Automate Without Disrupting The Existing Process? BMW Did It!

At the BMW plant in Munich, workers assemble reinforcements for vehicle side members.

The job? Repetitive, physically demanding, and under strict cycle time pressure.

They needed relief. But they also needed to keep things moving fast.

There was just one catch: it all had to fit into an existing production line. No big redesign. No massive floor space. No complicated robot setup.

So they called KUKA.

The key problems BMW faced were perfectly aligned with collaborative robotics. This is why they made a decision to use a Human-robot collaboration (HRC) approach, allowing them to benefit from automation with little to no redesign of the workflow.

The Primary Issues And Limiting Factors

At BMW Munich, the side member reinforcement station was a problem spot.

Workers had to handle heavy parts. The task was repetitive. Cycle time was tight.

But this wasn’t a new line… They needed to upgrade the workstation without tearing it apart.

The goal?

• Keep the existing process.

• Reduce physical strain.

• Maintain production speed.

A traditional robot wouldn’t fit. Literally, or functionally.

So the team at BMW turned to human-robot collaboration.

Why KUKA Cobot?

Standard industrial robots need fences and full isolation. And they are large, taking up a lot of space.

But BMW needed something that could safely work right next to a human.

The KUKA LBR iiwa was built for exactly this. It’s lightweight, sensitive, and safe. In case of human contact, cobots immediately cease movement instead of harming a human with full force.

So, with a cobot, you get no cages or walls. Just clean, collaborative automation.

The Implementation And Results

The workflow at BMW is now a smooth human-robot tag team. Besides the KUKA LBR cobot, BMW's production line also uses the KUKA KR 240 robot for welding. So, they made a human-cobot-robot assembly line that works safely, smoothly, and continuously.

1. The worker places the side member into the fixture and ensures reinforcement plates are available.

2. The LBR iiwa picks and places the plates precisely where they need to go.

3. It returns to rest.

4. The KUKA KR 240 robot welds the assembly. A roll door lowers for safety during this step.

5. Once welding is done, the door opens, and the process restarts.

• The cycle time? Maintained.

• Worker strain? Reduced.

• Floor space? Saved 25%.

• Complexity? Minimal.

KUKA cobot managed to tick all the boxes for BMW, allowing them to genuinely introduce collaborative automation in the process as they envisioned it. 

After the successful implementation, BMW Group Munich started thinking about more applications for collaborative robotics. Many businesses do the same. As soon as you experience the game-changing effects of cobots, you start looking at ways to improve your production, employee safety, and staff satisfaction. Since there are plenty of manual processes still performed worldwide, most businesses have more than one process they should automate. And once you see the success first-hand, the sky is the limit.

“We can also imagine converting further production steps from a purely manual workplace to an HRC-capable workstation. The increase in product variety and the intensifying competitive pressure make human-robot collaboration and flexible solutions unavoidable.” - Rüdiger Weber, Body-in-White Product and Process Planning at the BMW Group’s Munich plant.

Learn more about BMW's success with KUKA cobots below:

• BMW Group Munich: human and robot work hand in hand | KUKA AG

• Human-Robot Collaboration Quickens BIW Completion | 2019-06-06 | ASSEMBLY

Enjoy your week!

The Cobot Spotlight Team