At MD&M West, the Universal Robots booth was full of cobot applications, most of which came to fruition through the company’s UR+ program, an initiative that gives participating organizations access to more than 400 certified kits, components, grippers, software and safety accessories.
For example, Robotiq, a UR+ partner, outfitted a UR robot with the company’s graphical user interface (GUI) that allows users to set up a different palletizing solution in 10 minutes. The AX series includes a fully integrated vertical axis and is best used when handling a wide variety of box sizes and pallet heights in production.
Apera AI's Vue robotic vision software gives UR robots advanced sight and perception, helping them complete difficult tasks like bin picking, assembly and packaging. The software, powered by AI, allows the robot to generate the pick location in about 300 to 500 milliseconds from image capture. This solution uses a UR robot and Apera AI software, but the end effectors and cameras are off-the-shelf gear.
Lastly, the VersaBuilt CNC Mill Automation System for UR makes high mix automation easy and flexible. Using the UR10e robot and VersaBuilt’s CNC control interface and fixturing system, the machine tending application allows large set of parts to be set up so the system can run unattended.
