Companies join forces for flexible manufacturing

July 29, 2005
Kuka Robotics Corp., Clinton Township, Mich., a global manufacturer of industrial robots has joined forces with five other automation companies to develop new flexible manufacturing processes for the aerospace industry.

Kuka Robotics Corp., Clinton Township, Mich., a global manufacturer of industrial robots has joined forces with five other automation companies to develop new flexible manufacturing processes for the aerospace industry. Besides Kuka, the consortium includes Composite Systems of Arnold, Calif., which will manage the program and perform system integration; Programming Plus of New Berlin, Wis., CAD/CAM integration; New River Kinematics of Williamsburg, Va., sensor integration; Faro Technologies of Lake Mary, Fla., laser registration systems; EOA Systems of Carrollton, Tex., automated robotic drilling tools; and Weber Screwdrivers of Yorktown Heights, N.Y., automated screw feeding and fastening systems. The consortium's initial focus will be on airframes and aerospace structures for commercial aircraft.