Industrial goods manufacturing is changing. However, the much talked-about fourth industrial revolution is more a reaction than an underlying cause. In reality, the change stems from increasingly globalized competition and new market demands. For instance, shorter product life cycles and ever more diverse model series in the automotive sector are creating a need for flexible solutions that can be rapidly deployed. Even innovative, resource-friendly lightweight engineering calls for specialist expertise. When it comes to joining aluminum and steel, factors such as the stability of the respective materials and deformation behavior play an important role. The various ready2_use packages from KUKA AG offer industry-specific, tried-and-tested and ready-to-use solutions, and the company decided to show off the latest addition to the range - ready2_rivet - at HANNOVER MESSE 2018.

A self-pierce riveting package for use in BIW production, the solution was developed with Böllhoff - one of the world’s leading manufacturers and distributors of fasteners and assembly systems. "Collaboration was key," explains Burkhard Stimmel from KUKA. "By combining KUKA robots and control systems with our partner's know-how in mechanical joining technology, we were able to develop an automated, flexible and preconfigured solution for BIW applications." The self-pierce riveting package is designed to seamlessly integrate into existing production environments and give an immediate boost to productivity and efficiency. To top it all off, the solution can be easily adapted to suit new requirements at any time, making it perfectly primed for Industry 4.0.