ODENSE, Denmark — Collaborative robot leader Universal Robots A/S last week announced a partnership with Sepro Group, a leader in industrial automation for the plastics industry. Under the terms of the partnership, Sepro Group will integrate its Visual Control System with cobots supplied by UR. Sepro developed its Visual Control Platform was developed for robots used in plastics injection-molding machines. All Sepro products, including co-branded lines, are controlled by Visual, providing the same user interface regardless of the type of robot.

“I am enthusiastic to announce this partnership, which will expand our already extensive portfolio,” said Jean-Michel Renaudeau, CEO of Sepro Group. “Moreover, I believe that the combination of Sepro Group’s know-how and the ground-breaking collaborative technologies developed by Universal Robots will allow our customers even greater flexibility and choice in how they approach automation in the plastic injection process.”

“I am very excited about our new partnership with the Sepro Group targeting the plastic injection automation market,” said Jürgen von Hollen, president of Universal Robots. “Sepro has extensive experience and knowledge about how to automate the manufacturing processes, and Universal Robots is the market leader in collaborative robots. Together, the two companies will be able to provide efficient, safe, and easy-to-use solutions for a wide range of customers within the plastic injection industry.”

The new partnership will allow Sepro Group to deliver the most extensive range of automation solutions to injection molders in the plastics industry. This portfolio includes Cartesian robots, six-axis articulated-arm robots, and now cobots.

Like six-axis robots, collaborative robots are perfectly adapted to peripheral operations that are increasingly in demand in the plastics industry. By helping define the solution that really fits their needs, France-based Sepro Group said it will offer its customers the smartest industrial automation solutions.

Launching operation-ready cobots

By adding the renowned Visual Control to the leading cobot for the first time, Sepro Group said it will guarantee seamless integration with UR’s technology and other Sepro robots and molding machines. This will allow customers to design safe, open configurations for various types of processes, including peripheral operations or advanced automation cells.

The new solutions from Sepro and Universal Robots are intended to ensure shortened process-development times and faster installation, resulting in easy-to-deploy, easy-to-test post-processing operations and turnkey automation systems.

Under the terms of the agreement, Sepro will provide global services for solutions from Sepro and UR. Sepro has a significant presence in the Americas, with more than 150 experts and 42 service centers around the world. This extensive network allows Sepro to deliver local support and the same quality of service for cobots as it does on Cartesian and six-axis robots.

The solutions from Sepro and UR will be displayed at Sepro Group’s booth in Hall 12, A49, during K 2019, which takes place in Düsseldorf, Germany, on Oct. 16-23, 2019.

Editor’s note: Universal Robots will also be exhibiting at the Robotics Summit & Expo on June 5-6, 2019, at Boston’s Seaport World Trade Center. Register now to attend.