Cincinnati Milacron Robots

KC Robotics' history with Cincinnati Milacron dates back to 1992 when KC was a small manufacturer's rep known as K&C Industrial Sales. Ken Carrier, owner of KC, had a relationship with Cincinnati Milacron as a supplier of industrial parts and repair services.

After Cincinnati Milacron sold it's robotic division to ABB Robotics in 1990, they were left with a warehouse of parts and robots that ABB did not want. Ken Carrier made an offer to Milacron to purchase the leftover products. That decision changed the direction of KC from manufacturer's rep to used robotic dealer and service provider. Eventually the name was changed to KC Robotics. In the early years, KC Robotics purchased used Cincinnati Milacron robots and refurbished them for the secondary market. Many of the employees came from Cincinnati Milacron. With their expertise in service and installation, KC Robotics became one of the largest providers of used Cincinnati Milacron robots, parts and service in the United States.

As the robotics industry grew, KC Robotics eventually phased out the Cincinnati Milacron robots, replacing them with Fanuc, OTC, and Motoman robots.

History of Cincinnati Milacron Robots

In 1973, the first commercially available minicomputer-controlled industrial robot was developed by Richard Hohn for Cincinnati Milacron Corporation. The robot was called the T3, The Tomorrow Tool.

Cincinnati Milacron built large industrial robots primarily for the welding industry. It was one of the first companies to change from hydraulic to electric robots. Milacron pioneered the first computerized numerical control (CNC) robot with improved wrists and the tool centre point (TCP) concepts.

Cincinnati Milacron enjoyed a large share of the industrial robot market throughout the 1970's and early 1980's. However, throughout the 1980's Cincinnati Milacron lost market share to imports from Japan and Europe. Low profitability forced them from the robot industry with heavy losses between 1985 and 1989. On September 12, 1990, Cincinnati Milacron announced that it was selling its robot division to ABB Robotics (Asea Brown Boveri Ltd.).