Calif.-based Productive Robotics added a fourth model to its OB7 lineup of cobot arms. The new OB7-Stretch is similar to the company’s standard OB7 cobot, but it has a longer reach of 1250 millimeters and a slightly lower payload of 4kg.

Zac Bogart, President of Productive Robotics, said applications in plastics molding, packaging, and palletizing will especially benefit from the OB7-Stretch. In CNC machine tending, for example, the OB7-Stretch can tend multiple machines at one time when the robot needs to reach more than one machine, and when the robot needs to reach deeply into a machine.

“We have many customer’s applications that need a bit more reach, but have lighter payload needs,” said Bogart. “OB7-Stretch was designed for those applications.”

The OB7-Stretch is priced the same as the standard OB7 model, providing a cost-effective alternative to the higher payload and longer reach cobots. Productive Robotics now has four cobots in its OB7 lineup. Here is a quick breakdown of how they compare:

Productive Robotics OB7 Cobots Comparison

Cobot	Payload (kg)	Horizontal Reach (mm)	Repeatability (mm)	DOF
OB7	5	1000	0.1	7
OB7-Max8	8	1700	0.1	7
OB7-Max12	12	1300	0.1	7
OB7-Stretch	4	1250	0.1	7

Each OB7 cobots has a seventh axis. The company says the seven joints give OB7 the flexibility and dexterity to reach around objects or obstacles. Unlike a human arm, each of OB7’s joints can rotate 360 degrees in both directions, allowing the cobot to work in confined workspaces.

All of the OB7 cobots are also equipped with a “no programming,” teach interface. This allows users to instruct the OB7 through positioning and a simple user interface rather than through programming. Bogart recently told our sister publication, The Robot Report, that its cobots learn by interpreting what the user shows it when moving it through the job. The OB7 does not simply go from point to point.

Productive Robotics recently launched a software update for the OB7 cobots. The software update enhanced several connectivity features, including the ability for OB7 cobots to directly monitor and control machines they’re working with, live online status monitoring, email and text message alerts for status updates, and more.

One of our recent case studies highlighted how an OB7 cobot is helping True Precision Machining, a full-service machine shop in Buellton, Calif. After implementing a Productive Robotics OB7 cobot on its wire EDM machine, True Precision doubled machine output and meet deadlines early.

To compare 100-plus different cobot arms by payload, horizontal reach, repeatability and degrees of freedom, check out our Collaborative Robots Comparison Tool.