ROBOTICS
WWW.MADEIN.IE « JULY 2020 « 15
UR’s most
recent raising of the
bar has come in the form of the UR16e
cobot, which boasts a 16 kg payload
capability. UR16e combines the high
payload with a reach of 900 mm and pose
repeatability of +/- 0.05 mm making it
ideal for automating tasks such as
heavy-duty material handling, heavy-part
handling and machine tending.
Another leap in terms of payload and
capability comes in the form of the
Yaskawa Motoman HC20DT robot, the
latest example of Yaskawa’s expanding
range of Motoman Smart Series robotic
solutions that are helping users to meet
the rapidly changing demands and
adaptation of new manufacturing
practices.
The Motoman HC20DT is a six-axis
robot which combines the powerful
capabilities of handling payloads up to
20kg, the fl exibility of a reach of up to
1700mm with the highest levels of safety.
this fi eld is Universal
Robots (UR), which
developed the world’s
fi rst commercially
viable cobot as far back
as 2008. Today, UR has
more than 37,000 cobots on
the job around the world.
This was largely achieved by the
development of the UR robot’s force and
safety control features, which ensure that
if the robot collides with a person it
automatically stops operating so it
doesn’t cause bodily harm. These features
have eliminated the need for safety
guarding in the vast majority of installed
UR robot applications and established the
company as a trailblazer for the
collaborative robot concept.
As well as this belief that safety is
simply the cost of entry to the cobot
market, UR’s frontrunner position has
been maintained by constantly raising the
bar for what the term ‘collaborative’ really
entails. By this, it means that the label not
only means humans can collaborate
directly with robots but also addresses
ease of use and implementation –
fundamentally, that a robot is not truly
collaborative if it’s not aff ordable and easy
to work with.
This represents ‘game-changing’ cobot
potential for applications such as
automated palletising which have until
now been limited by the payload capacity
and working envelopes of other typically
available robots. Depending on the
application it can be switched between
safe / collaborative mode in phases of
man-robot interaction and returning to
high industrial speed when the absence of
the operator is detected by additional
safety devices.
Operator safety is assured thanks to
features such as power and force limit
technology that stops the robot in case of
contact with an operator while the robot
arm geometry is
designed to
avoid fi nger pinch points. Also, the robot
arm can be guided by an operator and
robot positions and gripper operation can
be registered via ‘Teach’ and ‘Tool’
buttons. These features also contribute to
time saving during programming and
where the application requires additional
protective measures, such as safety
fences, these can be added in line with
risk assessments.
Unlike traditional and more complex
robot execution which typically requires
signifi cant upfront investment in training,
the Smart Series technology provides
simple, intuitive programming and
operation methods for operators.
Among the other important features
are a fully industrial robot controller, the
YRC1000 and YRC1000 micro, safety by
design with smooth rounded edges,
Widely
acknowledged as
the pioneer in this
fi eld is Universal Robots
(UR), which developed
the world’s fi rst
commercially viable
cobot as far back
as 2008
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