Universal Robots Adds SMC Corporation as UR+ Partner and Certifies New Grippers for COBOTS

SMC Corporation of America, a leading global pneumatics and industrial automation components manufacturer, has joined Universal Robots’ UR+ program, launching the new UR+ certified MHM Series Magnetic Gripper. The gripper is bundled into an easy plug and play kit that integrates to a unique solution for picking, transferring, and placing ferromagnetic workpieces of uneven surfaces, porous, or that are susceptible to damage when traditional methods of vacuum systems or mechanical grippers are not viable.

“Having been the first pioneering company to launch a solution for the UR+ platform, we’re happy to continue to partner with UR, offering manufacturers end-of-arm-tooling products to help automate UR cobot powered applications faster and easier”

A working demonstration of the MHM Magnetic Gripper kit installed on the arm of a Universal Robot can be seen at SMC’s booth 8139  and UR’s booth 7154 at the Automate Show in Chicago’s McCormick Place from April 8-11.

“The UR+ platform is an incredible opportunity for SMC to provide a plug and play solution for UR cobots that helps lower the barriers to automation for customers of all sizes,” said Amanda Wease, Product Manager at SMC Corporation of America. “We reached out to Universal Robots to become a UR+ developer as it felt like a natural fit to join the global leader in collaborative robots. This is just the starting point of our relationship. We look forward to expand with the UR+ program, developing certified offerings from our vast catalog of over ten thousand standard products.”

Stuart Shepherd, Universal Robots’ Regional Sales Director for Americas, welcomes SMC to the UR+ family. “SMC is a strong global partner featuring a very impressive product portfolio with significant UR+ potential. We cannot wait to see more of their products certified for our cobots.”

Robotiq launches its first UR+ certified vacuum grippers and sanding kit

The UR+ program debuted in 2016 and has since grown rapidly to include more than 140 certified UR+ products with more than 400 companies joining the UR+ developer program. A charter partner with the UR+ program is Robotiq, the company is now adding a new chapter to its long relationship with Universal Robots by launching three new UR+ certified products at Automate 2019; AirPick and EPick, Robotiq’s new vacuum grippers, and the Sanding Kit

Both vacuum grippers operate without the need for external air supply. The AirPick features a built-in venturi vacuum generator, while the EPick includes a built-in electrical vacuum pump. Robotiq vacuum grippers can handle a wide range of applications and are ideal for picking up even and uneven workpieces made of different materials, such as cardboard, glass, sheet metal (dry) and plastic.

The Robotiq Sanding Kit is the only hardware and software all-in-one sanding solution for cobots. The kit includes the powerful Finishing Copilot software, which generates a complete sanding trajectory with a handful of waypoints, a pneumatic orbital tool connected to a bracket designed for Universal Robots, and all connection accessories.

“Having been the first pioneering company to launch a solution for the UR+ platform, we’re happy to continue to partner with UR, offering manufacturers end-of-arm-tooling products to help automate UR cobot powered applications faster and easier,” said Samuel Bouchard, Robotiq’s co-founder and CEO.

Stuart Shepherd sees Robotiq’s new UR+ product offerings as well aligned with the growth in new cobot applications. “Processing tasks such as sanding and polishing are not what cobots have been traditionally known for. But by being able to easily add new advanced capabilities such as a UR+ certified sanding kit, this helps open up a whole new frontier for us,” he said. “These new products will both surprise and delight Automate attendees.”

Robotiq’s new UR+ offerings will be on display in the company’s Automate booth 7165

About Universal Robots

Universal Robots was founded in 2005 to make robot technology accessible to all by developing small, user-friendly, reasonably priced, flexible industrial robots that are safe to work with. Since the first collaborative robot (cobot) was launched in 2008, the company has experienced considerable growth with the user-friendly cobot now sold worldwide. The company, which is a part of Teradyne Inc., is headquartered in Odense, Denmark, and has subsidiaries and regional offices in the United States, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Czech Republic, Poland, Turkey, China, India, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Mexico. In 2018, Universal Robots had a revenue of USD 234 million. For more information, please visit www.universal-robots.com