Collaborative robot arms have numerous safety features but are slower than their industrial cousins. Wyzo this week announced that its collaborative delta robot is available to companies just beginning with automation as well as large manufacturers. Wyzo's “sidebot” is designed be able to work safely alongside humans as well as conduct high-speed pick-and-place tasks.
Wyzo is a unit of Demaurex SA, a pioneer in delta robots since 1987. The Écublens, Switzerland-based company said it has more than 4,000 robots installed worldwide. Wyzo said its new robot is ideal for lightweight applications in the food and beverage, consumer goods, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, automotive, and electrical and electronics sectors.
“Creating Wyzo started with a dream to give every operator out there an assistant for day-to-day tasks on the production floor,” said Frank Souyris, CEO of Wyzo. “Building on 20 years of experience in high-speed delta robots, we are proud to present Wyzo – the fast, compact and flexible sidebot.”
Wyzo designed for fast, safe, flexible operations
Conventional pick-and-place robots are large and work on fully automated lines separated from operators by protective doors, according to Wyzo. The company said its advanced safety system enables the delta robot to work with people in close proximity.
Thanks to the robotic arm and built-in or external vision systems, Wyzo said, the sidebot can find and pick products at 80 cycles per minute, with a payload of half a kilogram. The robot includes LiveDrive LDD actuators from Genesis Robotics & Motion Technologies.
Wyzo's sensors constantly monitor its surroundings, allowing it to maximize performance when on its own but to slow to a safe operating speed when a human is in close proximity. As a result, manufacturers can now have the performance of an industrial robot combined with the versatility and compact size of a cobot, said the company.
To meet a wide variety of production needs, Wyzo said its sidebot is designed to fit anywhere on a production floor. With a footprint of less than 0.5 m2 (5.3 sq. ft.) and just 1.8 m (5.9 ft.) in height, Wyzo can fit through standard doors and elevators. It can easily be moved from one workstation to another, eliminating bottlenecks and enabling fast returns on investment, claimed the company.
For manufacturers switching between products, Wyzo is highly compatible with currently available grippers with changeover speeds of less than nine seconds. It also offers integrated pneumatic, electric and vacuum controls, Wyzo said.
HMI streamlined for collaboration
Wyzo said its human-machine interface (HMI) is simplified for intuitive use by operators with no prior training in automation. Its mobile terminal is as easy to operate as a smartphone, said the company, and it does not require scripting or programming to get Wyzo up and running.
Based on more than 30 years of software development for delta robots, Wyzo has refined its pick-and-place software specially for ease of use and control.
“It is not a mere machine,” said Souyris. “Wyzo is a co-worker, who is easy to communicate with through a simple interface. Maybe the next generation will even have a conversation with its colleagues.”
“Regardless of its conversational skills, however, its ability to be effectively integrated into existing production lines to perform pick-and-place tasks flexibly and reliably will certainly put a smile on manufacturers’ faces” he added. “It is a new benchmark for collaborative production that combines the best of human and machine abilities.”
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