Mitsubishi Electric has launched its MELFA ASSISTA collaborative robot arm in North and South America. The 6-axis RV-5AS-D, which first launched in May 2020, offers positioning accuracies as low as ±0.03mm, a reach of 900mm and a payload of 5kg.

The RV-5AS-D features a Windows-based programming environment, called RT Visual. The software allows non-expert users to drag-and-drop icons to define the movements of the arm, and to simulate operations in 3D before the robot actually performs them. Movements for the cobot arm can be taught and recorded via a dedicated control panel on the cobot’s arm, doing away with conventional teach pendants.

The MELFA ASSISTA cobot can optionally use NSF H1 food-grade lubricant approved by the U.S. National Sanitation Foundation for the production of food & beverage products.

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A six-color LED ring that encircles the robot’s forearm provides a visual indication of its current status. Each color identifies a different mode of operation, alarms or faults. An on-arm keypad can be used to start and stop the robot, to reset errors, or to teach it tasks.

Safety considerations include the elimination of hand and pinch points to protect hands and fingers of operators, and the robot reacts to its environment by going into a collaborative mode when operators approach it.

“We are excited to bring ASSISTA to North and South America,” said Scott Strache, product manager at Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Inc. “We saw an opportunity to introduce a cobot that features truly industrial performance to the marketplace, all while backed by a three year on-site warranty.”