Home / Plug-and-Play End-of-Arm Vacuum Tooling for Cobots Improves Productivity

Plug-and-Play End-of-Arm Vacuum Tooling for Cobots Improves Productivity

The flexible piCOBOT end-of-arm-tool from Piab is designed for maximum flexibility and reach with 3.8 in to 5.6 in wide, ±15 deg tiltable gripper arms that can be fitted with two suction cups. Alternatively, the gripper can be replaced by a single suction cup mount directly on the cobot’s pump unit.

Posted: February 3, 2019

Strong for its size, the flexible piCOBOT end-of-arm-tool from Piab lifts objects weighing up to 15.5 lb and can fit any type of cobot arm. Its 3.8 in to 5.6 in wide, ±15 deg tiltable gripper arms can be fitted with two suction cups, or the gripper can be replaced by a single suction cup mount directly on the cobot’s pump unit. For optional single or double object picking, dedicated sense valves ensure safe operation regardless of mode.

The piCOBOT® from Piab USA, Inc. (Hingham MA) is a cleverly equipped end-of-arm (EOAT) vacuum tool designed specifically for the cobot market to improve efficiency, productivity and working environments. It provides industry-certified plug-and-play extensions to the latest collaborative robots. Offered as a development kit, piCOBOT comprises a vacuum pump unit, a gripper unit and two suction cups. The standard kit includes four different sets of suction cup models suitable for a variety of tasks, but users can also choose freely from an extensive range of suction cups for more tailored applications. Certified by Universal Robots A/S (Odense, Denmark), the piCOBOT builds on the idea of safe and flexible human-robot workplace interaction that is much more productive than either of them working on their own. Soft design lines guarantee that no one is injured if colliding with a piCOBOT. Its unique URCaps installation and programming time is decreased to a minimum for the customer.

This cobot is designed for maximum flexibility and reach with 3.8 in to 5.6 in wide, ±15 deg tiltable gripper arms that can be fitted with two suction cups. Alternatively, the gripper can be replaced by a single suction cup mount directly on the cobot’s pump unit. For optional single or double object picking, dedicated sense valves ensure safe operation regardless of mode. While a compact format and low build height of 2.7 in allows use in space-restricted areas, the low weight of this cobot offers a great advantage compared with similar competing systems. “It weighs only 18 oz and the gripper only adds another 7.4 oz. This provides maximum payload capacity for the cobot,” explains Josef Karbassi, the vice president of Piab’s Automation Division. Strong for its size, the piCOBOT plug-and-play end-of-arm-tool is able to lift objects weighing up to 15.5 lb and is designed to fit any type of cobot arm.