Find Out How Robots Handle Extreme Loads in Forging

Heavy-duty industrial robots refer to robotic arms or automated equipment with a load capacity exceeding a certain standard, typically capable of handling materials over 500 kg. These robots feature high stability, precision, and strong interference resistance, and are widely used in fields requiring large-scale, high-intensity operations. By flexibly adjusting programs to adapt to different production needs, these robots help enterprises improve efficiency while reducing labor costs and safety risks.

Automotive Manufacturing

The automotive production line heavily relies on heavy-duty robots, especially in body welding and large component assembly. Robots handle heavy components such as doors, frames, and engines, performing multi-point synchronized operations at welding stations. Given that body materials are mostly high-strength steel, which is difficult for humans to carry for extended periods, robots maintain stable precision, ensuring welding point errors remain under 0.5 mm. Some automakers have introduced dual-arm collaborative robots, where a single unit simultaneously handles door installation and screw fastening, reducing production cycle time by 15%.

Casting and Forging Industry

In high-temperature workshops, heavy-duty robots replace humans in hazardous tasks such as pouring, part removal, and deburring. On casting lines, robots extract molten metal exceeding 1,000°C from furnaces and pour it into molds, equipped with heat-resistant shields and thermal-sensing emergency stop systems. In forging, six-axis robots pick up forged metal parts and place them into cooling tanks, with adaptive grippers installed at the arm’s end to prevent slippage. After one heavy machinery plant upgraded its traditional forging line, workplace injury rates dropped by 90%, and product pass rates increased from 82% to 97%.

Logistics and Warehousing

Smart warehouses use heavy-duty robots to move full pallets or containers. Mobile robots equipped with laser navigation can carry 2-ton loads, autonomously planning paths between shelves to transport goods from receiving areas to sorting stations. In cold-chain warehouses, moisture-resistant robots operate continuously in environments as cold as -25°C, with anti-condensation coatings on the robotic arms. After deploying 20 heavy-duty robots, a major e-commerce logistics center tripled its parcel sorting efficiency, handling over 800,000 packages per day during peak periods.

Aerospace Manufacturing

Aircraft fuselage assembly involves handling metal frames up to 20 meters long, with heavy-duty robots assisting in riveting using visual positioning systems. Equipped with six-axis force sensors, robots provide real-time pressure feedback during skin installation, preventing deformation of aluminum-lithium alloy materials. At one aircraft manufacturer, a dual-robot collaborative system fixes the wing beam with the left robot while the right robot tightens bolts, reducing assembly time from 72 to 40 hours. In rocket fuel tank welding, robots move along circular tracks, completing 3-mm-thick titanium alloy welds in continuous 8-hour shifts.

Energy Equipment

Wind turbine towers exceed 4 meters in diameter, and heavy-duty robots, working with gantry systems, perform circumferential welding. Laser tracking technology compensates for workpiece deformation during operation, with welding torch angles automatically adjusted by ±5 degrees. In nuclear power plant maintenance, radiation-resistant robots enter reactor cores, where hydraulic robotic arms can dismantle 500-kg valve assemblies, monitored remotely with real-time radiation data. A hydroelectric plant used underwater robots equipped with waterproof motors and ultrasonic cleaning devices for turbine maintenance, reducing downtime by 12 days per operation.

Construction Machinery Production

Excavator boom assemblies often weigh up to 1.5 tons. Heavy-duty robots, working with rotary positioners, perform multi-angle welding. Workstations feature dual stations: while the robot welds one workpiece, workers prepare the next on the other side. During crane turntable assembly, robots tighten 64 sets of bolts in three stages according to torque requirements, keeping torque errors within 2%. After upgrading its loader production line, one manufacturer increased boom welding pass rates from 88% to 99.8%, reducing rework costs by 600,000 RMB annually.

Shipbuilding

Hull block welding involves steel plates over 30 mm thick. Heavy-duty robots equipped with high-power welding torches operate on tracks mounted on both sides of the block. Using multi-pass welding, the robot automatically cleans slag and inspects each weld pass. After introducing 12 heavy-duty robots, a shipyard reduced the welding time for a 38-meter hull block from 45 to 26 days, cutting welding wire consumption by 18%.

When selecting such equipment, key considerations include matching working radius with load curves. For example, when lifting a 3-ton object to a height of 5 meters, the robot’s torque must meet peak demands. During installation, foundation load-bearing capacity is critical, as the inertia force generated by a 400-kg robot in operation can exceed 2 tons. For maintenance, it is recommended to replace reducer lubricant every 500 hours and regularly calibrate force-control sensors.

Some companies are integrating heavy-duty robots with 5G technology, enabling remote-controlled loading and unloading in steel plant raw material areas, where operators in control rooms perceive grip force through haptic feedback gloves. As composite materials become more prevalent, robot end-effectors are being equipped with pressure-adaptive systems that automatically adjust clamping force when handling irregular objects, preventing damage to carbon fiber components.

Current limitations mainly involve energy consumption and spatial layout. A 200-kg payload robot can consume up to 15 kW during continuous operation, requiring advance planning of workshop power loads. Future development directions include creating more compact joint modules and enhancing dynamic obstacle avoidance for multiple robots operating in the same workspace.