New UR + certified tool triples lifting ability of free standing robot.

No task is too heavy for the collaborative robot arms of Universal Robots, thanks to a newly developed UR + certified tool. At Dana Lim’s factory in Køge, Denmark, a robotic arm lifts up to 45 kg – three times more than earlier! This is made possible by connecting a vacuum lifter to the robotic arm.

UR10 robotic arm is the focal point of the pioneering palletizing solution developed by the Co-founder and CTO of Cobot Lift Flemming Bischoff Truelsen in September 2017 for Dana Lim’s factory in Koge, Denmark. Solution consisting of UR10 robotic arm is coupled with a manual vacuum lifter.

With a weekly production of 200-250 tons of filler, it adds up to a lot of heavy lifting when 15-25 kg of heavy bags with spray packs have to be packed on th e pallets before leaving Dana Lim’s production in Koge. Previously an older robotic cell has handled the task alone, but due to an increasing demand more capacity for palletizing was needed.

This solution is a newly developed tool that connects the robot arm with the vacuum lifter and increases the performance of a free standing robot’s capacity up to 45 kg. That tool has now been UR+ certified, which means that UR’s product warranty will continue even, if it is udes outside the original specifications.

“Getting UR + certified is a huge recognition. Now we are looking forward to many more companies benefiting from the Cobot Lift”, says Flemming Bischoff Truelsen:

“The lifting capacity of the UR robotic arm can be increased so significantly by coupling it with the right tool, which enables it to solve even more types of tasks – including tasks that have been reserved for the big industrial robots so far”.

Increases lifting capacity from 10 and up to 45 kg

Cobot Lift’s palletizing solution is more than 2 years old and has been running constantly since its introduction at Dana Lim. Here, 15-25 kg heavy bags of filler are transported by the conveyor belt to UR robot, which guides a manual vacuum lifter to one bag at a time. By using a vacuum suction, it lifts bag and places it in a high cardboard box on the pallet.

However, Flemming Bischoff Truelsen has faced a pretty big challenge before he could introduce Dana Lim to a unique solution, because prior to the project it has been possible to achieve a lifting capacity of maximum 10 kg by using the largest and strongest of the collaborative robot arms from Universal Robots.

“I thought early in the progress that it might be possible to connect a robotic arm with a vacuum lifter. So I did a pre-project, where I’ve rented a robot and a vacuum lifter and played around with it. It turned out that the solution worked perfectly for Dana Lim’s needs and now we have a robotic arm that can lift up to 45 kg, says Flemming Bischoff Truelsen”

UR solution is both cost and space efficient

Dana Lim is highly satisfied with the new palletizing solution.

“We have increased the capacity of the parcel line and eliminated bottlenecks. Robot technology is an ideal way to improve efficiency”.

“We would like new robot technology into the house. We already have many machines in our production, and by combining them with new technology we can remove lifting work from employees and improve their working environment, while increasing our capacity”, he says.

The fact that a solution with a UR robotic arm was chosen, is due to both economy and size, according to the factory manager:

“The new palletizing plant costs 1/3 of a complete standard palletizing plant, and it takes up much less space, since the robot does not require a safety shield”.

At Cobot Lift in Slagelse, Denmark, it is possible to see an exhibition version of the palletizing solution.