Should You Buy A Robot Or A Cobot?

By Author: Joy Adella is a freelance writer and writes about.
Total Articles: 130
Comment this article

First a bit of history. Industrial robots began their deployment around 1960. Yes, that is a long time ago. Their jobs mainly involved moving parts from one place to another, stacking heavy objects like medium-sized forged parts, ones that challenged human frames. They branched off and specialized in the intervening years, and now can box small items, palletize the boxes, weld a car frame, and in fact some are large enough to move an entire car. The bigger the load, the higher the cost.

Only a few years ago, cobots (collaborative robots) burst onto the industrial scene. What is so different cobots? There are three main differences. From appearance’s sake, a cobot looks like a robotic arm, and in fact functions a lot like one. The base (where you would expect a shoulder) is firmly affixed to the floor, a structure resting on the floor, an overhead structure, or a mobile structure like a stout cart that can be moved around a shop floor. (We will see why this is important below). The second difference is they can be moved to other jobs. The third is that they can be mobile.

In order to contrast cobots and robots, ...
... we should note their strengths:

Robots:

They work independently. The only thing they need is the next part, object, etc. They do not need humans to tell them what to do interactively.

They can work with higher loads. For example, FANUC produces the M-2000iA, which can handle 2,300 kg or more than 5,000 lbs. (Cobots can lift about 50 lbs. these days.)

They have larger reach. The same robot just mentioned has a 6.2 meter (more than 20 ft.) lifting stroke and a horizontal reach of 4.7 m (more than 15 ft.).

They are more robust. They last a long time. One of the original robots we mentioned just came out of operation! They are built very stoutly.

They are faster. They are very fast, much faster than a human, and faster than their cobot cousins. just watch one sort parts or fill a box with items.

They can be more accurate. When it comes time to do something with microscopic accuracy, you probably want a robot. However, cobots are beginning to make progress in this area.

Cobots:

Cost. The cost of a cobot is much less than a robot. As more are made, the cost will come down (but of course as more features are added, the cost will increase on the high end).

Safety. Cobots are designed from the ground up to interact nicely with humans. Sensors tell them when we are near, and they slow down. If we get extremely close, they stop. Interestingly, robot manufacturer Kuka can retrofit their robots to act like a cobot, with a soft skin that features sensors that let it know it touched something or someone.

Flexibility. While robots do one thing and one thing only, cobots can easily be reprogrammed in minutes to take on some other task. It is the ultimate in cross-training.

Easy programming. Most of the time, you simply move the robot into positions that determine its job, and the programming is done for you.

No cages. One of the downsides of some robot operations is that robots often work in cages. This is unnecessary for a cobot—it gets along with people by design. A shop owner does not need to spend money on safety cages.

Short setup. The programming is easy, and the setup is easy. It would not be unusual to have a cobot being productive the same day it arrived.

So there you have it—the main differences between robots and cobots. We hope this makes your shopping easier!

Fifth Wave Manufacturing covers the innovations both inside the equipment and outside the industry that are making inroads into today’s advanced manufacturing plants.

Author: Dave Brambert

Joy Adella is a freelance writer and writes about food & lifestyle blogs.