Learn about the current state of collaborative robotics, including emerging capabilities, new applications and powerful enabling technologies, and what to expect in the future.
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Barcelona hosts collaborative robotics hub with UR, MiR expansion
BARCELONA -- Universal Robots A/S and Mobile Industrial Robots ApS have opened a new center here to promote collaborative automation in Southern Europe. The two companies said it is the world's first worldwide hub focusing on collaborative … [Read More...] about Barcelona hosts collaborative robotics hub with UR, MiR expansion
Festo agrees to distribute Magswitch magnetic robot grippers
Festo is known for its standard and adaptive grippers, but for certain applications such as metalworking, it distributes products from select suppliers. The Islandia, N.Y.-based company yesterday said it now offers Magswitch magnetic grippers for … [Read More...] about Festo agrees to distribute Magswitch magnetic robot grippers
FANUC debuting arc welding cobots at FABTECH
FANUC America will introduce a line of collaborative arc welding robots at FABTECH 2019 in Chicago. The new arc welding cobots offer the same level of performance as FANUC's ARC Mate robots, but a built-in sensor allows the new welding cobots to work … [Read More...] about FANUC debuting arc welding cobots at FABTECH
Cobots gaining traction in healthcare industry
Robots and robotic technologies have a long history of success in healthcare. But recent advancements in the field of collaborative robots have made for additional possibilities to support the healthcare sector across a variety of … [Read More...] about Cobots gaining traction in healthcare industry
coDrive cuts the pneumatic tether, enabling mobile cobot applications
BEDFORD, Mass. -- Among the limitations for mobile applications of collaborative robot arms and end-of-arm tooling is the need for pneumatic power supplies. Soft Robotics Inc. said this week that it has overcome this challenge with its new coDrive … [Read More...] about coDrive cuts the pneumatic tether, enabling mobile cobot applications
Collaborative Robots Comparison Tool
Collaborative robots can boost your company's output, increase productivity, and ensure the quality of the products you manufacture. But introducing collaborative robots into your business is a big step, and finding the right cobot for the job is not … [Read More...] about Collaborative Robots Comparison Tool
Cobots vs. industrial robots: what are the differences?
When you’re ready to automate your manufacturing processes, one of the first questions you’ll face is whether to use traditional industrial robots or collaborative robots (cobots). While there are many differences, it’s also important to remember … [Read More...] about Cobots vs. industrial robots: what are the differences?
![[caption id="attachment_103124" align="aligncenter" width="740"] The new BotX Welder developed by Hirebotics and using the UR10e cobot, lets manufacturers automate arc welding with no capital investment, handling even small batch runs not feasible with conventional automation. Source: Universal Robots[/caption] ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Shortages of skilled workers and increasing demand are leading to a deficit in welding. At FABTECH, collaborative robot arms from Universal Robots A/S will be part of three welding automation systems to address this challenge. According to the American Welding Society, the average welder today in the U.S. is 55 years old, and less than 20% of welders are under the age of 35. These demographics lead to a projected shortfall of 400,000 welders by 2024. Weld shops already can’t find enough skilled people, and they can’t automate the increasing amount of high-mix/low-volume production runs with traditional welding robots. "Addressing the severe labor shortage in weld shops with cobots is now a solution that we see rapidly emerging, as industry leaders and innovators start offering automated welding tools utilizing the Universal Robots’ platform,” said Stu Shepherd, regional sales director of Universal Robots’ Americas division. “FABTECH attendees will witness how the ease of use and versatility of the UR cobots can translate into unique new welding automation tools in ways few believed were possible just a couple of years ago." BotX – hire a robot welder by the hour The new BotX Welder, developed by Hirebotics, Red-D-Arc, and Airgas, uses a UR10e cobot to address two major hurdles of robotic arc welding: ease of programming and the ease in which a customer can obtain the system without assuming the cost of ownership. There are no installation costs with BotX. With cloud monitoring, manufacturers pay only for the hours the system actually welds, thereby enabling the manufacturer to hire and fire BotX as business needs dictate. “We chose Universal Robots to power BotX for several reasons,” said Rob Goldiez, co-founder and CEO of Hirebotics. “With Universal Robots’ open architecture, we were able to control not only wire feed speed and voltage, but torch angle as well, which ensures a quality weld every time." Customers can teach BotX the required welds with app on any smartphone or tablet, said Hirebotics. It accesses a library of welding recipes contained in the BotX software developed specifically for the BotX and optimized to work with Airgas’ ARCAL shielding gas. The complete BotX product offering comes with the UR10e cobot arm, cloud connector, welder, wire feeder, MIG welding gun, weld table, and configurable user-input touch buttons. The BotX is now available to early access customers. It will be on display at FABTECH in Chicago, doing live welding in Airgas’ Booth B19043 and in OnShape’s Booth A1345 on Nov. 11-14, 2019. Vectis Automation’s Cobot Welding Tool offers intuitive design Debuting in Universal Robots’ FABTECH Booth B35083 featuring a UR10e cobot is Vectis Automation’s new Cobot Welding Tool. The company said it is "a portable, safe, versatile, and extremely easy-to-use solution that is even available as a low-risk, no-capital rent-to-own option." Vectis’ Let’s Weld Together programming interface is accessible directly through the UR cobot’s own teach pendant. Programs can be created, saved, and later recalled to handle the numerous part numbers typical for high-mix/low-volume shops. “We saw Universal Robots prevail as the undisputed leader in the cobot market, lowering automation barriers through ease of use and fast deployment,” said Josh Pawley, director of business development and co-founder of Vectis Automation. “We wanted to build our cobot welder on this platform, providing the same user experience to welders that manufacturers in many other industry verticals now enjoy." He added that the Vectis Cobot Welder is commonly 25% to 40% less expensive than the "all-in" cost of a small traditional robot welder. The Vectis system comes with all hardware provided fully integrated onto a 3 ft. x 6ft. mobile modular fixturing cart. This is intended to enable metal fabricators to bring the cobot to the work, or the work to the cobot, with no anchoring nor dedicated footprint required. SnapCut – a cobot that cuts through steel A traffic-stopper at last year’s FABTECH was SnapWeld, the first integrated MIG welding system for collaborative robots available through Universal Robots’ UR+ platform, which certifies products to work seamlessly with UR cobots. SnapWeld was launched by ARC Specialties. It has further developed the UR product portfolio with the release of SnapCut, which allows traditional metal fabricators to cut shapes in three-dimensional steel components with no prior robotic or computer programming knowledge. SnapCut will be showcased in Universal Robots’ FABTECH Booth B35083 using a UR10e cobot to manipulate a Hypertherm cutting torch to desired positions around the cutting path. "With SnapCut, we have developed a tool that allows metal fabricators to deploy UR cobots to cut nonstandard positions on location with near plasma table quality,” said John Martin, vice president at ARC Specialties. “We’re providing an easy automation alternative to a process that today is primarily done manually.” Users can easily switch between plasma cutting and welding, turning SnapCut into SnapWeld, said ARC Specialties. The company added that it recently updated the SnapWeld interface. It is preloaded with welding schedules so that even users without prior robotics experience can input the material information and then teach the welding path by pointing the robot at the weld. UR16e debuts at FABTECH FABTECH is also metal fabricators’ first chance to see Universal Robots’ new heavy-duty UR16e, which boasts an impressive 16kg (35 lb.) of payload capability. The new cobot combines high payload with a reach of 900mm and pose repeatability of +/- 0.05mm, making it ideal for automating tasks such as heavy-duty materials handling, deburring, and machine tending. Universal Robots said the UR15e has the highest payload and best pose repeatability in this reach class. The new cobot is put to work in the UR booth by Fusion Cobotics, a UR partner that has developed the FC Series, a pre-configured machine tending solution with the UR16e. Manufacturers can utilize the equipment for efficient, reliable, uninterrupted machine tending throughout the day and into the off-shifts (lights-out) enhancing the ROI capital equipment without tying up money and valuable floorspace usually required by conventional robotic machine tending solutions.](https://www.cobottrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Welding4-150x150.png)
Multiple welding systems using cobots to see at FABTECH 2019
Welding shops are suffering from labor shortages and increasing demand for high-variability, small-batch orders. Automation providers are responding to this challenge with several systems that will be on display at FABTECH next month. The new welding … [Read More...] about Multiple welding systems using cobots to see at FABTECH 2019
FANUC America opens robotics facility in Michigan
FANUC America today held the grand opening of its new 461,000 square-foot North Campus robotics and automation facility in Auburn Hills, Mich. And collaborative robots played a major role in the grand opening celebration. FANUC invited customers, … [Read More...] about FANUC America opens robotics facility in Michigan
Doosan Robotics opening US headquarters
Doosan Robotics, the South Korean-based cobot manufacturer founded in 2015, will open its first headquarters in the United States by the end of 2019. Located in Buford, Georgia, the US headquarters will lead sales, marketing, training, and service … [Read More...] about Doosan Robotics opening US headquarters
SRAP from SICK adds safety controls for collaborative robot applications
MINNEAPOLIS -- One of the selling points of collaborative robots is that they are safer to operate around people than conventional industrial automation. Sensor maker SICK recently introduced its Safe Robotics Area Protection, or SRAP, systems to … [Read More...] about SRAP from SICK adds safety controls for collaborative robot applications
Rethink Robotics GmbH announces Sawyer Black Edition cobot
The Sawyer collaborative robot has new life, thanks to upgrades by Rethink Robotics GmbH. The German company today announced that Sawyer Black Edition is available for pre-order and that Daniel Bunse is its new CEO. A year ago, Boston-based … [Read More...] about Rethink Robotics GmbH announces Sawyer Black Edition cobot
Vectis welding cobot addresses labor crisis, rising costs
Vectis Automation, a Fort Collins, Colo.-based company with employees who have 60-plus years of combined experience in the robotic welding industry, is looking to help solve the lack of skilled welders. The company will debut at Fabtech, Nov. 11-14 … [Read More...] about Vectis welding cobot addresses labor crisis, rising costs
Machine shop saves 500 hours with machine tending cobot
Founded in 1983 and based in the town of Åseda in Southern Sweden, FT Produktion is a machine shop that supplies metal parts measuring up to 7.5 meters in size to a variety of industries. The company has 25 employees that hail from Sweden, Norway, … [Read More...] about Machine shop saves 500 hours with machine tending cobot
Eureka Robotics develops Archimedes robot with human-like dexterity
SINGAPORE -- Eureka Robotics, a startup spun out of Nanyang Technological University here, this week unveiled Archimedes, a new robot that can handle fragile optical lenses and mirrors with human-like dexterity. Archimedes was developed by the … [Read More...] about Eureka Robotics develops Archimedes robot with human-like dexterity
Mobile YuMi cobot to automate hospital tasks
ABB opened its first global healthcare research hub on the Texas Medical Center (TMC) campus, in Houston, Texas. ABB showcased a number of concept technologies, including a mobile YuMi robot that assists with laboratory and logistics tasks in … [Read More...] about Mobile YuMi cobot to automate hospital tasks
Ford Spain uses MiR collaborative mobile robots to increase productivity
For decades, Ford Motor Co. has used robots to make automobiles. When its factory in Almussafes-Valencia, Spain, needed to automate a tedious process, Ford Spain recently deployed collaborative mobile robots from Mobile Industrial Robots ApS. Ford … [Read More...] about Ford Spain uses MiR collaborative mobile robots to increase productivity
piCOBOT vacuum gripper now compatible with more cobots
piCOBOT, a vacuum-based end-of-arm tool from Piab, is now compatible more collaborative robots and even smaller industrial robots. This is possible thanks to a new generic electrical interface and new mechanical mounting plate options that are in … [Read More...] about piCOBOT vacuum gripper now compatible with more cobots
How to get started with cobots
Collaborative robots, or cobots, are providing manufacturers of all sizes with the ability to automate more than ever before. It's important for cobot users to get started quickly, so that they can see results as soon as possible. Rethink Robotics … [Read More...] about How to get started with cobots
Sawyer’s machine tending skills help manufacturer increase quality
Fitzpatrick Manufacturing, a Sterling Heights, Michigan-based CNC machine shop and custom manufacturer founded in 1952, supplies parts to more than a dozen sectors, including aerospace, automotive, medical equipment and oil and gas. To increase … [Read More...] about Sawyer’s machine tending skills help manufacturer increase quality
6 novel applications for collaborative robots
The global market for collaborative robots (cobots) will grow from $710 million in 2018 to $12.3 billion in 2025. While much of that growth will continue in automotive, electronics, and other manufacturing, the safety and flexibility collaborative … [Read More...] about 6 novel applications for collaborative robots
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