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The UR20 collaborative robotic arm with its elevated payload (25 kg) demoed on the China Worldwide Business Honest. | Credit score: Common Robots
Universal Robots is rising the payload capacities of its UR20 and UR30 collaborative robotic arms by 5 kg every. This raises the payload capability, together with the end-effector, to 25 kg and 35 kg, respectively, when utilizing the cobot in prime elevate place. Common Robots stated the added energy will are available in particularly helpful for palletizing functions.
The payload improve is already out there to current UR20 and UR30 cobots within the discipline by way of a free software program replace. UR stated the elevated payload capacities for each fashions will change into the usual possibility sooner or later beginning on October 15, 2024 with the launch of PolyScope 5.19. There isn’t any extra value to clients for the elevated lifting capability, the corporate stated.
“At Common Robots, we constantly check and develop our merchandise, and after we unlock new options, we wish to give companions and clients speedy entry,” stated UR chief product officer Tero Tolonen. “This replace allows clients to extend productiveness with out rising prices, and it’s only one instance of how our ardour for innovation drives profit to our clients’ backside line.”
Introduced in late 2023, the UR30 cobot arm includes a 1,300 mm (51.2 in.) attain, weight of 63.5 kg (139.9 lb.), and is designed to have a tendency bigger machines, palletize heavy merchandise and help high-torque screwdriving. The UR20 was introduced in mid-2022 and was the corporate’s strongest cobot arm on the time. It was the primary in a sequence of next-generation cobots from UR that have been designed from the bottom up. It includes a 1750 mm attain (68.9 in.) and weight of 64 kg (141.1 lb.).
UR gained RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards for each the UR30 and UR20. UR is owned by Massachusetts-based Teradyne, which is a world chief in automated check tools. Teradyne additionally owns Cell Industrial Robots (MiR), a number one supplier of autonomous cell robots. In its second quarter monetary report, Teradyne’s robotics group made $90 million in income. UR made $75 million and MiR $16 million within the quarter.
There are different cobots with 35 kg payload capacities, together with fashions from FANUC and Techman.
A UR20 palletizing software with elevated payload was showcased for the primary time simply this week on the China Worldwide Business Honest in Shanghai.
UR has lengthy been the main supplier of cobot arms. Throughout its Q2 monetary outcomes convention name, Teradyne stated it about 80,000 cobots deployed within the discipline. In Q2 2024, Teradyne stated the UR20 and UR30 heavy-duty cobots accounted for greater than 20% of UR’s gross sales.
Greg Smith, president of Teradyne, stated on the decision that the best precedence for Teradyne’s robotics go-to-market technique transformation is the event of an OEM options channel for UR. “Now we have seen that clients buying cobot-based options from these companions get into manufacturing extra rapidly and have fewer issues than clients that construct their very own options or depend on an integration accomplice,” he stated.
Anders Billesø Beck, UR’s VP of know-how, answered the next questions in regards to the new payload capacities.
How typically is it that software program updates allow a bodily change in functionality?
Robotics is all the time this fusion between software program and {hardware}. It’s superior mechanics but it surely’s all managed and managed by a tremendous quantity of software program – even all of the physics inside a robotic. So loads of the superior capabilities of robots are sometimes software-defined, notably Common Robots, the place the whole lot is so tightly built-in. Each quantity you see on a Common Robots knowledge sheet is simply as a lot pushed by our software program and controls as by the precise mechanical efficiency.
How is it {that a} software program replace can improve weight capabilities with out harming the prevailing elements within the machine?
The precise function of management software program in fashionable robotic techniques is to fastidiously channel energy and torque to ship first-class work, whereas making certain longevity of the {hardware}. The software program replace has been focused to maximise efficiency within the particular use case the place the merchandise hangs underneath the robotic’s software flange. Right here, now we have discovered mechanical surplus and optimized the software program to leverage this capability, offering person expertise round it.
Have been there any explicit clients you have been responding to for this explicit want?
Now we have a lot of our companions within the packaging, palletizing, and dealing with business searching for to maneuver nearer to the boundaries and elevate heavier masses, and loads of our companions are already engaged on adopting this. I believe we’ll see merchandise available on the market with this enhancement within the subsequent week. There’s loads of pleasure available in the market for our companions to have the ability to provide this worth improve to their clients.
How does the elevated payload have an effect on pace and place of actions, if in any respect?
That’s the problem. As quickly because the elements change into greater and heavier, it has extra momentum, however we actually hung out optimizing for this. We will probably be delivering no less than the identical efficiency that we have been underneath the earlier payload situation, and for our clients, this software program magic will probably be totally invisible. As a result of we’re dealing with a smaller resolution area, its principally payloads hanging down from the robotic, so we’ve optimized towards this example.
Editor’s Word: This text was up to date on September 30, 2024 with solutions from Common Robots about the way it technically elevated the payload capacities of its UR20 and UR30 cobots.
