Two concepts, one goal: Using mobile robotics to optimize material flow in production

The autonomous transport platform keeps to itself, making its way through the production hall almost silently. The autonomous mobile robot (AMR) delivers a 100-liter compressed air boiler to a welding station with centimeter precision. A KUKA handling robot is already waiting there to pick it up from the platform and weld it to other components in the processing cell.
What sounds like a pipe dream for the assembly of truck components has long been everyday reality at the KRONE Group, one of the largest manufacturers of agricultural machinery and commercial vehicles. In partnership with KUKA, KRONE relies on intelligent automation – both in an existing factory (brownfield) and in a new, smart production facility (greenfield). The results are more efficient processes, higher added value, reduced workload for employees, and competitive production “made in Germany.”

The welding robots are now supplied autonomously, and forklifts are to be phased out of production as far as possible. Instead, the transport platform automatically brings materials such as compressed air tanks or door elements to the cell. There, a handling robot places them in the welding system. The finished assemblies are also transported away automatically from there. “The mobile robots help us to link together many processes that are very extensive here. This has enabled us to dispense with a lot of conveyor technology and at the same time significantly increase efficiency in production and intralogistics processes,” says René Mecklenburg. At KRONE, humans and machines work hand in hand: “The employees take care of preparing the parts and quality control, while robots do the physically demanding welding work. This relieves our employees of heavy, monotonous tasks, creates more order, and increases safety,” Mecklenburg continues. Volker Perk, Production Director at KRONE Commercial Vehicle Group, sees robotics as a key factor in securing the company's future location: "We want to continue producing truck trailers such as the ‘Profi Liner’ in Germany in the future. To do this, however, we need to automate processes because we simply cannot find skilled workers for many of the tasks required. Robotics gives us the opportunity to introduce our employees to more efficient or value-adding activities."

Jochen Roling, Managing Director at GTS, describes how automation and the smart factory were introduced at KRONE based on his own experience: “At first, we only automated the process behind the welding curtain. At some point, it became clear that in order to operate the plant efficiently and economically, material flow and operation also had to be robot-based.” This is where KUKA’s mobile robots came into play. While Werlte continuously modernized existing processes “on the fly,” so to speak, a completely new factory for agricultural machinery production was built in just twelve months in Ibbenbüren, Westphalia, with Green Teuto Systemtechnik, GTS, also a subsidiary of the KRONE Group – as a greenfield solution, literally on a “green field.” Here, robots manufacture welded assemblies that are later painted and then installed in agricultural machinery.

KRONE is following a three-stage implementation concept on its path to automation. The first step involves developing a holistic perspective on process automation. Building on this, the focus then shifts to solutions for material transport using AMR. Stage three is automated parts handling.

KRONE designed its plant in Ibbenbüren according to this principle. Today, nine welding and handling robots are used synchronously with two machining centers and an automatic measuring cell in a single production island. This has virtually eliminated downtime, as robots and transport platforms remain in sync around the clock. Production can be ramped up or down without personnel bottlenecks, which are now almost impossible to resolve, becoming a limiting factor. “This scalability of the production architecture – from small cells to complex networked lines – is a core objective of the new smart factory,” says Roling. The first KMP 3000P robots are now also being tested in Ibbenbüren. They can move up to three tons in the production halls, twice as much in tandem, and move omnidirectionally with the highest precision even in the tightest of spaces.

One thing is particularly important to KRONE's factory planners: automation does not mean the end of human labor, but rather its enhancement. “Operating highly automated cells has gained in value. Employees see this as a job of the future,” says Roling. Mecklenburg adds: “We are seeing colleagues actively applying for these positions internally.” Ergonomics also plays a role: “The new workplaces are safer and less physically demanding. That makes them attractive – especially for younger generations,” says Perk.