Universal Robots, a Danish manufacturer of robots, has announced its lightweight six-axis robotic arms, the UR5 and larger UR10, are now available in the U.S. “The UR5 and UR10 robotic arms are aimed at companies that thought robots were too expensive, cumbersome and hard to program and integrate in existing production,” said a company spokesperson.“The lightweight, flexible UR5 and UR10 can work alongside personnel and generally require no safety shielding. The robotic arms are easily moved around the production area and present a plug-and play solution; a simple user interface lets employees with no previous programming experience quickly set up and operate them.” Universal Robot’s CCO Thomas Visti said, “Many companies worldwide have invested in UR robots to save manpower, whereas others have used them to boost product quality or productivity.Sometimes they are used in repetitive tasks to improve working conditions for employees. We see potential in all these applications in the U.S. market.” “Instead of expensive sensor technology, the UR5 robotic arm utilizes a unique patented technology to measure electrical current in its joints to determine force and movement,” said the spokesperson. “This enables even small and medium-sized enterprises to automate production previously unthinkable.” Esben Østergaard, founder and CTO at Universal Robots, said, “We decided to make programming intuitive by developing a graphical user interface combined with a ‘teaching function’ allowing the user to simply grab the robot arm and show it how a movement should be performed. The robot can be integrated into any production process very quickly. Our experience shows this is generally done in a few hours.” The robots weigh as little as 40 lbs, enabling them to be moved around the production area to perform different tasks. The UR5 can handle a load of up to five kilos (11.3 lbs), and the UR10 10 kilos (22.6 lbs), respectively. A significant benefit is the robot’s capability to operate with no safety shielding. As soon as an employee comes into contact with the robot arm and a force of at least 150 Newton is exerted, the robot arm will automatically stop operating. For more information contact: Universal Robots A/S Sivlandvænget 1 DK-5260 Odense S Denmark +45 89 93 89 89 www.universal-robots.com Aspect Automation 677 Transfer Road Saint Paul, MN 55114 800-854-7742 / 651-643-3700 info@aspectautomation.com www.aspectautomation.com