ANN ARBOR, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The characteristic light-blue jointed collaborative robot arms from Universal Robots (UR) will be spotted hard at work throughout IMTS in Chicago from September 10-15. The numerous IMTS exhibits are a testament to the wide range of tasks and solutions now automated by UR. The cobots will handle vision-guided product inspection, ride on top of mobile robots while performing machine tending, automate laser marking, change pallets, conduct 3D scans of booth visitors, and much more.
“We have successfully developed a rapidly expanding ecosystem around our cobots,” says President of Universal Robots, Jürgen von Hollen. “IMTS attendees will see how the fast and easy integration of our collaborative robots’ arms now drive both cobot-assisted OEM solutions and a host of new plug and play products certified for Universal Robots.”
Universal Robots has created the UR+ platform, an online showroom and developer program that takes the trial and error out of creating a robot application by providing access to products verified to work optimally with UR robots. From grippers to software, sensors, vision cameras, and accessories, Universal Robots+ not only enables end users to hit the ground running when integrating UR robots, it’s also an un-paralleled collaboration between Universal Robots and the flourishing developer ecosystem. The platform currently includes 104 certified UR+ products and 359 approved commercial developer companies, many of them exhibiting their product on UR cobots at IMTS.
Attendees visiting Universal Robots’ own IMTS booth 236861 will also get a chance to experience the market leading cobots at UR’s vast, two-story booth featuring the company’s new flagship line of collaborative robots, the e-Series. Using a hand-tool for polishing a complex and moveable surface, the new UR10e cobot will demonstrate how the e-Series is ready to take on applications requiring force control right out of the box. With a new built-in force/torque sensor, the UR10e robot easily handles sanding, buffing, and deburring where force-feedback is paramount in order to obtain uniform results. Attendees can interact with the cobot, adjusting its force through a touch screen.
New UR+ grippers launching at the UR booth
UR+ enabled
end-effectors are all integrated with the URCap software, which gives
full control over the gripper’s position, force, and speed through the
UR teach pendant. Several new UR+ grippers have been developed for the
new e-Series, including Robotiq’s new gripper Hand-E,
completing Robotiq’s product line of adaptive grippers that all connect
directly on the e-Series wrist. Debuting at IMTS is Purple Robotics’
gripper, the
PR10. With its collaborative nature and double-grip function, the
PR10 can handle several items in a single operation. Unlike traditional
vacuum grippers, the PR10 requires no external air supply and can be
installed in less than 30 minutes with no prior training. "Vacuum
grippers have been used for more than 40 years, typically as custom
designs taking up to three weeks to build," says Lasse Kieffer, CEO and
founder of Purple Robotics. “Vacuum applications can now be done
off-the-shelf with the PR10 and quickly deployed without any
engineering, which is a huge benefit for Universal Robot customers."
Another new gripper addition to the UR+ platform, launching at the show, is Soft Robotics unveiling its new one-of-a-kind soft robotic gripping system, specifically designed for Universal Robots. The Soft Robotics Development Kit - UR+ (SRDK-UR+) enables adaptive handling of unstructured tasks and objects of varying size, shape and weight. “We’re thrilled to bring Soft Robotics’ technology to Universal Robots, and develop the first customizable gripper system specifically designed for the collaborative robot space,” says Carl Vause, CEO of Soft Robotics.
The UR cobots can be experienced at the following IMTS booths:
3D Infotech – Booth 135750
3D
Infotech will showcase UR’s Streamline automation software, available through
the UR+ platform. This UR software provides manufacturers with a
seamless workflow when mounting 3D scanners on any UR cobot. 3D Infotech
will show the latest 1.3 software release of Streamline with a UR5 model
along with complimentary 3D augmented reality technology powered by its
Spotlight software
ALL AXIS ROBOTICS – Booth 236165
UR Certified System
Integrator, All
Axis Robotics is showcasing three cobot-assisted applications, all
featuring UR10 robots. The turnkey systems will demonstrate automated
burr and Foreign Object Debris (FOD) detection, integrated tending of
legacy CNC machines, and robotic sanding. All Axis Robotics will also
display new products for UR cobots, including a dual gripper, carbon
fiber end-effectors for specific use in the metal fabrication industry,
end-effector adaptors to use with Dynabrade's line of pneumatic
finishers, and a range of pedestals and risers allowing UR cobots to be
mounted in front of any machine. All Axis’s FOD application recently
received Honorable Mention in the 2018 IMTS Innovation contest.
ARIS Technology – Booth 236382
ARIS Technology
resolves quality control backlog, saving manufacturers labor, scrap, and
inventory costs by implementing automated 3D scanning systems (in-lab or
in-production) showcased with a UR10 cobot. Using its powerful software,
ARIS quickly integrates any market-proven 3D scanners to reach 100%
inspection. In addition to replacing inefficient manual tasks with
automation, ARIS reduces engineering costs that go into setting up
complex programs by using UR cobots and AI.
ATI Industrial Automation – Booth 236417
See the latest
Manual Tool Changer from ATI,
the MC-10, in a live demonstration with a UR5 cobot. In a simulated
polishing application using ATI’s UR+ enabled Axia80
F/T sensor, the MC-10 is mounted between the cobot and tooling to
allow seamless equipment exchange. This durable coupling device features
an ergonomic twist-collar locking mechanism and options to integrate
utilities.
Bimba Manufacturing – Booth 134825
Bimba
will showcase the new Collaborative
Robot Vacuum Tool (CRVT) that adds unparalleled flexibility to UR
cobots. The CRVT comes off-the-shelf as a complete solution and is
highly configurable to meet an array of applications. A wide range of
vacuum pumps and cups are available to enable users to meet various
vacuum requirements. As part of the UR+ program, the CRVT is tested and
approved to integrate directly with UR robots, ensuring set-up,
programming, and operation can all be accomplished with ease.
Cognex – Booth 135451
The Cognex
In-Sight 2D URCaps makes setting up a vision guided application
using a UR cobot and a Cognex Vision System a breeze.
The UR+ enabled software guides the user through establishing
communication and the hand eye calibration routine – automatically
saving a calibration file which can be re-used across multiple jobs.
This demo shows the system in action: the camera guides the robot to
pick different types of packages at random orientations.
Combining the power of Cognex
Vision tools and the flexibility of UR cobots allows even novice
users to run advanced applications without weeks of integration time.
Computech Mfg. Co. Inc. – Booth 236896
The CoboFlex
system will be on display with a UR5 cobot. CoboFlex is a flexible
and configurable heavy duty mobile cart featuring a high precision
docking system that helps manufacturers get the most from their
collaborative robot investment. The CoboFlex system allows the user to
accurately and effortlessly redeploy a collaborative robot to various
applications within the facility, even multiple times within each day.
Emerging Technology Center – Booth 236700
The Emerging
Technology Center demonstration, sponsored by NIST,
showcases the first steps in the integration of machine tools, CMMs, and
cobots in a practical, low cost model supporting real-time coordination
and collaboration of manufacturing equipment without expensive PLCs and
central control systems. The software is open-source and hardware
agnostic, developed by a network of consortia to provide the building
blocks for next steps in manufacturing. The MTConnect standard is
providing the language that enables the equipment to express its needs,
from the movement of material to the maintenance tasks required to keep
the cell in top performance. The ROS-I platform delivers the ability for
the UR10 cobot to find optimal ways to dynamically move material and
other assets.
Energid – Booth 121838
Energid
will demonstrate a UR5-based bin-picking application with unparalleled
ease of use. Its Actin
SDK for advanced motion control is fully integrated on the UR
robot’s teach pendant. The Actin robotic toolkit enables the robot to
maneuver through a complex environment, including deep inside of the
bin, adapting in real-time to avoid collisions and accurately pick a
wide variety of parts, all without sacrificing the ease of use expected
with a UR robot. The Actin SDK will also be demonstrated on a UR3,
extending the cobot’s capabilities to include External Tool Center Point
(TCP) motions out-of-the-box. This allows the cobot to efficiently move
a part around a fixed tool to reduce takt time, costs, and workspace
footprint and increasing tool life.
Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence – Booth 135202
Visitors
to Hexagon Manufacturing are invited to rethink quality, flexible,
automated metrology and see how UR cobots can be integrated with
metrology sensors, hardware and software to create innovative
solutions. From aerospace to automotive to general industry
applications, the combination of Hexagon
Manufacturing Intelligence and UR has created a new approach to
solving manufacturing and metrology requirements.
Hurco Companies Inc. – Booth 338319
For Hurco's
50th anniversary, the company will demonstrate the WinMax control's
Industry 4.0 connectivity by running robotic cells that automate
production of high-mix, low-volume customized parts. The robots and
robot cell controllers will communicate exclusively through the internet
with no hard-wired I/O connections. The new UR10 e-Series will be used
to 3D scan booth visitors' heads and faces. The data will then be used
to generate 3-axis custom coins and 5-axis custom statues.
igus Inc. – Booth 134521
igus
will showcase its advanced cobot cable management system triflex®, available
through the UR+ platform. The triflex R sizes 30 and 40 are a perfect
match technically as well as visually for the UR3, UR5, and UR10 robotic
arm systems. The igus UR cable management system offers a quick and easy
mounting connection.
MIDACO – Booth 339347
With a flexible reach of 51.2”, the
UR10 cobot paired with MIDACO’s
Automatic Pallet Changer can easily access parts on a table or
conveyor set up alongside the pallet changer, where it handles loading
tasks. Mounted on either the left or the right side of a machining
center, the pallet changer automatically switches pallets in seconds
when the first job is complete.
Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR) – Booth 121468
MiR
will showcase a MiR200 autonomous mobile robot (AMR) with a UR5 and an OnRobot RG2
gripper application. This applications picks up circuit boards at a
stationary table, drives around autonomously and delivers the circuit
boards to the same table. To be as precise as this task requires, the
MiR200 connects to a precision docking station built into the stationary
table, demonstrating how the MiR200 adds mobility with extreme precision
to the UR5, enabling the cobot to service multiple work stations.
READY Robotics – Booth 236882
READY
Robotics will showcase the TaskMate R5 equipped with a UR5 cobot
performing a simulated task tending a CNC lathe machine, picking steel
rods from a hopper, placing them into the lathe, running an operation,
and returning 'finished' parts to the hopper. Assisted by a UR10 cobot,
the TaskMate R10 will perform inspection and sorting a collection of
steel parts.
OCTOPUZ Inc. – Booth 236036
Attendees will be able to see
simulations of the programs created with the OCTOPUZ UR+
software for Universal Robot users. From drilling to dispensing
applications, OCTOPUZ
is an ideal OLP solution to reduce robot downtime and increase
productivity while ensuring error free programming.
OnRobot – Booth 236592 and Booth 236480
OnRobot
will have four UR5 cobots equipped with OnRobot collaborative
applications on display: A UR5 with a dual RG2
gripper showing a machine tending application; a UR5 with a HEX
sensor polishing a car door; UR5 equipped with RG2-FT showing a
precise insertion task where valves are inserted in an engine head; and,
a UR5 with an RG2 gripper for direct attendee interaction.
SCHUNK – Booth 432010
SCHUNK will demonstrate a coordinated
motion between a UR5 cobot and SCHUNK’s
servo-electric 5-finger hand SVH. Real-time tracking and motion control
allows the coordination of movement of the 20 degree of freedom SCHUNK
5-finger hand and the UR5, enabling human-like motions.
Starrett Metrology – Booth 135532
Starrett
Metrology will showcase a UR5 cobot utilizing OnRobot's RG2
gripper. The UR5 arm will execute precision movements in order to
position, sort and sample measurement pieces. Part sorting to specific
rack locations will be executed based on a pass or fail measurement
result from the Starrett HVR Field of View measuring system, powered by
Metlogix M3 Metrology Software. Using standard ascii text sent from the
cobot through a TCP socket, the M3 software will receive, process, and
respond to commands with confirmation or measurement results. This
unique pairing of collaborative robot technology, measuring equipment
and powerful metrology software introduces efficiency and automation to
high volume part inspection environments.
Takamatsu Machinery – Booth S-339488
Takamatsu Machinery
will demonstrate the UR5 cobot with Robotiq’s UR+ enabled Hand
E-Grippers and wrist
camera doing vision-guided machine tending with the Takamaz
GSL-10 Lathe, picking parts off a pallet riding on an S-Cart AGV. The
wrist camera demonstrates how vision guidance can compensate for
positional variations of the part pallet when docking with the lathe. A
UR10 loading parts with an OKK CNC Mill will also be on display.
TUV Rheinland – Booth 135425
TUV
Rheinland will showcase the UR3 cobot. Like all UR cobot models, the
UR3 has the ability to be used as a power and force limited robot, which
allows it to be integrated in various collaborative applications. TUV
will demonstrate how to validate that a robot is safe to use
collaboratively.
Versatech – Booth 236363
Versatech
will be showcasing a UR3 in conjunction with a Cognex vision system to
demonstrate the integration of vision systems and Universal Robots.
Attendees will experience the safety of working closely with a
collaborative robot as they receive a candy bar of their choice,
identified by the vision system, from the UR3. The system illustrates
the versatility of Universal Robots and creativity of Versatech’s design
team to meet all automation needs.
About Universal Robots
Universal Robots was co-founded in
2005 by the company’s CTO, Esben Østergaard – the 2018 Engelberger Award
Winner – who wanted to make robot technology accessible to all by
developing small, user-friendly, reasonably priced, flexible industrial
robots that are safe to work with. Since the first collaborative robot
(cobot) was launched in 2008, the company has experienced considerable
growth with the user-friendly cobot now sold worldwide. The company,
which is a part of Teradyne Inc., is headquartered in Odense, Denmark,
and has subsidiaries and regional offices in the United States, Germany,
France, Spain, Italy, Czech Republic, Turkey, China, India, Singapore,
Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Mexico. In 2017, Universal Robots had a
revenue of USD 170 million. For more information, please visit www.universal-robots.com
or read our blog at blog.universal-robots.com.
Press kits and images:
urrobots.com/PressKit2
urrobots.com/images