Use of KUKA KR300 Industrial Robot in Electric Arc Furnace Operation

The electric arc furnace is the most important scrap recycling process. By use of electric power, the furnace melts the scrap to produce liquid steel. The furnace area has various risks for the operator's safety and using robots to automatically perform the operations is very appropriate. The main reasons for robots being widely used in many industries are the high efficiency and precision of their operations, continuity of their work process, flexibility and the possibility to function in hazardous environment. This study considers the practical implementation of an automated system for temperature sampling in an electric arc furnace by using the industrial KUKA KR 300 robot. The architecture of the KUKA robot is described as well as its four operating modes and different types of movements of the end effector. By using the KUKA Robot Language, the robot is programmed to make temperature sampling by taking a new thermocouple from a storage system and bringing it to the electric arc furnace. Details about the hardware and the software of the robot control system are given. Practical studies show that the KUKA robot successfully performs the task for temperature measurement thus increasing the safety of the furnace operating personnel.