Top 10 Universal Robots FAQs

Q1. What makes the Universal Robot collaborative (without additional safety equipment or hard guarding)?

In short, the controller will continually monitor and limit the amount of force that the arm is exerting to 150 N. Based on your risk assessment, this may be the only safety precaution necessary. According to ISO safety regulations, a Risk Assessment must be done by the party taking responsibility for the integration of the robot, so you must figure out what is acceptable for you.

Q2. Collaborative and Cage Free mode is interesting. Can any application be collaborative?

No, while collaborative technology is great, it isn't for every application. However, approximately 80% of Universal Robot installations are operating safely without additional guarding. Based on the results of a Risk Assessment, some form of additional safety guarding may be required (this Risk Assessment is the responsibility of the party integrating the robot). But 80% is pretty good and provides a ton of opportunity to save time and money!

Q3. Is the Universal Robots controller compatible with machine vision systems?

Yes, the Universal Robots controller can be configured to talk with almost any industrial device that communicates via Modbus TCP or Ethernet TCP/IP Sockets.

Q4. What motor and reducer technologies are used in the joints?

Each joint contains a Brushless Servo Motor and a Harmonic Drive Reducer.

Q5. How many revolutions are the joints capable of rotating?

All of the joints are capable of +/- 360 degrees of rotation (two full revolutions).

Q6. What type of hardware is the controller based on?

The controller is a compact Industrial PC that runs a Linux based Operating System.

Q7. What is the max speed capability of the Universal Robots 6-Axis arm?

The 6-Axis arms are capable of speeds up to 1 m/s.

Q8. Can I do force control applications without any additional hardware or software?

Yes, the Universal Robots controller can be programmed to do "Force Moves" where the amount of force the arm is producing in a given direction is limited.

Q9. How is the robot programmed?

The Universal Robots solutions are able to be programmed in three modes:

1. Simple Teach Mode - this is where the robot is taught 'waypoints' by moving the robot into position by the operator - see our video below!
2. Teach Pendant - via the teach pendant, just about all of the robot's capabilities are accessible through a well written program in a very intuitive point and click environment
3. Scripting Language - for very large or complex programs, it may be more efficient to program via the robots' full featured scripting language.

Q10. Can I edit a program offline?

Yes, whether a program was developed using the Teach Pendant or written in the scripting language, it can be edited offline via any standard text editor.