Easy Automation: KUKA and the IMTS Robot Show

Sept. 3, 2014

To prove its 'Automation Becomes Easy' thesis at IMTS this year, KUKA Robotics will be offering real-life demonstrations of the ease its machines offer. Which means robots on hand will be making a show of what they do best: actual industrial work.

Travis M. Hessman

Robots are always one of the biggest draws at IMTS, and this year should be no different.

Booths at the September show will be stuffed full of automation geeks watching Motoman robots deal cards and perform their oddly human-like tricks, as they did in 2012. And Fanuc's booth, with its great yellow robotic arms tossing auto parts overhead and bench-pressing buses will offer a nearly inescapable draw.

But this year, KUKA Robotics is taking it a step further.

To prove its "Automation Becomes Easy" thesis at IMTS this year, KUKA will be offering real-life demonstrations of the ease its machines offer. Which means, rather than showing off with tricks and feats of strength, robots on hand will be doing exactly what they were designed to do – arc welding, machining, tending lathes, flexing axes and generally simulating the full job shop experience.

For the real industrial geeks in the crowd, that will make for an awfully exciting show.

Visit American Machinist for more on Kuka Products and Demonstrations.

American Machinist is an IndustryWeek companion site within Penton's Manufacturing & Supply Chain Group.

About the Author

Travis M. Hessman | Editor-in-Chief

Travis Hessman is the editor-in-chief and senior content director for IndustryWeek and New Equipment Digest. He began his career as an intern at IndustryWeek in 2001 and later served as IW's technology and innovation editor. Today, he combines his experience as an educator, a writer, and a journalist to help address some of the most significant challenges in the manufacturing industry, with a particular focus on leadership, training, and the technologies of smart manufacturing.