Danish manufacturer Universal Robots is unveiling a new, smaller robot for light assembly tasks and automated workbench setups at the Automate 2015 trade show in Chicago on March 23.
The company makes collaborative robots — machines able to work freely around humans. The company said the new tabletop robot weighs only 24.3 pounds, but has a payload of 6.6 pounds, as well as 360-degree rotation on all wrist joints and infinite rotation on the end joint.
“With the UR3, table-top automation is easy, safe and flexible; a single worker can accomplish what traditionally would be a two-person task by having the UR3 robot as a third-hand helper,” said Esben Oestergaard, chief technology officer and co-founder of Universal Robots, said in a news release.
The newest addition to the UR family came about after a three-year development phase. The company also makes the UR5 and UR10 robots.
Oestergaard said the UR3 can be used in assembly, polish, glue and screw applications. It can be used on a separate work station mounted on a table for picking, assembling and placing parts.
The new robot can be used for industries ranging from medical devices, to circuit boards and electronic components.
He said the UR3 can be used in confined environments. Thus, a six-axis robot can fit in assembly and manufacturing lines where erecting large safety enclosures would not be feasible. It also works in an environment with toxic or hazardous materials.
The UR3 has 15 adjustable safety settings. One can limit the forces at contact if a robot bumps into an employee.
The first Universal Robot entered the market in December 2008, and now the Odense, Denmark-based company has customers in more than 50 countries. Universal is not exhibiting at NPE 2015 in Orlando, Fla.