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FANUC Robotics Introduces World's Largest and Strongest Six-Axis Robot at IMTS 2008

ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—September 8, 2008— FANUC Robotics America Inc. today introduced the new M-2000iA super heavy-duty robot in a fabrication system demonstration during IMTS 2008, at McCormick Place in Chicago, Sept. 8-13, booth #A-8418.

M-2000iA Super Heavy-Duty Robot

Designed to meet customer requirements for handling truck, tractor, and automotive frames and parts, the M-2000iA/900L robot offers a 900 kg payload.

The M-2000iA is the worlds largest and strongest six-axis robot, said Rich Meyer, product manager, FANUC Robotics. It has the longest reach and the strongest wrist surpassing all other six-axis robots available today. The wrist strength sets a record, but more importantly, allows our customers to move large heavy parts a great distance with maximum stability.

The rigid arm design of the M-2000iA/900L has a vertical lifting stroke of 6.2 m for transferring extremely heavy items such as a car body. Were excited to provide our customers with this capability. It will help them meet production requirements, and save significant costs associated with conveyors, lifts and other fixed automation, added Meyer.

A second model in the super heavy-duty robot series, the M-2000iA/1200, offers a 1200 kg payload. The M-2000iA/1200 can support a 1200 kg payload with a 1.25 m offset from the faceplate and full articulated motion at the wrist. The strongest power for all six axes enables a single M-2000iA/1200 robot to handle a super heavy part, which previously required dual robots.

The M-2000iA, like all FANUC robots, operates with the companys latest R-30iA controller with integrated intelligent functions such as vision and force sensing.

M-2000iA - key features and benefits

At the show, the new M-2000iA/900L super heavy-duty robot positions a tractor frame near an R-2000iB/165F robot. The R-2000iB, equipped with iRVision® 3DL picks randomly piled brackets and places them on the tractor frame. Power clamps hold the brackets in place. The M-2000iA/900L then positions the tractor frame near two quad-arm ARC Mate robots (four new ARC Mate 120iC/10L and four ARC Mate 100iC/6L robots) to simulate a coordinated welding sequence to weld the brackets to the frame. Upon completion of the weld cycle, all eleven robots demonstrate envelope or coordination paths. Finally, the R-2000iB robot returns the brackets to the pick station and the cycle repeats itself.

FANUC Robotics America, Inc. designs, engineers and manufactures industrial robots and robotic systems for a wide range of applications including arc and spot welding, material handling (machine tending, picking, packing, palletizing), material removal, assembly, paint finishing and dispensing. The company also provides application-specific software, controls, vision products, and complete support services. After 25 years of success, FANUC Robotics maintains its position as the leading robotics company in the Americas. A subsidiary of FANUC LTD in Japan, the company is headquartered in Detroit, and has facilities in Chicago; Los Angeles; Charlotte, N.C.; Cincinnati and Toledo, Ohio; Toronto; Montreal; Aguascalientes, Mexico; and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Over 200,000 FANUC robots are installed worldwide. Contact FANUC Robotics at www.fanucrobotics.com or by calling 1-800-iQ-ROBOT, option 5.



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FANUC Robotics
Cathy Powell, 248-377-7570
Marketing Communications
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