Collaborative robot applications

Collaborative robots, or “cobots”, are a proven and accessible way of automating certain production processes. To harness their potential to the fullest, cobots should be put to work alongside humans, freeing up your workers from repetitive, unsafe tasks. Wondering if your business case is feasible and justifies that kind of an investment? Get in touch with us and we'll answer your questions.

Why your next employee may be a robot

Unlike industrial robots , cobots are designed to work alongside humans in the same workspace. Typically, cobots take over dangerous, dull, dirty or dexterous tasks, while the expert operator focuses on value-adding operations. But a cobot – enhanced with sensors and grippers – isn’t a one-trick pony. Instead, they can be programmed to do many things, which makes them useful across an array of different departments. This type of flexible automation is particularly valuable for smaller production series.

Pushing the limits of cobot applications

Sirris focuses on the use of cobots for automating more complex operations. For example, through the addition of force-feedback functionalities, cobots can be deployed for finishing operations such as deburring, sanding and polishing. In our flexible automation lab, we at Sirris have tested and evaluated different finishing strategies, opening a whole new range of cobot applications. Do you also have a challenging application for which you want to evaluate the potential of cobots? Contact our experts!

Food for thought: pros and cons

Ever-expanding application possibilities

Thanks to the availability of different high-tech accessories such as grippers, force-feedback techniques, sensors or vision systems, even more complex operations can be automated, resulting in a growing commercial field.

Safety

This is a clear win for cobots. They can operate without a safety fence in most situations. However, every individual application still requires a risk assessment to guarantee the safety of human operators. Extra safety measures may be required.

User-friendliness

Cobots are known for their easy-to-use nature, but this isn’t the case for all possible applications. The more complex the task, the larger the programming effort. On the other hand, simple applications like pick-and-place are a piece of cake.

Flexibility

Because they take up limited space and are relatively light, collaborative robots are easily integrated into different production units. For very precise and delicate movements, however, they’re not always the best choice out there.

How Sirris can help

Preliminary study

Wondering if cobots can tackle your specific automation challenges? We will help you weigh the pros and cons of cobots for your business case, focusing on both economic and technological feasibility.

Flexible automation lab

The proof of the pudding is in the eating, so we’ve set up our own flexible automation lab. There, we can give you access to a wide variety of cobots and state-of-the-art accessories, from grippers and sensors to vision systems and more.

Experience and expertise

Our experts have over 10 years of experience with a wide range of cobot types, high-tech accessories (such as grippers and sensors) and programming possibilities (for example, offline or demonstration) for numerous applications in multiple sectors.