Robot mills oversized plastic pipes

At Asset International in South Wales, a KUKA 120 R2700 extra HA robot, a KL 1500-3 T linear unit, and two KUKA MG 360 servomotors for the external rotational axis and the KUKA CNC controller relieve workers of strenuous milling tasks.

The KUKA 120 R2700 extra HA robot from the KUKA  KR QUANTEC series for payloads of up to 120 kilograms is designed for high-precision requirements such as milling and laser applications. At Asset International, it machines the large plastic pipe components with a specially designed high-speed milling spindle. Prior to machining, workers clamp the components to a multi-functional clamping table or a large, self-centering table controlled by the rotational axis. As a result of the barrier-free system, the robot, mounted on the KL 1500-3 T linear unit, can move directly to the plastic pipe to be machined and then flexibly carry out the job on the component as required. The solution was developed by integrator Eugen Riexinger GmbH & Co. KG in Bad Liebenzell.

“Thanks to the KUKA 120 R2700 extra HA robot, our employees are relieved of very strenuous manual work involving strong vibrations,” says Graham Bennett. “The solution has enabled us to increased productivity by more than 40 percent,” says Asset’s Operation Manager with pleasure. “Shorter production times have allowed us to boost capacity by more than 50 percent. At the same time, there has been a significant improvement in quality and precision,” he emphasizes.

Thanks to its modular design tailored to the customer’s requirements, the system can be adapted to the needs of Asset International at any time. The integrator is also very pleased with the result. “We are very proud to have designed the first system worldwide that can process such large plastic parts with this precision and speed – all the while increasing occupational safety,” emphasizes Manuel Kratz, head of the project at Riexinger. For this reason, the Bad Liebenzell-based company is sure that robot-based automation in the plastics processing sector will be seeing further growth.