KUKA: The new KR FORTEC ultra family: ultimate power, compact design

By Web Master On Jan 25, 2023

Technically unbeatable for manufacturing processes that involve heavy and large-volume components

The new KUKA KR FORTEC ultra family includes five robot variants – each ideally suited to a specific application. The KR 800, for example, impressively handles payloads up to 800 kg. The two KR 480 variants reach up to 3,700 mm. The High Inertia variants of the KR 640 and KR 560 increase the maximum permissible mass moment of inertia significantly with extended grippers.

We developed the robots of the new KR FORTEC ultra family in close cooperation with our customers. They are our response to the automotive industry’s changing requirements, with bigger vehicles, heavy batteries and very large components for electric cars.

Wolfgang Bildl, Portfolio Manager at KUKA.

“Double up”: Innovative double link arm design offers many essential advantages

The most striking feature of the new KR FORTEC ultra family of robots is its double link arm, an innovative design that reduces weight while it ensures high stiffness and accuracy. This reduces the use of materials, which results in higher dynamic performance, optimal cycle times, less energy consumption and a lower CO2 footprint.

Incredibly strong. Extremely compact and light

“To cover a payload range of 800 kg and high mass moments of inertia, customers of other manufacturers must settle for robots in the next payload class up, which are significantly heavier and more cost-intensive to purchase and maintain,” said Wolfgang Bildl. With a first-class power-to-weight ratio, the new KR FORTEC ultra family eliminates these drawbacks.

Best values for MTBF and energy consumption add up to significantly reduce operating costs

The very high “Mean Time Before Failure” (MTBF) of up to 400,000 hours offers customers low spare parts costs and high availability. Furthermore, the robots of the new KR FORTEC ultra family meet all customer upkeep requirements, with very good component accessibility and ease of maintenance and repair. For example, these robots need only three forms of maintenance: oil changes, visual inspection, and lubrication of the cable set and the bearings on the counterbalancing system.

This content was first published on the KUKA website.