FANUC Unveils Future of Automation at Automate 2025: Collaborative Power and Intelligent Solutions Take Center Stage

A Glimpse into Tomorrow's Automation with FANUC

It truly warms our hearts to see FANUC so fervently spearheading the revolution for the future of manufacturing. Their announcement to Automate 2025, which will be held in the vibrant city of Detroit from May 12th-15th, is a very inspiring image of innovation. It's clear that FANUC is not just about robots; they're about enabling businesses, the smallest startups and the largest conglomerates, to reach new levels of productivity and efficiency. As their president and CEO, Mike Cicco, so eloquently put it, automation is more important than ever today to help achieve those production targets, enhance how smoothly things run, and, more importantly, to keep workers happy and engaged.

Shattering the Barriers of Cooperation: Cobots with Breathtaking Power

One of the most charming aspects of FANUC's forthcoming show is their continued focus on collaborative robots, or cobots. It's absolutely heartening to see how these robots are designed to cooperate with humans. At Automate 2025, they'll be featuring their full range of CRX and CR cobots, with some genuinely breathtaking abilities. We're talking about payloads of as much as an incredible 50 KG and a reach of as much as 1,889 mm! In this amazing lineup, the spotlight is taken by the CRX-10iA/L Paint Cobot, a work of art specially crafted for the art of painting, coating, and dispensing. It's as if observing a real artist, but one that labors with boundless energy and incredible precision.

Smart Solutions for Smoother Operations: From Vehicle to Art

The demos FANUC has in the pipeline are quite fascinating with real-world scenarios solving typical challenges of manufacturing. Take the example of an independent mobile robot guided by FANUC's smart iRVision 3DV vision sensor and easily picking a single part from a collection required for a side-view mirror on a car. It then leaves this entire assembly to be given over to the human operator who finds his life made easy without having to run around fetching components. This Autonomous Mobile Robot Automotive Kitting, done on the flexible CRX-10iA/L Cobot, is a breath of fresh air for production lines.

And then there's the Dual Cobot Paint Application, a sweet ballet of two cobots – the CRX-10iA/L Paint Cobot and the CRX-20iA/L Cobot. With high-accuracy visual identification and line tracking, they'll be working together to identify, load, paint, and unload electric guitar bodies. It is like watching a perfectly choreographed ballet, one cobot accurately applying the finish and the other doing the delicate loading and unloading with its breathtaking reach and accuracy, all under the control of FANUC's 3DV iVision sensor and iRPickTool software.

Innovation in Motion: Flexible Dispensing and Mobile Welding

FANUC is not finished yet! Their Collaborative Mobile Dispense Cart is another work of art. By integrating their Integral Servo Dispenser Software with state-of-the-art adhesive metering technology, they've created a transportable system that offers unparalleled precision, control, repeatability, and simplicity of programming. To see a CRX-30iA cobot with end-of-arm adhesive metering controlled by a FANUC 3DV/400 vision camera and SpotTool+ software offering a solid, easy-to-program dispensing solution in so compact and flexible a package is exhilarating.

For the welders, the Collaborative Arc Welding demonstration with Integrated 7th Axis Rail is the productivity-enhancer par excellence. This dual-cell configuration cleverly allows for loading on one side safely while a cobot, a CRX-10iA/L, works its magic on the other, all thanks to the reach improvement offered by the 7th axis rail. It is all about attaining maximum productivity and creating the working environment safer and more efficient.

Expanding the Horizons of Industrial Robotics and Control

Even in tougher conditions, FANUC's technology is the superior one. Their Flexible Robotic Wet Machining demonstration features the high-precision M800/60-20B industrial robot. Witnessing this 6-axis behemoth mill and drill aluminum stock with precision, even in water and grime, is a testament to how sturdy it is and how versatile it can be. Its larger work envelope than its price-equivalent CNC machines and its potential to be repurposed for various uses make it a true asset.

Finally, the R-50iA Controller Technologies Display gives a peek at the future of robot control. Two FANUC LR Mate industrial robots will showcase sophisticated applications like bin picking and palletizing, driven by this new controller. One robot, the compact LR Mate/7-7D, will even be running Python code natively! The demo will also showcase new cybersecurity features and software PLC functionality, as well as a new, lighter, more powerful Teach Pendant.

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