Doosan H2017

What it's for

The H series from Doosan Robotics consists of cobots for ergonomically taxing tasks that until now were done by hand, for example lifting heavy forgings into a machining center. The Doosan H2017 has a 20 kg payload and 1,700 mm reach, and two applications are listed: machine tending and palletizing.

In a factory that means several concrete roles. First: loading and unloading machine tools, where parts are too heavy for small cobots. Second: stacking cartons or crates on a pallet at the end of the line; in such a station the 1,700 mm reach lets the arm cover pallets on both sides. Third: feeding heavy components into a welding cell or a press, where the robot is meant to relieve a person of lifting, not of supervising the process.

The manufacturer, Doosan Robotics, positions the H series as a bridge between a cobot and an industrial robot. The 20 kg payload is clearly higher than in the Agile series, where the maximum is 9 kg in the Doosan A0912. Remember, though, the mass of the gripper and the part - 20 kg is the total capacity, not just the load.

Some tasks require careful risk assessment, because a heavy load at the end of a long arm is energy that does not vanish once contact is detected. The rules are described in “Robot Safety Standards”, and the general differences between a cobot and a classic robot in the article “Cobot or Industrial Robot”.

Who it's for

A good fit: plants that want to take heavy, repetitive lifting off people and do not want to build a cage around an industrial robot. It works for machine loading, palletizing and feeding heavy components, at companies with an occupational-safety function and an engineer who will carry out the risk assessment.

Who it doesn't: those looking for precise assembly of small parts - a lighter cobot will be more agile and cheaper there. Nor is it a choice for a plant without local support and a budget for an individual quote. Be careful also where the cycle must be fast: a cobot carrying 20 kg works more slowly, because it has to protect the people next to it.

The manufacturer does not state the H2017's own weight or power consumption, which complicates planning the foundation and power supply. Ask for these figures directly. How to interpret such gaps is explained in “How to Read a Robot Datasheet”.

Deployments

No confirmed deployments in Poland and no international references on record.

In the category of high-payload cobots the situation is different: the UR20, the FANUC CRX-20iA/L and others also offer 20-30 kg classes, and typical applications are machine tending and palletizing. According to the article “Doosan Robotics: Cobots from the Korean Maker in Poland”, Doosan in Poland is present in automotive, electronics and food processing; that is a picture of the market, not an H2017 reference.

Before buying, ask the distributor for a contact with a user running a similar application, for example machine-tool loading. At this stage that is the best source of information.

The UR20 from Universal Robots is the closest rival: 20 kg payload, 1,750 mm reach, 64 kg weight, and a new arm geometry from 2022. The big plus is the software and accessory ecosystem; the minus is the weight.

The FANUC CRX-20iA/L has 20 kg and a reach of 1,418 mm, and the manufacturer's description points to machine tending and palletizing. It has less reach than the H2017, but the brand's reputation in Polish plants.

The Techman TM20 is Techman's 20 kg offering; the brand stands out with vision built into the arm, so it is worth checking if the robot is to look for parts.

The Doosan H2515 in the same family raises the payload to 25 kg - a reasonable choice if 20 kg is too little.

For palletizing alone and a larger reach, take a look at the Doosan P3020 from the P series: 30 kg payload and 2,030 mm reach. A comparison of the whole family: “Doosan Robotics: Cobots from the Korean Maker in Poland”.

Doosan Robotics was founded in 2015 in Suwon, South Korea, within the Doosan group. Since 2023 the company has been listed on the KOSPI exchange. Its portfolio is divided into the A, E, M, H and P series.

The H series is the heaviest line after the palletizing P: the H2017 has a 20 kg payload and the H2515 25 kg. The manufacturer describes it as a solution for ergonomically taxing tasks. We have no launch date for the H2017.

In Poland the brand is served by Transition Technologies-Control Solutions (coboty-doosan.pl); sources give different years for its entry, 2021 or 2022. The cobot category is presented on the page “Cobots”, and the origins of the collaborative-robot movement are explained in “What Is a Cobot and How Does It Differ from an Industrial Robot”.