How 3D Printed Tooling Can Ease Cobot Integration
Collaborative robots or cobots are relatively simple to integrate into a manufacturing process. Unlike conventional robots, they do not require caging or complicated safety measures, and they are easy to program and reprogram as needs change. The challenge with integration today is not with the cobot itself, but with establishing the ways that it will interact with its surroundings. Hardware such as end effectors, grippers, part jigs and nests, and even cable management brackets can be custom-made to suit the application through 3D printing. At NPE: The Plastics Show 2024, Universal Robots and its partner EMI Corporation highlighted the value of 3D printed tooling with a booth demonstration incorporating multiple Multi Jet Fusion prints.
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