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FANUC has been added to Wandelbots’ robotics manufacturer portfolio. | Source: Wandelbots

Wandelbots, the Dresden, Germany-based robotics software developer, announced that it has added FANUC to its portfolio of robotics manufacturers. FANUC will be the third robotics company to integrate Wandelbots Teaching into its robots. 

FANUC plans to launch the first versions of its Wandelbots-enabled robots in 2023. It follows Universal Robots and Yaskawa in integrating the software. 

“Wandelbots’ goal is that all robots, regardless of manufacturer or model, can be controlled with our technology. With the integration of FANUC, we are getting a lot closer to our goal,” Bernd Heinrichs, co-CEO of the company, said. “Having another robotics manufacturer in our portfolio allows us to open up new markets and provide Wandelbots Teaching to a wide range of companies. For Wandelbots, FANUC also has special relevance, as we are currently entering the US market, where FANUC is widely used.”

The company takes a no-code approach to programming robots with its Wandelbots Teaching platform. The platform allows companies to work with robots by mapping out the robot’s path using TracePen, which was released by the company in 2020. TracePen adjusts the robot’s path via an app and can transfer the application to any other robot. TracePen’s tracking allows users to plan out a path down to the millimeter.

Wandelbots’ software works the same with any robot from the three companies it currently works with, meaning users will be working with the same interface on every robot. 

FANUC is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of industrial robots, with over 900,000 robots sold and over 100 different models offered. Along with industrial robot arms, FANUC offers CNC controllers and servo motors. 

In March 2022, FANUC added three new models to its CRX cobot series. The new models provide 5 kg, 20 kg and 25 kg payload capacities, providing heaving and lighter payloads than the original cobots in the line. The CRX line of cobots are designed for a variety of applications, including inspection, machine load/unload, packing, palletizing, sanding, welding and more.

In January 2022, Wandelbots brought in $84 million in Series C funding, bringing the company’s total funding to date to $123 million. The company planned to use the funding to scale its teaching platform to work with more robots for more applications in more regions.