Imagine a 2.4-ton robotic arm wielding a six-foot-seven (2-m) circular sawblade with a 12-foot (3.7-m) reach, slung onto a truck-mounted hooklift system for easy transport. It's as terrifying as it is awe-inspiring. That's Smart Production's latest creation, built on the back of Kuka's KR Fortec 480 Ultra and called the Catonator.
It's a 6-axis, 4,850-lb (2,200-kg) fully electric, battery-powered cutting machine that can slice, dice, and julienne rock and concrete with 0.1-mm precision. It can also carry up to a 660-lb (299-kg) payload, and its modular toolhead allows easy switching between sawing (with either a 1-m or 2-m saw blade), drilling and bending tools to tackle a variety of jobs from tunnelling to shipbuilding.
The Catonator has a whole suite of sensors that constantly feed back to the onboard computers. Machine learning algorithms optimize its high-torque electric spindle to control blade speed and cutting paths, in order to efficiently tackle each job while decreasing wear on the blade for longer durations between replacements. All of this data is fed through the Smart Production dashboard on a computer or even to a smartphone, where operators can keep track of everything.
Operators can control the machine via a wireless joystick remote, or the smart saw-wielding robot can be preprogrammed to run a task automatically. Because of this, the forklift-sized scalpel can go from truck to cutting in a fraction of the time traditional methods would take.
But what does it do?
Compared to conventional demo techniques – jackhammers or blasting with det cord, PETN, TNT and the like – the Catonator can reportedly cut through rock, concrete, and even steel up to 10 times faster while being significantly quieter, with less mess and less disruption. And because it's 100% electric, it's clean enough to run in confined spaces without toxic diesel fumes.
The Catonator is equipped with a 360-degree LiDAR that acts as a safety bubble, stopping operation if an operator or other obstacle gets too close ... to avoid any messy "incidents."
The Catonator is the brainchild of Cato Sørheim, seasoned demolition and concrete-cutting pro turned robotics pioneer. As the founder and owner of Sørheim Riveservice AS, Sørheim has spent a few decades at the frontline of industrial demolition, handling everything from tunnel jobs to large-scale concrete removal gigs. And now with the Catonator, he's merged hands-on experience with cutting-edge (no pun intended) robotics to create a cleaner, faster, smarter alternative.
There aren't any off-the-shelf units for sale yet and there's no mention of how much one of these beasts costs, but I imagine the insurance premiums savings alone would make it well worth the investment.
Source: Kuka