#HomeofRobotik: 50 years of robotics expertise

Famulus: this was the name given to a servant or assistant in ancient Rome. Back then the Romans had no idea that this name already contained the program for the robotics of the future - as a "helper" to make the production of goods and industrial processes easier for people. When KUKA launched the KR FAMULUS, the world's first six-axis, electrically driven industrial robot, in 1973, the mechanical engineering company from Augsburg wrote technological history and ushered in a completely new age of robotics.

KUKA robots produces robots in the production in Augsburg. One of them is definitely not to be overlooked. With a load capacity of up to 1.3 tons and a reach of over 3.6 meters, the KR TITAN packs a heavy load right at the start of the main assembly line of KUKA robot production. It brings together the large, heavy components of the new KUKA robots to be assembled - the base frame, the carousel and the gearbox. The KR TITAN lives up to its name and made it into the Guinness Book of Records in 2008 as the largest and most powerful six-axis industrial robot in the world at the time.

"KUKA robots are not only indispensable helpers for a wide variety of industrial applications with a wide range of payloads and reach requirements, they are also virtually indestructible. For example, a KUKA robot is currently being prepared for new tasks after 27 years and over 27,204 operating hours in the production of an automotive supplier. Its excellent condition makes it ready for new production jobs," explains Production Manager Bahr.

In the production lines at the Augsburg site, as in other KUKA plants, for example in China and Hungary, automation technology with German engineering spirit is created. This includes large industrial robots designed for heavy loads, such as the KR FORTEC, as well as small, flexible robots such as the KR AGILUS, lightweight robots and cobots such as the LBR iisy. KUKA also develops and manufactures "specialists" tailored to the requirements of specific industries, such as the Hygienic Oil series or the KR QUANTEC Arctic PA for the food industry. 

No matter how large or small, every work step is carried out with great care in the assembly halls. Tugger trains whirring incessantly through the halls supply the employees at the individual workstations with the required parts and components at precisely the right time. "Everything is in a state of flux in production," says Edmund Bahr. "And that needs to be well planned, especially when chip shortages, supply bottlenecks and transport delays come into play."

The key to a successful robot production is to work together - across divisional and national boundaries, involving KUKA's global production sites and international sales and integrators network. "Innovations, product and process optimizations arise from the accumulated experience and knowledge of the entire KUKA cosmos.

The times when design engineers designed a robot in a quiet room, went to production with the engineering plan and said: 'Just realize the engineering plan. Considering globally networked supply chains and fast changing customer requirements, holistic production engineering is essential," says Bahr. The focus is always on maximum efficiency with the highest quality standards - both in production and in lifecycle management.

"Considering all aspects from the outset and incorporating them into the optimization of production and quality assurance processes is one of the strengths of the German engineering spirit that KUKA lives by worldwide. It leads to consistent global quality standards and ultimately to greater employee and customer satisfaction," says Bahr. This often involves supposed "details", such as the use of identical screws for different models, which not only has an impact on procurement, but also on tools and workplace equipment.