BMW Group (Munich, Germany) produces both 1 Series compact cars and 3 Series sedans at its plant in Regensburg, Germany. Long committed to automated assembly, the company recently decided to automate the handling of its front and rear axles, as well as the doors for both types of automobiles. Among other goals, BMW wanted a system that would be flexible enough to adapt to changing product requirements.
For handling the front and rear axles, BMW installed three heavy-duty, six-axis robots from Kuka Robots (Augsburg, Germany): a KR 500 model and two KR 360s. The KR 500, which has a payload of 500 kilograms, takes the assembled front axles from the production line and sets them down on an assembly aggregate carrier (known as a MAT).
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