FANUC Collaborative Robot: Carrying a 50kg load!
ーThe “trump card” of labor shortage, clear growthー
From the commentary article of New Switch by Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun
International Federation of Robotics (IFR):
The number of collaborative robots installed in 2021 will increase by 50% from 2020, reaching 39,000 units (worldwide).
Compared to traditional industrial robots, the market size is small, but the growth trend is clear.
Functional evolution of collaborative robots:
“Collaborative robots” are evolving and increasing their presence.
Collaborative robots that do not require safety fences and can work in the same space as humans.
It is often called a “trump card” to solve the labor shortage.
FANUC new product exhibition:
In mid-May, a new product exhibition was held at the FANUC head office.
A collaborative robot with a payload capacity of 50 kg caught the eyes of the visitors.
Fanuc already has a 35kg payload collaborative robot. This time he broke that record.
Features of the new collaborative robot:
Without changing the mechanical part of the conventional collaborative robot CR-35iB, it can be changed to a high-portable type only by software update.
Customers don’t need to pay for replacement costs for new robots.
Kenichiro Abe, Managing Executive Officer of FANUC:
For collaborative robots, the viewpoints of “ease of use”, “ease of handling”, and “ease of selection” are important.
“Specifications that can easily expand functions” are required, just like updating the OS of smartphones.
Collaborative robots from Yaskawa Electric used at distribution centers (provided by SMC)
New models from Yaskawa Electric:
The introduction of high-portability models is also a recent trend for collaborative robots.
In August 2010, a 30kg model was added to the lineup of collaborative robots with payloads of 10kg and 20kg.
Universal Robots of Denmark (UR):
Denmark’s Universal is a pioneer of collaborative robots. It has a cumulative sales record of 50,000 units worldwide.
A model with a payload capacity of 20 kg will be added, and shipments to the Japanese market will begin soon.
Global market size of collaborative robots
In 2032, it is expected to expand to about 1,053.8 billion yen, more than seven times the amount in 2021.
Collaborative robot prices are expected to drop by around 30% compared to 2022 due to cost reductions in related parts due to an increase in the number of manufacturers entering the market.