ABB adds 2 OmniCore robot controllers

ABB is adding two new members to its OmniCore controller family. Available for a range of robots across ABB’s portfolio, the new E10 and V250XT controllers extend the possibilities for enhanced robot control in a variety of industries, from electronics assembly to automotive, logistics, and general manufacturing.

ABB said both controllers offer increased scalability through the inclusion of over 1,000 hardware and software functions encompassing areas such as programming, offline commissioning and simulation, maintenance, vision and safety. The controllers also feature built-in connectivity to ABB Ability Connected Services cloud-based service suite for robots.

Featuring a slimline 19-inch rack-mount design, the E10 is designed for confined space and high-density production lines where space saving is a key requirement, such as small parts assembly and material handling in the electronics industry. The E10 controller is designed to power ABB’s SCARA robots and articulated robots with payloads of up to 11kg such as the IRB 920T and IRB 1300.

Designed to power articulated robots with a payload of up to 300kg such as IRB 6700, the V250XT controller is designed for use in electric vehicle production, automotive manufacturing, logistics and general industrial applications.

ABB said the OmniCore E10 and V250XT controllers consume up to 20% less energy compared to its previous IRC5 controllers. Both controllers are used with ABB’s FlexPendant hand-held controller. The large 8” multi-touch display supports standard gestures, such as pinch, swipe, and tap to simplify robot programming. FlexPendant is “hot-swappable”, which means it can be unplugged or re-connected without interrupting ongoing production. This allows the FlexPendant to be shared between multiple robots, accelerating robot deployment and minimizing costs.

All of ABB’s OmniCore controllers are based on the company’s RobotWare operating system. The OmniCore controller family will be extended across ABB’s robot portfolio and more applications will follow into 2022.

“The growing demands of the industry for quicker, more diverse production and greater responsiveness to changing market conditions calls for solution that bring new levels of speed, accuracy and flexibility,” said Antti Matinlauri, head of product management for ABB Robotics. “As part of ABB’s OmniCore controller family, the E10 and V250XT provide manufacturers with an expanded range of possibilities, enabling them to maximize their productivity and meet changing demands with minimum downtime.”