Robots get arty with plastic

Israeli industrial designer and artist, Yaron Elyasi, is using a Kuka robot to produce both one-off and industrially manufactured pieces made from recycled plastic, a process that was displayed on Kuka’s booth at K 2013.

“Robot-based automation enables the consistent production of multiple units, whereas manual methods previously only allowed individual items to be made,” commented Elyasi.

Elyasi had previously been making his artwork using “Freemolding”, a patented procedure he developed himself, where, using an extruder, plastic was pressed through a nozzle into a string of the desired length and thickness. The artist then moved a mould – a bowl for example – beneath the nozzle in various directions, so that the plastic enveloped the mould in distinct patterns to create a piece of art.

Now, however, Kuka Robotics along with Ide, a German company specialising in manufacturing plastic extruders, have collaborated to develop an automated production system where a Kuka KR Agilus series A robot moves the mould beneath the stream of plastic, making it possible for Elyasi to supply what was once a one-off item either in a limited edition of consistently high quality, or as a mass-produced designer piece at low cost.