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 known 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 will probably additionally carry as much as a 660-lb (299-kg) payload, and its modular toolhead permits straightforward switching between sawing (with both a 1-m or 2-m noticed blade), drilling and bending instruments to deal with a wide range of jobs from tunnelling to shipbuilding.
The Catonator has an entire suite of sensors that continually feed again to the onboard computer systems. Machine studying algorithms optimize its high-torque electrical spindle to regulate blade velocity and reducing paths, in an effort to effectively deal with every job whereas reducing put on on the blade for longer durations between replacements. All of this information is fed by the Good Manufacturing dashboard on a pc and even to a smartphone, the place operators can maintain observe of all the things.
Operators can management the machine through a wi-fi joystick distant, or the good saw-wielding robotic may be preprogrammed to run a process routinely. 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 exchange explosives on job websites – no permits wanted as a result of no kaboom, making it safer, sooner, and extra environment friendly.
In comparison with typical demo strategies – jackhammers or blasting with det twine, PETN, TNT and the like – the Catonator can reportedly reduce by rock, concrete, and even metal as much as 10 occasions sooner 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 supplied 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 resolution for the development trade known 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 many years on the frontline of commercial demolition, dealing with all the things from tunnel jobs to large-scale concrete removing gigs. And now with the Catonator, he is merged hands-on expertise with cutting-edge (no pun meant) robotics to create a cleaner, sooner, smarter different.
There are not any off-the-shelf models on the market but and there isn’t any point out of how a lot one in every of these beasts prices, however I think about the insurance coverage premiums financial savings alone would make it properly well worth the funding.
Supply: Kuka
