Robots for Metalworking -
Wide-Ranged Offer for All Applications
It's clear a few weeks before the start of AUTOMATICA, which will take place in Munich from June 3 to 6: the range of robot offers and complete solutions for metalworking has never been as comprehensive as today. The exhibitors at the leading world trade fair have the right solution on hand for practically every application.
The two span topics are: automation of machine tools and special robots for metalworking. While robots handle loading and unloading machine tools as well as upstream and downstream work steps in the first case, large six-axis robots take charge of milling cutters and operate as machine tools in the second case.
Automation of machine tools is trend topic number one. The use of robots increases overall productivity of modern machining centers - one reason for the tremendous growth rates in this sector. Because options for reducing the main times of machining processes have been exhausted, optimizing the auxiliary times is the only possibility,
and they can be shortened significantly thanks to the use of robots. Additional benefits are minimizing machine downtimes and semi-automatic operation of machines in shifts without workers.
Two solutions are competing in automating machine tools: direct integration of robots into machines and cell concepts, in which complete automation modules including robots can be docked onto machine tools. Trade visitors to AUTOMATICA can obtain information about the advantages and disadvantages of both.
Many users have had very positive experiences with automation of machine tools in simple applications over the past years. Convinced of the process reliability of these systems, the trend today is going in the direction of highly developed automation solutions, as Manfred Hübschmann, Managing Director of Stäubli Robotics, knows from his own experience: "Robots are taking on increasingly complex work content all the way to complete machining, often equipped with automatic gripper replacement systems. In addition, solutions are increasingly in demand, in which robots not only automate machining centers, but also handle linking of production systems and consequently provide even more autonomy.
AUTOMATICA 2014
from 3 to 6 June 2014, Fair ground Munich (Germany)
Source: Messe München