The UR20 collaborative robot arm with its increased payload (25 kg) demoed at the China International Industry Fair. | Credit: Universal Robots
Universal Robots is increasing the payload capacities of its UR20 and UR30 collaborative robot arms by 5 kg each. This raises the payload capacity, including the end-effector, to 25 kg and 35 kg, respectively, when using the cobot in top lift position. Universal Robots said the added strength will come in especially handy for palletizing applications.
The payload increase is already available to existing UR20 and UR30 cobots in the field via a free software update. UR said the increased payload capacities for both models will become the standard option in the future starting on October 15, 2024 with the launch of PolyScope 5.19. There is no additional cost to customers for the increased lifting capacity, the company said.
“At Universal Robots, we continuously test and develop our products, and when we unlock new features, we want to give partners and customers immediate access,” said UR chief product officer Tero Tolonen. “This update enables customers to increase productivity without increasing costs, and it’s just one example of how our passion for innovation drives benefit to our customers’ bottom line.”
Introduced in late 2023, the UR30 cobot arm features a 1,300 mm (51.2 in.) reach, weight of 63.5 kg (139.9 lb.), and is designed to tend larger machines, palletize heavy products and support high-torque screwdriving. The UR20 was introduced in mid-2022 and was the company’s strongest cobot arm at the time. It was the first in a series of next-generation cobots from UR that were designed from the ground up. It features a 1750 mm reach (68.9 in.) and weight of 64 kg (141.1 lb.).
UR won RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards for both the UR30 and UR20. UR is owned by Massachusetts-based Teradyne, which is a global leader in automatic test equipment. Teradyne also owns Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR), a leading provider of autonomous mobile robots. In its second quarter financial report, Teradyne’s robotics group made $90 million in revenue. UR made $75 million and MiR $16 million in the quarter.
There are other cobots with 35 kg payload capacities, including models from FANUC and Techman.
A UR20 palletizing application with increased payload was showcased for the first time just this week at the China International Industry Fair in Shanghai.
UR has long been the leading provider of cobot arms. During its Q2 financial results conference call, Teradyne said it about 80,000 cobots deployed in the field. In Q2 2024, Teradyne said the UR20 and UR30 heavy-duty cobots accounted for more than 20% of UR’s sales.
Greg Smith, president of Teradyne, said on the call that the highest priority for Teradyne’s robotics go-to-market strategy transformation is the development of an OEM solutions channel for UR. “We have seen that customers purchasing cobot-based solutions from these partners get into production more quickly and have fewer problems than customers that build their own solutions or rely upon an integration partner,” he said.
Anders Billesø Beck, UR’s VP of technology, answered the following questions about the new payload capacities.
How often is it that software updates enable a physical change in capability?
Robotics is always this fusion between software and hardware. It’s advanced mechanics but it’s all controlled and managed by an amazing amount of software – even all the physics inside a robot. So a lot of the advanced capabilities of robots are often software-defined, particularly Universal Robots, where everything is so tightly integrated. Every number you see on a Universal Robots data sheet is just as much driven by our software and controls as by the actual mechanical performance.
How is it that a software update can increase weight capabilities without harming the existing components in the machine?
The exact role of control software in modern robotic systems is to carefully channel power and torque to deliver first-class work, while ensuring longevity of the hardware. The software update has been targeted to maximize performance in the specific use case where the item hangs under the robot’s tool flange. Here, we have found mechanical surplus and optimized the software to leverage this capacity, providing a good user experience around it.
Were there any particular customers you were responding to for this particular need?
We have many of our partners in the packaging, palletizing, and handling industry seeking to move closer to the limits and lift heavier loads, and a lot of our partners are already working on adopting this. I think we will see products on the market with this enhancement in the next week. There’s a lot of excitement in the market for our partners to be able to offer this value increase to their customers.
How does the increased payload affect speed and position of movements, if at all?
That’s the challenge. As soon as the parts become bigger and heavier, it has more momentum, but we really spent time optimizing for this. We will be delivering at least the same performance that we were under the previous payload condition, and for our customers, this software magic will be fully invisible. Because we are handling a smaller solution space, its mostly payloads hanging down from the robot, so we’ve optimized against this situation.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated on September 30, 2024 with answers from Universal Robots about how it technically increased the payload capacities of its UR20 and UR30 cobots.
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