The 3 best robot arms for any industrial task

Robots have taken the industrial industry (and many other sectors) by storm in recent years - having evolved from General Motors' simple machine back in the 60s.

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In robotic automation today, robot arms bring innovation, versatility, productivity, and operational success to the forefront.

Selecting the best robot arm depends on the application you wish to use it for, as each industry requires different usages and procedures. Fortunately, robotic arms are suitable for a wide range of industrial tasks, from CNC machine tending and assembly to inspection and welding.

Today we'll showcase 3 of the best robotic arms on the market: Standard Bot's RO1, Universal Robots' UR10e, and FANUC's CRX-10iA/L.

Each of these Collaborative robots has a phenomenal payload capacity ranging between 22 and 40 lbs. The biggest advantage is that the RO1 robot arm is available to lease whereas the other two robot arms only have buying options.

While figuring out which robot arm is best to use can be daunting, our guide is here to help. We'll explain the complexities of how these systems work and which jobs they are ideally made for.

Robotic arms are the most common form of robot technology in the industry. Read on to learn the benefits of this technology and see if it is right for you.

Robotic arms are one of the most identifiable pieces of robotic machinery in industrial settings. They tend to fascinate with their impressive feats of speed and strength, but their uses and how to apply them can be a mystery. This article will broadly describe the place of robotic arms in industrial applications to give you a better understanding of if they might be the right choice for you.

Topics discussed in this article include:

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• Types of robotic arms
• Industries and Applications for robotic arms
• When to (and not to) use robotic arms
• Cost considerations

Types of robotic arms

The term 'robotic arm' broadly describes a group of robotic mechanisms. These different robot types tend to have similar applications. However, each type has distinctions that typically lead to it being optimized for certain tasks over other robotic arms. Types of robotic arms include:

• Articulated arm
• Six-axis
• Collaborative robot
• SCARA
• Cartesian
• Cylindrical
• Spherical/Polar
• Parallel/Delta
• Anthropomorphic

Articulated arms are general-purpose robotic arms with 5 or more joints or degrees of freedom. The articulated arm is an umbrella term for many other robot types. For instance, a six-axis robot is an articulated arm with six degrees of freedom. Articulated arms cover the broadest range of robot types used in industry and include six-axis and collaborative robots. You will find an example of this robot type in the banner image of this article.

Six-axis robots are the most common articulated arm. This also makes them the most common robotic arm used in industry today. Thanks to their flexibility, they are a great general-purpose robotic arm. This gives the six-axis an impressive list of uses. The six-axis robot is the most easily identified industrial robot.

The collaborative robot is a robotic arm purpose-built for hybrid work. This means it is designed to work near humans. Certain safety features allow for significant risk reduction in hybrid work environments. This is a relatively new robot type and its uses are still being explored. Collaborative robots are becoming more prominent in the industry as more manufacturers are being exposed to their benefits. The future is exciting for collaboratives. 

SCARA robots are selectively compliant robot arms. This means they don't have the same flexibility afforded to articulated arms. This limits them in some respects but gives them certain advantages over articulated arm types. 

Cartesian robots are rigid systems that move around in a 3D coordinate plane. These robots are typically constructed of 3 linear actuators. One actuator moves left and right in the x-axis. An additional actuator is attached to the x-axis actuator. This actuator moves up and down in the y-axis plane. A final actuator is attached to the y-axis member and moves back and forth in the z-axis plane. Cartesian robots are positioned for small applications.

Cylindrical robot arms are designed around a single arm that moves up and down a vertical member. This vertical member rotates the arm horizontally. The arm can extend and retract to perform its task. These robots are very compact and are deployed for small and simple tasks.

The first modern industrial robot was a spherical (polar) robot. This robot type has a simple design that isn't as common today as it once was. Spherical robots are similar to cylindrical robots except they swap the vertical linear axis with an additional rotary axis. This axis allows it to rotate vertically. It was designed for simple tasks that don't require high speed or complex motion.

Parallel/Delta robots are high-speed options for robotic automation. These robots' unique design allows them to reach incredible rates of speed. The delta robot is a great choice for high-speed and lightweight tasks.

Anthropomorphic robots are a rare sight in industrial settings. These robots boast two or more arms and a friendly face. They are often deployed in collaborative environments where they are working in near proximity to human operators.

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