Collaborative Robots: Going Mainstream?

Testimony to the growing interest in so-called “collaborative” robots (or “cobots”) for plastics processing is the first model from Yushin America, thanks to a new exclusive distribution agreement with Productive Robotics, Carpenteria, Calif. Yushin, a major supplier of linear robots and sprue pickers for injection molding, is now supplying the OB-7 seven-axis cobot that Productive Robotics launched last year. It is suited to loading, unloading, part removal, packaging, palletizing, QC measuring, testing and inspection. The seventh axis gives the OB-7 the dexterity to reach around objects in a 360° rotation.

On display in the Yushin booth and elsewhere at the show, the OB-7 has an 11-lb payload capacity and 1-m reach with 0.1-mm accuracy. It is available on a rolling stand. Like others of its ilk, it requires no programming, as it “learns” by the lead-through teaching method. Yushin says the OB-7 is fully compliant with ISO 10218-1 and is equipped with safety sensors that make the collaborative robot safe to work side by side with people.