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Universal Robots Proof of Concept – Reel Assembly

At a recent Universal Robots training session, a customer threw us a curveball at the end of our presentation.

They had brought a few cardboard pieces that make up their connector reel assembly. The ‘challenge’ was to see if the Universal Robots UR5 AE3 could pick and place a large diameter circular pieces from a stack, then an inner tube, and finally a second large circular piece. These would be placed in that order into a stapling machine that would complete the fastening process.

Now this was a bit of an unfair challenge since we would ideally design an end effector for this type application which would include a few vacuum heads. However, the flexibility of the Robotiq 85 electric gripper and the ease of programming in the Universal Robots UR5 AE3 allowed us to have this proof of concept up and running in under 5 minutes.

In this demo, we were able to hit the customers cycle time of 27 seconds. However, the UR5 is only running at 25% of maximum speed. Their long-term goal is to assemble a reel every 17 seconds, which will be easily done by programming the move at a faster speed and using vacuum grippers.

If you have any questions about this particular proof of concept, collaborative robotics (cobots), flexible automation, or anything else, please email me. 

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Did you know… Cross Company is an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan). Our ESOP started in 1979 and as of 2006, we are 100% employee-owned! Learn more about our ESOP and how that benefits both team members and our customers.
Did you know... the precision measurement group at Cross was founded in 1939 by our current CEO's grandfather, Jim King. That's a whole lot of calibration!
Did you know... A fingerprint weighs about 50 micrograms. We know, we weighed it! The residue left from a finger can actually make a difference in weight results which is why we wear gloves when we calibrate weights. For reference, a sheet of paper is about 4.5 grams, that’s 4.5 million micrograms.
Did you know… Cross Company has grown significantly since our start in 1954. Over the years we've acquired 26 companies! Today, our five groups have expertise in everything from industrial automation to precision measurement, and industry knowledge going all the way back to 1939.