What Is A Cobot?
New to cobots? This is a good place to start.
What is a collaborative robot (cobot)?
A Collaborative Robot, or "Cobot", is a type of Industrial Robot which can work safely alongside people. Unlike traditional industrial robots, a Cobot does not have to be isolated within a safety cage because it can stop safely if it collides with a fellow worker. Cobots can be used for machine tending, assembly, packaging, painting, welding, buffing, and many other tasks. To truly qualify as a cobot, it must conform to International Safety Standards as set forth in ISO specification 10218.
How are cobots different than robots?
In addition to the safety characteristics, some cobots are "easy to program". The latest generation of cobots don't use programming at all. They learn their task from their human teacher, who shows the robot by moving it manually though the steps of the job.
Cobots can usually also be employed without the need of a robotic integration company. Because they are so simple, they can be set up and trained by existing staff with little training.
How are cobots filling the need for automation?
Because of their flexibility and adaptability, Cobots are providing an economical route to automating thousands of mundane, boring and dangerous tasks that formerly required a human operator. With their extremely fast ROI, Cobots are enabling companies to recapture business that had moved overseas in recent years ("re-shoring").
What makes cobots "safe"?
Cobots are made safe with technology and software that allows them to sense when they have collided with a person or object. State of the art software continuously monitors all aspects of the robot's movements and immediately stops the robot when anything unexpected is detected.
What are some other benefits of cobots?
Now that you have the answer to the question “What is a cobot?” along with some of the core benefits, you are ready to examine these advantages in greater depth. They include:
-
Mobility and versatile integration with processes: A cobot collaborative robot can be easily moved between machines, maximizing ROI by adding automation to multiple processes per day or per shift.
-
Accuracy: An industrial cobot brings unmatched repeatability and accuracy to a multitude of processes.
-
Quality: Cobots offer the dual benefit of increased quality and consistency at greater speeds, maximizing ROI and enabling key personnel to focus on the highest-value tasks.
In what industries are cobots used?
What are cobots used for across industries? Industries include:
-
Aerospace
-
Automotive
-
Fabricating and Metalworking
-
Electronics manufacturing
-
Food and beverage manufacturing
-
Laboratory and research
-
Durable goods manufacturing
-
Plastics Molding
-
Furniture and Equipment
Are there different types of cobots?
The term “cobots” covers a broad range of properties, including axes of movement, method of programming or “teaching,” speed, capacity, tooling capabilities, and more. The OB7 family of cobots from Productive Robotics offers 7-axis movement — more than nearly any other cobot on the market — along with unparalleled versatility, mobility and suitability for a wide range of uses.
What makes cobots simple?
Not all cobots are simple, but some are..
Some cobots use traditional programming and coding methods employed by common industrial robots. These cobots are not simple.
Some cobots use upgraded programming languages to allow easy programming. These cobots are easy for programmers to program.
The newest cobots use no programming at all. They learn their tasks from their human teachers (operators). The teacher moves the cobot through the steps of the job and the cobot learns. These cobots are truly simple. To learn more about industrial robots and cobots, contact Productive Robotics today.
Learn More About Cobots
Get our starter guide, Cobots 101- Cobots In Industrial Manufacturing, which explains how cobots are different from traditional robots, and why businesses all over the U.S. are implementing them into their manufacturing to optimize their production. This guide provides an overview about cobot automation, kinds of tasks that cobots can do, and how simple it is to get started.
