As the PULSE design evolved, the benefits of QuickStick became more apparent. KUKA chose to add more motors to the original design, increasing the available thrust of the system.
The higher speed increased the efficiency of other process equipment, such as robots, resulting in the need for fewer process stations. QuickStick’s flexibility allowed KUKA to create a truly cost effective system.
“QuickStick has allowed KUKA to present a revolutionary, complete solution to our customers that improves all measured criteria”, stated Laurence. “It’s twice as fast, has 1/10 the parts, zero external locating devices, uses less power, has greater MTBF yet significantly lowers MTTR all while being more flexible. These are the main things our customers measure us on, and we hit home runs on every count.”
The Results
QuickStick intelligent conveyance allowed KUKA to give the automotive industry the ground breaking, turnkey solution they were striving for.
KUKA’s first PULSE system was installed in May, 2015. This customer has seen a 99% improvement in system performance compared to the incumbent electrified monorail system they were using in their facility.
Production rates have increased and the system has not been the cause of any lost production time since it was installed.
In February, 2016, KUKA was awarded a prestigious contract with Jaguar Land Rover to install PULSE into its new facility in Europe.
When asked about his vision for the future, Laurence stated, “I believe the KUKA PULSE, utilizing MagneMotion’s QuickStick technology, will eventually run all automotive body shops.
The benefits PULSE offers over traditional equipment are staggering. In my opinion, there hasn’t been a bigger breakthrough in automotive manufacturing since the acceptance of robots on the manufacturing floor.”
