Robots pull gap info from the constructing CAD plans and precisely drill inside about 1/8 in. (3.1 mm). | Credit score: DEWALT
DEWALT and August Robotics have partnered to ship an autonomous concrete flooring drilling system. It options an industrial DEWALT drilling rig mounted to the August Robotics autonomous cell robotic, or AMR.
The providing targets the rising market alternative for information heart development, which requires intensive website preparation for server rack set up. Builders should bolt information heart racks to the ground, which requires drilling 1000’s of holes into the concrete slab.
August Robotics launched its first Lionel robotic in 2019. The AMR is designed for exhibition flooring marking and industrial format. Lionel makes each mark to at the least +/- 1/8 in. (3.175 mm) accuracy, measuring every mark independently and avoiding the buildup of errors.
Via the event of Lionel, August Robotics mentioned it mastered the method of indoor positioning accuracy and optimized the consumer expertise. Lionel works from the CAD file for the constructing or exposition heart, which is straightforward to arrange and function onsite.
August Robotics sees new alternative with gap drilling
The DEWALT drilling rig is mounted to the August Robotics AMR base. | Credit score: DEWALT
Drilling holes is a pure extension of Lionel’s core capabilities, mentioned August Robotics. The brand new system combines Lionel’s autonomous indoor positioning capabilities with an industrial DEWALT concrete drilling machine.
The present platform is dual-branded as each DEWALT and August Robotics, carrying each logos on the product.
The companions mentioned some great benefits of a robot-mounted drill embrace velocity, accuracy, traceability, and a measurable return on funding. The system compresses the info heart flooring prep schedule from eight to 9 weeks of format plus drilling all the way down to about seven to 9 days with 4 robots.
Different potential advantages embrace improved security, diminished fatigue, and the releasing up of expert staff/apprentices for higher-value duties. DEWALT, a unit of Stanley Black & Decker Inc., claimed that the system delivers robust unit economics with the fee per gap diminished from greater than $60 to round $20.
The joint providing has already generated 21,000 hours of labor capability within the first six months, by way of the automation of the drilling course of, mentioned the businesses.
Alex Schickling, director of robotics at DEWALT, instructed The Robotic Report that “with the early entry program, 12 robots are presently within the area, having drilled 108,000 holes with 99.97% placement accuracy. In the meantime, the core August Robotics Lionel resolution has printed greater than 300 million sq. ft. [27.8 million sq. m] of flooring area.”
“The robotic doesn’t thoughts if there are different issues on the ground or not,” he continued. “It’s received the know-how to verify it’s not going to run into something — it comes from a number of angles if one thing is blocked, to attempt to get it from completely different angles. Whether or not it’s a brand new construct, it’s a warehouse, it’s a knowledge heart, any constructing that’s received a concrete flooring, an open space to drill, it’s going to work very nicely in.”
DEWALT nonetheless devising go-to-market technique
DEWALT mentioned its go-to-market technique for the drilling robots continues to be in an early/experimental part and never absolutely finalized. In response to Schickling, the corporate expects the robotic drilling system to be accessible commercially midyear 2026. It demonstrated the product on the World of Concrete Commerce Present in Las Vegas final week.
Each DEWALT and August Robotics gross sales groups will work with their respective companions to develop a fleet of robots within the area.
