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A Cobot for End-of-Line Palletizing

Yaskawa Motoman’s HC20XP collaborative robot with a 1.7 meter reach is IP67-rated, easy to program, and safe and flexible enough to work alongside people or move between conveyors.

Yaskawa Motoman HC20XP
Yaskawa Motoman HC20XP
photo credit: Yaskawa

Introduced a few months ago, Yaskawa America’s Motoman Robotics division is demonstrating its newest collaborative robot (cobot) for the first time to PACK EXPO Connects attendees this week.

The HC20XP cobot is designed with an extended reach that makes it perfect for end-of-line palletizing applications while working in close proximity to humans, the company said. To that end, the new cobot features a 1.7 meter maximum reach. Its extensive range enables the cobot to reach full 80-inch pallets without requiring an elevator or lift mechanism. While its 20 kg payload allows it to lift larger cases and parts.

“End-of-line palletizing is one of the best places to implement robotic automation,” said Michael Castor, material handling product manager at Yaskawa Motoman, noting that instead of having multiple people taking boxes off of a conveyor, “you can put in one robot that will take all of the boxes from the conveyor and stack them on the pallet for you.”

Castor noted, too, that the HC20XP is easy to implement—featuring precise hand-guided teaching—and, while there still may be a robot risk assessment required, cobots typically don’t require safety fences. This means it uses less space and is flexible. “Because there is no big cell, you can move it to different conveyors, so you don’t have to deploy multiple robots as there is the potential to use one robot to handle many different conveyors just by moving it around.”

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