Milling Gigantic Plastic Pipes. Eugen Riexinger in cooperation with KUKA KR QUANTEC

KUKA partner Eugen Riexinger GmbH & Co. KG has developed a fully integrated, automated solution for the milling of huge plastic pipes using KUKA KR QUANTEC robots with other equipment, and put this solution into operation at its customer&production facility in Wales for milling Weholite pipes measuring up to 3.5 meters in diameter. Plastic components, for example for underground pipelines, are a specialty of the Finnish company Uponor Infra. With its product Weholite, the company has developed a patented solution for manufacturing plastic pipes several meters in length and up to 3.5 meters in diameter. These oversized pipes are used for such applications as gravity-based drainage systems, dewatering, subterranean canals, retaining basin systems and low-pressure applications. Weholite pipes boast all of the technical advantages of full-wall PE pipes, but are lighter, react flexibly to earth movements, and can be more quickly and easily installed thanks to the high degree of prefabrication. Eugen Riexinger GmbH & Co. KG in Bad Liebenzell has developed a fully integrated, automated solution for the milling of the huge pipes at the factory of Weholite licensee Asset International Ltd. in Newport, South Wales. For this purpose, KUKA supplied not only the KUKA 120 R2700 extra HA robot, but also the KL 1500-3 T linear unit, two MG 360 KUKA servomotors for the external rotational axis and the KUKA CNC controller. “This is our pilot project for robot-based automation,” explains...