New Scale Robotics, which develops smart automation tools for flexible manufacturing operations, announced today that two of its products have received UR+ certification from Universal Robots.

The NSR-PG-10-20-URe Gripper/Caliper and NSR-MTM-3-URe Multi-Tool Mount are now approved to work with the UR e-Series of collaborative robots to provide users with fast deployment, simple programming and reliable operation.

The gripper/caliper is the smallest parallel gripper and the first robotic digital caliper for collaborative robots, New Scale said. It leverages the UR e-Series’ high-speed RS-485 interface to deliver measurement precision of 2.5 µm (0.0001 inch), and enable control of multiple tools on one robot.

The multi-tool mount allows up to three tools to be mounted and controlled on UR’s smallest eSeries robots, including the UR3e. This lets the robot perform multiple processes with fewer large moves, improving throughput and productivity.

Q-Span workstations integration

The Victor, N.Y.-based company said both of these components are part of the new Q-Span Workstations, which combine robotic pick-and-place functions with automated measurement of small parts and logging of data for analysis. Configured with a UR3e cobot, the Q-Span Workstations can integrate into existing workflows in the QC lab or on a production floor of high-mix, small-batch manufacturing environments. The goal of the workstations is to allow QC teams to automate the tedious manual process of measuring parts, thereby improving throughput and data accuracy.

New Scale Robotics is a division of New Scale Technologies, which has more than 20 years of experience in delivering small, precise and smart embedded motion systems. The company’s miniature mechatronic “smart motion modules” incorporate several patents, and knowledge of piezoelectric and magnetic micro-actuators, sensors, drives, control systems and network connectivity.

Universal’s UR+ platform includes hundreds of industry-leading products that are tested and approved to work with Universal Robots, and include e technologies from grippers to accessories to vision systems and software.