OnRobot

OnRobot is a Danish company that makes end-of-arm tooling for robots: grippers, force and torque sensors, tool changers and vacuum solutions, in a plug-and-play standard for cobots. The firm does not build arms itself, so in our articles on arms it turns up as a suggested tool supplier. “What Is a Cobot and How Does It Differ from an Industrial Robot” explains why the gripper matters as much as the arm.

From datasheets we know several products. The electric RG2 gripper has a payload of 2 kg in force fit and 5 kg in form fit, a total stroke of up to 110 mm, a gripping force of 3–40 N, a weight of 0.78 kg and IP54 protection. The RG6 is larger: 6 kg and 10 kg, a 160 mm stroke, 25–120 N, 1.25 kg. The 2FG7 has a 38 mm stroke, a payload of 7 kg (force fit) and 11 kg (form fit), a force of 20–140 N, a force sensor in a finger, IP67 protection, ISO Class 5 cleanroom rating and grease approved for incidental food contact. The VGC10 is a vacuum gripper with a built-in pump, up to 6 kg with default attachments and up to 15 kg with custom ones, with up to seven suction cups. The HEX-E/H QC is a six-axis force and torque sensor with a 200 N range and 10 or 20 Nm. The grippers all run on 24 V with an integrated brushless motor, and the warranty runs to 3 years or 3 million cycles.

In which robots? OnRobot is not tied to a single model. In our descriptions it appears alongside arms for which grippers are chosen: UR3e, UR7e, FANUC CRX-5iA, KUKA LBR iisy 6 R1300, Yaskawa Motoman HC10, Doosan A0509 and ABB GoFa CRB 15000. This is a hint for choosing accessories, not a manufacturer's declaration of official compatibility with every model; compatibility must be checked. The arm makers are covered by Universal Robots, FANUC and Doosan Robotics, and the whole segment by cobots.

For the cost of a workstation, the gripper is a separate cost item, and its weight counts against the arm's payload. The choice of force, stroke and grip type decides whether the task can be done at all. For the final assessment, “How to Buy a Cobot Step by Step” and the rules in “Robot Safety Standards” help, because a sharp or high-force gripper requires a risk assessment. Force sensors compete with products from ATI Industrial Automation, and grippers with Robotiq.

For Poland we found no named OnRobot distributor in the materials. In the Doosan cobot descriptions the Polish distributor is Transition Technologies-CS, which does not mean it also sells OnRobot accessories. For an integrator in factories or warehouses, the first step is to ask the manufacturer for a local partner.