Industrial Robots – Why Bigger Isn’t Always Better

Image courtesy of the author.)

One of most impressive sights at last year’s IMTS was a giant FANUC robot hoisting a full-size Chevrolet Corvette. The sheer size of the robot was intimidating, so much so that being near it felt like stepping into Jurassic Park.

But industrial robots don’t have to be behemoths to be impressive.

On a recent trip to Quebec, Canada for the Robotiq User Conference (RUC), I visited Mecademic, a company working to put industrial robotics in the palm of your hand.

(Image courtesy of Mecademic.)

The company’s flagship product is the Meca500, a six-axis robot that’s half the size of the small industrial robots from major players like ABB, FANUC and KUKA. Weighing in at just 4.5 kg (9.9 lbs), the Meca500 has a total reach of 260 mm (10 in) and a payload of 500 g (1.1 lbs).

Its most noticeable feature is the lack of an external controller—instead, the controller is embedded in the robot’s base, giving the robot an even smaller footprint.

Designed for plug-and-play automation, the Meca500 can be connected to a PC or PLC via ethernet cable and programmed with the user’s preferred language (Java, C#, Python, etc.). Mecademic’s proprietary commands—which included typical robot instructions, such as MoveLin(x,y,z,w,p,r)—can then be sent to the robot, parsed as strings, over TCP/IP.

The Meca500’s simplicity, in conjunction with its size, may give the initial impression that it was designed for hobbyists or educators. However, it’s specifications and $15,000 USD price tag make it clear that this really is an industrial robot.

(Image courtesy of Mecademic.)

In terms of accuracy and precision, the Meca500 has a repeatability of 0.005 mm and its path accuracy is better than 0.1 mm, according to Mecademic. This is due, in part, to Mecademic doing all the machining, assembly and inspection of the robot’s structural components in-house, though the gearboxes are made in Japan.

A 500-gram payload is a far cry from a Corvette, but it’s sufficient for many pick-and-place and inspection applications in the medical device and electronics industries. It’s also seeing some use outside the manufacturing sector, with one local veterinarian using it to assist in surgeries that require drilling holes into animals’ skulls. Although Mecademic does not use the robots for its own manufacturing operations yet, that is part of the company’s long-term plan.

Mecademic was founded in 2013 by Jonathan Coulombe, a machinist turned electrical engineer, and Illian Bonev, a professor of engineering at Montreal’s École te technologie supérieure (ÉTS). The Meca500 was launched commercially in July 2016, and is already seeing use in North America and Europe.

Although the company has no immediate plans to enter the highly competitive APAC market, the Meca500’s relatively low cost, small footprint and ease of programming would presumably be a big hit with likes of Foxconn and other large electronics manufacturers.

All this goes to show that in industrial robotics, you don’t have to be big to make a big impression.

For more information, visit the Mecademic website.