🤖 [B]High Load Capacity Collaborative Automation for Heavy Industry Workpieces: Next-Generation Robot from Yaskawa![/B]

[Erkan Teskancan]

🚀 Next-Generation Collaborative Robot from Yaskawa: MOTOMAN-HC35​

Yaskawa Electric Corporation has introduced its new high-capacity collaborative robot arm, designed for narrow production lines. The MOTOMAN-HC35 stands out with a payload capacity of 35 kg and a maximum reach of 2030 mm. This system is ideal for demanding industrial tasks such as palletizing, high-torque screwing, and handling heavy components.

💪 Increased Payload Capacity and Extended Working Area​

The MOTOMAN-HC35 replaces its predecessor, the MOTOMAN-HC20DTP, significantly enhancing the functional working area and payload performance in industrial automation applications. By increasing the payload capacity from 20 kg to 35 kg and the reach from 1900 mm to 2030 mm, it allows manufacturers to handle larger and heavier workpieces without the need for traditional safety cages. The reinforced wrist moment capacity supports multi-product picking and higher palletizing stack heights. In screwing applications, the mechanical structure can maintain continuous tightening torques exceeding 200 Nm across the entire working range.

🧠 Integrated Torque Sensors and Compact Structural Design​

Collision response and operational safety rely on newly developed internal torque sensors directly integrated into the joints. These sensors monitor external forces and trigger an immediate stop upon contact, thereby minimizing impact forces and enabling higher operational speeds in collaborative workspaces. For programming and teaching, the system offers smooth hand-guiding functionality directly on the arm.

The manipulator features a slim mechanical architecture with reduced overall unit mass. The mounting footprint has been reduced to a 270 mm diameter compared to 380 mm in the previous generation model, allowing installation in narrow production cells. Internal routing for application auxiliaries includes an integrated Cat6A Ethernet cable running from the arm structure to the wrist flange to eliminate external cable snagging risks when interfacing with complex end effectors.

📊 Technical Specifications and Competitive Analysis​

In the high-payload collaborative robot segment operating between 30 kg and 35 kg capacity, mechanical reach, footprint, and safety sensing mechanisms determine the key performance differences between industry platforms. The MOTOMAN-HC35 combines a 35 kg payload capacity and 2030 mm reach with a compact 270 mm base diameter and specially developed joint torque sensors.

• Universal Robots UR30: Offers a 30 kg to 35 kg payload capacity, a slightly smaller 245 mm footprint, but a significantly shorter 1300 mm reach, and primarily relies on joint-based current monitoring for force feedback.
  
• FANUC CR-35iA: On the heavier spectrum of traditional designs, it provides a 35 kg payload capacity and 1813 mm reach, but requires a significantly larger installation area with an approximately 1000 mm footprint and necessitates external soft padding with base-mounted force sensing.
  

In conclusion, the MOTOMAN-HC35 offers greater reach for wider-area palletizing than the UR30, while eliminating the cumbersome protective padding and large footprint requirements of older heavy cobots like the CR-35iA, thus striking a balance between extended reach and mounting space.