KUKA has demonstrated its AGILUS, DELTA HM and SCARA robots working with a KMR iiwa mobile automation platform in a pick and place/bin picking cell.
The demonstration was held at Automate 2023. Designed to simulate a real production environment and automation solutions for each step – moving material from receiving and sorting to packing and distribution – the cell included KUKA’s new KR 3 DELTA Hygienic robot, KR 6 SCARA and KR 6 AGILUS robots, a KMR iiwa autonomous mobile platform and advanced vision software, KUKA.VisionTech.
For vision capability, the cell used a 3D camera and SICK vision system for recognizing randomly situated materials, even those with dark or reflective surfaces and complex structures. Once an object has been identified and selected, the trajectory planning system governs robot movements and provides the orientation required to remove the object without colliding against the walls of a container or other nearby elements.
As the automated mobility aspect of the demonstration cell, KUKA’S KMR iiwa combines the sensitive KUKA LBR iiwa lightweight robot with a mobile, flexible platform. Designed to move omnidirectionally and execute 360-degree rotations, the KMR iiwa is autonomous, reacting immediately if a person or object is in the way and achieves a positioning accuracy of up to +/- 5 mm. Equipped with a KUKA AIVI control system that uses artificial intelligence to direct automated guided transport vehicles, the KMR iiwa ensures optimum material flow to the production line. The KMR iiwa is location-independent and highly flexible, suited to today’s Industry 4.0 requirements.
The KR 3 DELTA hygienic robot is designed for pick-and-place applications for the food, packaging, electronics and pharmaceutical industries. The KR 3 DELTA combines precise grip, corrosion resistance and minimal maintenance requirements for sensitive high-speed production applications. This ceiling-mounted robot offers a reach of 1200 mm, a maximum payload capacity of 3 kg and cycle times as low as 0.5 seconds.
The ultra-compact KR 6 SCARA with a 6-kg payload positions at a repeatability of +/- .02 mm. It offers reach/radius options of 500 and 700 mm and a Z-axis stroke of 2 mm. For the demonstration both robots were paired with KUKA.VisionTech that provides 2D object recognition, quality control as well as code and optical character recognition.
KUKA’s KR 6 AGILUS rounded out the FMCG robotic trio. Adapting to any installation position, the six-axis KR 6 AGILUS is designed for particularly high working speeds, offers a 10-kg payload and comes in a wide range of variants for challenging applications such as clean rooms and potentially explosive environments.
