Universal Robots – 8 advantages and main technical indicators of collaborative robots

8 advantages of collaborative robots

1. Easy to program. Some new cobots are designed to be user-friendly and easy to program, eliminating the need for engineers to implement. Some even have manual guidance, where cobots can learn by example and follow a series of actions required to complete their programmed tasks.

2. Quick installation. The longer it takes to set up automation, the more expensive the initial investment. The high cost of staff training, production shutdowns, and having to hire an external service provider can extend the payback time. For small and medium-sized companies, these can pose a big problem.

Cobots are designed with this in mind, and need to be out-of-the-box functional. The pre-programmed software allows the user to install the robot themselves, so the user can set it up in less than 30 minutes. In addition, the flexibility provided by the short set-up time of the cobot increases productivity and ROI.

3. Flexible deployment. One of the main selling points of cobots is flexibility. Programming a cobot for a new task is simple and does not require an external service person. This brings versatility into the production line, and cobots can be easily set to perform a series of different tasks on the same day, or to specify a date of work for certain tasks.

Cobots can be easily integrated into agile systems, as they allow users to quickly respond to design changes and reconfigure cobots accordingly. Cobots on the market today can take on many roles, typically service and industrial roles. Service cobots are used to provide information, transport goods, or provide security in public places. Industrial cobots have a variety of applications, including, but not limited to, pick and place, packaging and palletizing, assembly, machine maintenance, surface finishing, and quality testing and inspection.

4. Consistency of results. Robots never get tired, so their results are more consistent and accurate than those of humans doing the same work. This makes them particularly suitable for monotonous tasks, as they can perform simple actions repeatedly without degrading the quality of the work. As long as it's set up, cobots can perform the same tasks with the same capabilities.

5. Increase productivity and optimize processes. Cobots take over human employees, where employees struggle to concentrate or maintain consistent performance for long periods of time, while the robot's precision reduces the likelihood of failures and product defects to almost zero. Quickly change the tasks to be performed by cobots, which helps workers optimize production lines and cut costs while maintaining high standards of product quality.

6. Fast payback period. The cost of cobots is lower than that of industrial robots, and the type of application used and the length of time they are used also determine that cobots can quickly pay for themselves. Due to the advantages of high flexibility, low price and fast return on investment, collaborative robots can usually recover their costs in 3 to 4 months, making China, Brazil, India, Mexico and other regions grow significantly, providing effective solutions in certain manufacturing enterprises.

7. Low comprehensive use cost. The cobot is maintenance-free, with a power of only 150 watts, does not require a safety fence, and does not require special robot programming and maintenance personnel, which greatly reduces the cost investment in the operation process.

8. Collaboration and security. Cobots ensure the highest level of safety. More than 80% of the world's cobots work next to workers without the use of traditional fences. Cobots can free workers from dirty, dangerous, tedious, and injury-prone work.

The main technical indicators of collaborative robots

1. Payload

Payload refers to the weight that the robot is capable of carrying, and all robots will have a specified payload, which does not include the weight of the actuator (such as a jig) or auxiliary tools at the end of the robotic arm when calculating.

This means that the real payload that a robot can carry must be subtracted from the weight of the robot's end-effector (e.g., a fixture) from its nominal payload.

However, if the robot application is analyzed in depth, taking into account the actual application requirements (such as acceleration) and physical parameters (such as friction coefficient), it is necessary to appropriately reduce the maximum payload carried by the robot.

The payload of cobots is generally within 10kg.

2. Weight

The weight of the robot body means whether it can be easily moved and changed to a different working position, or if a forklift or AGV trolley is required to do so.

In some workshops, robots need to constantly change job "positions" to perform a variety of different production operations.

And if the robot is too heavy, it will require more manpower and man-hours to complete the lifting and fixing of the robot.

3. Repeatability | Repeatability

Many times, people ask questions about the accuracy or precision of the robot's movements. But in the world of cobots, this metric doesn't really mean much.

In fact, what we need to know is repeatability.

Since cobots are often programmed and planned through manual instruction/manual guidance, the robot's ability to recreate and execute the exact same motion action is more valuable than its ability to accurately position itself at a certain X, Y, and Z coordinate point with millimeter accuracy.

Most cobots today have their maximum repeatability values listed in their spec sheets, so when we test and use robots, we often get smaller (i.e., better) repeatability than their nominal values.

4. Security

Because they need to work side by side with people in close proximity, safety is particularly important for cobots.

Although security is a very complex issue, many robot manufacturers still assign the corresponding safety level to their robot products, and most of them will receive safety certifications issued by third-party organizations.

At the same time, there will be many different variables in the "security" certification of the robot, and the only thing we need to make clear is that the robot is certified to be secure, which does not mean that the application of the robot is secure.

A complete risk assessment according to the process specified in the ISO 10218 (or ISO/TS 15066) standard is required to determine the level of safety performance of the equipment application.

5. Ease of use

For collaborative robots, which often need to work with humans and frequently switch between different operating tasks, the ease of programming and configuration directly determines the production and operation efficiency of their equipment applications. But this indicator is actually difficult to quantify. Because it is actually very dependent on people's operation and usage habits.

The same interface or how to use it may be easy for some people and difficult for others. So this indicator will always carry a certain subjectivity.

6. Arm span

The arm span of the robot refers to the maximum (long) distance that the robot's wrist can reach.

This distance is usually measured from the base of the robot. At the same time, there are many different ways to measure the arm span of a robot, and most of the time we will choose to use the maximum distance that the robot wrist can reach as a reference; Typically, cobots have an arm span that is comparable to the length of a human arm.

Universal Robots – 8 advantages and main technical indicators of collaborative robots

Universal Robots – 8 advantages and main technical indicators of collaborative robots

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