Understanding Collaborative Robots from Universal Robots and Their Benefits

Universal Robots has revolutionized the robotics industry by producing modern, high-quality robots are meant to benefit businesses, plants, and factories seeking to automate their production activities.  

These game-changing industrial robots from Universal Robots, known as collaborative robots or cobots, have a unique feature that eliminates the dangers common with traditional robots, which are to be in a protected working space. On the other hand, the cobots work together with the human employees at the same workstations hence the name collaborative.   

A Closer Look at These Collaborative robots   

  • UR3e   

It is the tiniest collaborative robot, with a payload of three kilograms (3kgs/6.6lbs). This robot is ideal for automated workbench activities and minor assembly operations.  

The UR3e weighs eleven kilograms only (24.7lbs), and all of its parts rotate 360 degrees wrist joints with unlimited rotation at the end. These features make it an adaptable and light collaborative tabletop cobot to safely work with workers in the labor force.  

The UR3e collaborative robot is helpful in applications demanding uniform product quality, including polish, assembly, adhesive, and screwing. The compact form of this robot and its ease of the program make it suitable for switching between duties to fulfill the manufacturing needs.  

  • UR5e  

This collaborative robot is lightweight, adaptable, and has an industrial arm that allows you to automate repetitively and conduct dangerous tasks with a maximum payload of five kilograms. The UR5e robot is perfect for optimizing collaborative processes of low weight such as selecting, arranging, packaging small weight things, testing, and palletizing.  

It has an operating distance of up to 33.5ins (850mm), enabling it to put everything within its reach, making it very helpful in freeing up the employees’ time from engaging in monotonous tasks and instead concentrating on adding productivity quality to other production stages.  

The UR5e collaborative robot is also not complicated to program and offers a fast setup. Like all other robots from Universal Robots is very safe and collaborative and offers one of the fastest payback times in the robotic industry.  

  • UR10e  

The UR10e is designed for larger tasks where utmost precision and reliability are essential. It has a payload of ten kilograms (22lbs).  

This sizeable collaborative robot arm benefits heavyweight collaborative tasks like packaging, palletizing, assembly, and pick and place jobs. The UR10e industrial robot is an ideal palletizing robot since it has a reach radius of up to 1300mm hence very efficient in conducting tasks across a large surface area.  

  • UR16e  

The applicability of this robot is simply unmatched. Machine tending, material removal, handling, packaging, and screw and nut driving applications are all possible with the UR16e.  

It can lift numerous pieces in a single pick, making processes considerably more efficient by attaining faster cycle times. It has a payload capacity of 16 kg, which is beneficial for transporting large end-of-arm equipment.  

The UR16e robot system is also available as an OEM robot system with a 3-Position Teach pendant.  

Advantages of Using Collaborative Robots  

These robots present the users with great benefits to enhance automation and increase the overall production of the industries that adopt their use. Here are the main benefits of using collaborative robots from Universal Robots.  

Collaborative and Safe  

What makes the collaborative robots modern and efficient is their ability to work alongside their human counterparts at the same workstation safely with no risks associated. It is a significant improvement from the previous models, requiring a different workspace with relevant security and protective measures.  

The safety features of the collaborative robots include customizable stop time and distance limits to enhance a mutual working relationship where the workers are in control.  

These robots are also helpful in conducting strenuous tasks in risky or even dull working environments hence protecting the workers from any dangers involved in risky production activities and allowing them to concentrate their time and energy on safer, productive tasks.  

High Return on Investment  

The robots are affordable, but they are also cheap to maintain since they do not have any traditionally added programming and safety guarding costs. It makes them a suitable robotic automation option for the small and medium-sized companies that previously viewed the use of robots as a practice done by large industries only.  

They also have a faster payback of less than a year when extensively used. The collaborative robots enable companies to increase their production output with minimum human labor force needed since a collaborative robot can work non-stop for a long time (they do not demand holidays, day-offs, or occasional leave), minimizing labor costs translates to an increase in profit.  

Unlimited Application  

Collaborative robots are not restricted to a specific industry or application; on the contrary, they are very flexible and efficient in any task one programs them to perform.  

They are portable and space-saving, making them easy to redeploy to various applications without altering the production layout. One can shift the collaborative robot from one task to another and reuse the previous programs for recurrent tasks.  

Universal Robots also provides a wide variety of accessories and softwares for customizing the cobots to meet the customers’ desired configuration and application needs from palletizing, packaging, machine tending, and any complex process automation.  

Easy to Set-up and Program

Universal Robots has simplified setting up the robots from weeks to just a matter of hours. With a modern, intuitive user interface that is plug and produced, the robots are easy to install and integrate into the workstation. They do not need any unique electrical installations, just connecting them to a regular power outlet.  

You have to move its arms to the desired waypoints to program the robots since they have a susceptible integrated force-torque sensor. The user-friendly teach pendant enables anyone to become a robot programmer. 

Conclusion  

Collaborative robots offer the best solution for automation of the various production and manufacturing environments. The robots are being used in various fields, and as a result, they are changing the way companies operate, create, and sell.

Companies that have already acquired these robots can attest to the above-stated benefits, which have enabled them to increase their productivity and profitability.