The tedious task of loading and unloading parts into machines has long been a bread-and-butter application for cobots gaining significant traction in the industry. With its 1,750 mm (68.9 in) reach and 20kg payload (44.1 lbs.), the new UR20 from Universal Robots aims to greatly expand automation opportunities such as the ability to reach further into machines, tend several machines in the same cycle, and handle 25% heavier parts. Despite being UR’s heaviest robot, the UR20 is the lightest cobot in its class, weighing only 64kg (141.1 lbs.) making it both a versatile technical tool and a manual laborer.

“More than half of all U.S. manufacturing tasks are automatable, a fact that businesses start to realize as they simply cannot fill open positions,” Universal Robots’ senior manager of applications development and strategic marketing, Joe Campbell, said. “We are launching a redefined cobot that has been completely re-engineered from the ground up, focused on freeing up more manpower within a wide range of human-scale automation tasks.”

The new UR 20 from @Universal_Robot is impressive. This is human scale automation for augmenting human workers rather than replacing them. pic.twitter.com/00xtk6aZzc

— djamesmanny (@djamesmanny) September 12, 2022

At Universal Robots’ IMTS booth 236949, attendees experienced first-hand what that looks like as the UR20 loads and unloads heavy workpieces into a machine fixture requiring a long reach.

“We have completely re-engineered the cobot’s field-serviceable joints, that deliver 30% more speed and torque within a closed capsule,” Universal Robots’ VP of innovation and strategy, Anders Beck, said, explaining how the UR20’s base joint produces 700 Newton-meters of torque. “This is more than a performance model Tesla produces on all of its wheels. Even with the increase in reach and torque, we’ve managed to retain the cobot’s 50 microns repeatability, while still using standard single-phase power.”

Universal Robots also kept the intuitive user interface, pioneered by the company, while incorporating advanced software enhancements, giving users unprecedented motion control capabilities. The rapidly expanding UR+ ecosystem of third-party components and application kits, certified to be plug-and-play with UR cobots, also supports the UR20. At IMTS, UR+ partner SCHUNK, will launch the EGU universal parallel electric gripper with the ability to handle varying part dimensions. The new gripper integrates seamlessly with the new UR20through a URCap (software handshake between the peripheral and the robot arm).