Cobot – What is a Collaborative Robot? Do I need a cobot for my business?

“Collaborative robot” or “cobot” has gradually become a buzzword in the automation industry. The popularity of cobots has spawned an explosion of new models from all the major robot manufacturers, as well as many newcomers in the industry. If you are new to the field, it can be difficult to know which model to choose or even determine if a cobot is the right solution.

Cobots can’t be a one-size-fits-all solution, but they do allow robots to operate in situations where robots could not be used before. This opens up new applications and enhances the field of automation on a large scale.

Introduction to cobots

Collaborative robots are essentially industrial robots designed to work alongside humans. Industrial robotic arms are multi-axis manipulators used in many industries for jobs ranging from welding and painting to material handling.

Traditional robots are isolated from humans by complex safety systems to ensure that workers cannot be injured while the robot is in motion. This is necessary because a robot is traditionally a piece of heavy machinery that moves at high speeds.

Without a safety system, an industrial robot can easily injure or kill someone if they accidentally move into its path. With enough safety measures, it is possible to combine most of the traditional industrial robots into one safe system for jobs near humans.

The key word here is “system”, as it is the safety system that makes the robot safe, not any characteristic of the robot itself. Designing these safety systems for traditional robots takes a lot of effort and tends to be tailor-made.

With cobots, robots are designed to be safe and almost ready to use near humans with no extra effort. Cobot designs tend to avoid sharp edges and pinch points, and limit force and speed to reduce the risk of injury. This allows humans to work safely and efficiently in the same space as the cobot.

Force limits and other safety features

For a robot to be collaborative, it must be designed from the ground up with built-in safety features to prevent worker injury. Most cobots are designed with force limitation in the joints. This means that the cobot can detect if it has collided with something and will immediately stop. Their components are usually lighter and they move at a slower speed than traditional robots. This makes cobots safe for speed and payload.

For example, payloads for cobots typically range from 5 to 11 kg (11 to 24 lb.) while payloads for traditional robots can exceed 1,000 kg (2,204 lb.), equivalent to the weight of one compact car. The payload for cobots has increased steadily over the years to meet the needs of the industry, but it is difficult to create a large payload robot that requires simultaneous safety.

Application of cobots in various industries

Cobots can be used in many professions from education to machine care. The market for cobots is expanding rapidly and is expected to grow by more than 50% in the next 5 years and eventually represent almost a third of the entire industrial robot market. Ongoing automation trends are expected to increase interest across a number of applications such as:

• Lightweight Mobile Robots – Cobots can be more easily integrated into a mobile controller that performs near-human operations, such as loading shelves in a warehouse.
• Assembly and disassembly – Cobots can handle tedious staging without complicated safety systems while humans perform more skillful assembly operations on the same part.
• Part handling and machine care – Cobots can be positioned near machines to perform repetitive operations without the need for complex safety systems that restrict machine access to
  operators.
• Handling and inspection – For applications that do not require high loads, cobots can be used in place of traditional robots to reduce the footprint and complexity of the system.
• Research and education – In the laboratory or classroom, cobots enable the testing and development of automated processes without the added complexity and inconvenience of fully secure systems. Learning to use cobots tends to be easier than with traditional robots.

Where can cobots be deployed?

The advantage of cobots is that they are small, light, and easy to assemble. Cobot can perform its tasks in places with little space and easy to move. For example, you can mount this collaborative robot on a moving desk and let it do its work elsewhere on a regular basis, but the robot can also stay in one place for long periods of time. than.

Cost for using Cobot

The large supply of different brands of cobots makes it more difficult to directly estimate the price of cobots in general. The larger the payload, the higher the cost. An intricate design versus a simple one can also make a difference in price. In general, powerful cobots with higher payload capacity and longer installation time will be more expensive, depending on features and usage needs.

Source: Plato Data Intelligence: PlatoData.io