JAKA Zu 12

What it's for

The JAKA Zu 12 is designed for palletizing and handling heavier items, for which the lighter variants of the series, such as JAKA Zu 3 or JAKA Zu 7, are simply not suited, for example at the end of a packing line where a person stacks cartons layer by layer.

The arm has 6 axes, an electric drive, a 12 kg payload and a reach of 1327 mm; the unit weighs 41 kg according to Top3DShop and RoboDK. It is a size that fits at a station next to a machine: the robot loads blanks into a machine tool, moves parts onto a conveyor, and stacks boxes on a pallet (warehouses, factories). The manufacturer, Shanghai-based JAKA Robotics, bets on programming by hand-guiding the arm, so basic tasks can be set up without writing code.

A limitation: 12 kg is the payload including the gripper, so you carry less net. Before planning palletizing, work out the mass of the gripper and of the heaviest carton; “How to Read a Robot Datasheet” will help. Where more is needed, look at UR20 (20 kg). In the wider cobots overview, the Zu 12 is a solid mid-range machine: not a record-holder, but a concrete one.

Who it's for

Yes: for plants looking for a cobot for heavier palletizing and loading that have the competence to negotiate price and import logistics themselves. Also yes for integrators who build work cells for clients and can bring the robot into compliance with the standards (“Robot Safety Standards”).

No: for companies that expect a Polish distributor, service and training, as none has been identified. No for stations with tight, cluttered spaces, where seven-axis kinematics would be better, as in the Kassow Robots KR810. And no for companies that want to know the price before the first conversation: the model is listed on Top3DShop without an amount. Before you decide, work through “How to Buy a Cobot Step by Step”.

Deployments

No local distributor has been identified, and the nearest European partner (Elvotec) serves other countries. Globally JAKA boasts of deliveries to Toyota, but with no indication that this concerns the Zu 12 specifically.

If you are looking for a palletizing cobot in Poland, realistically available options include UR (elmark.com.pl), Yaskawa (yaskawa.pl) and FANUC. Also worth reading: “FANUC CRX: The Cobot Series with 8 Years of Zero Maintenance” and [[wiedza:cobot-czy-robot-przemysłowy]].

Kassow Robots KR1410 is a seven-axis cobot with a 1400 mm reach and a 10 kg payload, with a built-in force/torque sensor. Less payload, but better maneuverability in tight work cells.

UR10e has 12.5 kg and a 1300 mm reach, sold in Poland through elmark.com.pl, about 159,645 PLN (≈ EUR 36,580) in our catalog. More expensive, but with local support.

Techman TM12 offers a 12 kg payload, built-in 2D vision and a Polish distributor, TFM Robotics; price on request.

FANUC CRX-10iA has a 10 kg payload and 6 axes, and is available in Poland through spawalnictwo.pl, price undisclosed; solid backing from the manufacturer.

Yaskawa Motoman HC10 is 10 kg, 6 axes, on sale since 2016, in Poland via yaskawa.pl; price on request.

JAKA Robotics was founded in Shanghai in 2014 and built the Zu family, covering models from the Zu 3 to the Zu 35 (payload 3 to 35 kg). The manufacturer claims about 8% of the European cobot market and deliveries to Toyota.

The Zu 12 is one of the heavier members of the family, positioned as a palletizing model. Our catalog has no launch date for it, so we do not set one ourselves. Distribution in Europe runs through, among others, Elvotec, a partner covering Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic; Poland is not on that list.