Think about a 2.4-ton robotic arm wielding a six-foot-seven (2-m) round sawblade with a 12-foot (3.7-m) attain, slung onto a truck-mounted hooklift system for straightforward transport. It is as terrifying as it’s awe-inspiring. That is Good Manufacturing’s newest creation, constructed on the again of Kuka’s KR Fortec 480 Extremely and referred to as the Catonator.
It is a 6-axis, 4,850-lb (2,200-kg) absolutely electrical, battery-powered reducing machine that may slice, cube, and julienne rock and concrete with 0.1-mm precision. It may additionally carry as much as a 660-lb (299-kg) payload, and its modular toolhead permits simple switching between sawing (with both a 1-m or 2-m noticed blade), drilling and bending instruments to sort out a wide range of jobs from tunnelling to shipbuilding.
The Catonator has an entire suite of sensors that consistently feed again to the onboard computer systems. Machine studying algorithms optimize its high-torque electrical spindle to regulate blade pace and reducing paths, in an effort to effectively sort out every job whereas lowering put on on the blade for longer durations between replacements. All of this information is fed by way of the Good Manufacturing dashboard on a pc and even to a smartphone, the place operators can hold observe of every thing.
Operators can management the machine by way of a wi-fi joystick distant, or the good saw-wielding robotic could be preprogrammed to run a activity robotically. Due to this, the forklift-sized scalpel can go from truck to reducing in a fraction of the time conventional strategies would take.
However what does it do?
The Catonator can substitute explosives on job websites – no permits wanted as a result of no kaboom, making it safer, quicker, and extra environment friendly.
In comparison with standard demo methods – jackhammers or blasting with det wire, PETN, TNT and the like – the Catonator can reportedly reduce by way of rock, concrete, and even metal as much as 10 occasions quicker whereas being considerably quieter, with much less mess and fewer disruption. And since it is 100% electrical, it is clear sufficient to run in confined areas with out poisonous diesel fumes.
The Catonator is provided with a 360-degree LiDAR that acts as a security bubble, stopping operation if an operator or different impediment will get too shut … to keep away from any messy “incidents.”
A revolutionary robotic answer for the development business referred to as the “Catonator”
The Catonator is the brainchild of Cato Sørheim, seasoned demolition and concrete-cutting pro turned robotics pioneer. Because the founder and proprietor of Sørheim Riveservice AS, Sørheim has spent a couple of a long time on the frontline of business demolition, dealing with every thing from tunnel jobs to large-scale concrete elimination gigs. And now with the Catonator, he is merged hands-on expertise with cutting-edge (no pun supposed) robotics to create a cleaner, quicker, smarter different.
There are no off-the-shelf items on the market but and there is not any point out of how a lot one among these beasts prices, however I think about the insurance coverage premiums financial savings alone would make it effectively definitely worth the funding.
Supply: Kuka
