ibbenbüren, sees no big market looming: “Such heavy duty robots will not become attractive until their cost-benefit ratio...

Fanuc Deutschland GmbH

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At the world's biggest trade fair for automation and robotics Automatica in Munich, Keller HCW managing director Dr Jochen Nippel and Keller HCW sales manager Ulrich Hagemann accepted the Fanuc Award...

Issue 01/2014