If you’re running a small business and have considered making use of robots, you may have run into a major problem facing many start-ups - high costs.
Industrial robots, collaborative or otherwise, are not cheap. This has hindered their adoption in the small and medium business market, despite the benefits they bring - including higher efficiency small scale production, as well as adding new techniques, such as additive manufacturing to the product line.
In a move that could bring SCARA (Selective Compliance Assembly Robotic Arm) robots to the masses, Shenzhen Yuejiang Technology Limited has launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for the Dobot M1 - a SCARA robot with a price point under USD$2,000.
In fact, the “super early bird” price, which sold out in 10 minutes of opening, was set at $999 - a fraction of the price of SCARA robots from leading developers, like Epson, Denso and ABB.
The Dobot M1 is equipped with a built-in mapping system enabling a reach of up to 47 inches (1.2m), and is accurate up to 0.02mm. It operates at 200º/s speed with a 1.5 kg payload and 4*16*8-inch free working space default.
The M1 features a programmable platform allowing for customised mobility around your facility, and comes with an open-API software development kit, DobotStudio, that supports C++, C#, Python, Java and other coding languages for programming.
The Dobot M1 can be controlled by desktop software, 3D mouse connection, mobile apps or a manual joystick.
"The Dobot M1 was born of the desire to make industrial robotic arms readily available for SMEs and independent developers and the M1 represents our next step towards this goal,” said Jerry Liu, CEO and founder of Yuejiang.
“Our hope is that Dobot will become the foremost provider of affordable industrial robotic arms -- a machine for developers of all kinds to build virtually anything, anywhere."
The kickstarter campaign reached its initial goal in 23 hours and the company has already started setting long term stretch goals, including free attachment packs for backers. While the initial early bird pricing is no longer available, there are other early backer deals all under $2,000.
Whether you’re looking for a desktop robot to step up your maker game, or a new addition to your factory, the Dobot M1 - or it’s predecessor the Dobot Arm V1.0 - may have a low enough price point to entice you to take the leap into SCARA robotics.
For more information visit the Dobot M1 Kickstarter page, or the company website.