The University of Sheffield AMRC (www.amrc.co.uk) has taken delivery of a new Kuka robot for use by its Integrated Manufacturing Group (IMG).

The L750 Titan is a derivative of the KR1000; it has a reduced payload of 750kg but an extended arm that gives it a greater reach for aerospace assembly operations.

Ben Morgan, head of IMG, says: “The benefits of the Titan mean that it can not only be put to use handling large loads or moving large jigs for assembly; we can also use it for research, including drilling and machining operations.

“We will be coupling the robotic arm with research in large-volume metrology and advanced control algorithms to improve the ‘off the shelf’ accuracy for these applications.”

The new robot will be one of the key items of equipment in the AMRC’s Factory 2050 — a £43 million development that will be the world’s first fully reconfigurable assembly and manufacturing facility for collaborative research.