Techman TM14

What it's for

Where the TM12 bets on reach, the TM14 shifts the emphasis to payload: 14 kg on a 1,100 mm arm. The TM14 suits heavy, repetitive work, and the 2D camera in the end of the arm finds the part on the tray by itself. The manufacturer names two main applications: machine tending and palletizing. In practice this means feeding heavier parts to a machine tool, removing them after the cycle and stacking them on a pallet, see factories and warehouses. The built-in camera is a feature of the whole TM series that sets it apart from competitors, where vision is usually bought separately. Six degrees of freedom (DOF) allow normal work at a station; they are explained in “Degrees of Freedom (DOF) in Humanoid Robots”. The trade-off is obvious: the shorter arm (1,100 mm versus 1,300 mm in the Techman TM12) means the TM14 will not reach distant points, but with heavier parts close to the base it does better. Still heavier tasks can be handled by the Techman TM20 (20 kg).

Who it's for

Best suited to: plants seeking the highest payload in the basic TM series without moving to heavier and more expensive industrial platforms. Companies that palletize medium-heavy cartons or feed castings and moldings to machines. Integrators who want to avoid a separate vision-system integration. Who it does not suit: stations requiring a long reach, where the Techman TM12 or Techman TM25S will be better. Not for those who need a light robot for precise assembly of small parts; people reach for smaller models there, such as the Techman TM5-700. Not for buyers who want to know the price up front: Techman does not give it in any of the sources checked, so without a quote from the distributor it is hard to judge competitiveness. Before you start, read [[wiedza:cobot-czy-robot-przemysłowy]] to classify your station correctly.

Deployments

In the cobot category, typical deployments are machine tending and palletizing; for an overview of Polish robotics firms, see “Polish Robotics Companies”. A similar series comparison is shown in the article “FANUC CRX: The Cobot Series with 8 Years of Zero Maintenance”. The TM family is described in the profile Techman Robot, and a list of integrators who can help with deployment can be found in the site's companies section.

In the 14-15 kg payload range, the UR15 from Universal Robots and the Doosan M1509 (15 kg, 900 mm reach, available in Poland through coboty-doosan.pl, individual pricing) compete. The Han's Robot Elfin E15 has 18 kg and a 1,300 mm reach, but its price and availability in Poland are unknown. The KUKA LBR iisy 15 R930 is another 15 kg cobot, with a shorter 930 mm reach. When comparing, ask three things: what a complete station with gripper really costs, what service looks like in Poland, and whether the camera is standard. With Techman the answer to the last question is yes. Add the Techman TM16 from the same family (16 kg, 900 mm reach) to the comparison if payload outweighs reach even more clearly.

The TM14 belongs to Techman Robot's basic series alongside the TM5, TM12 and TM16. The manufacturer, founded in 2016 in Taoyuan and a subsidiary of the listed Quanta Storage, offers a family of cobots with built-in vision, today ranging from the TM5 to the TM30S. The TM14 holds the place of highest payload in the basic series. A launch date or later generations of this model are not confirmed, so no milestones are invented. More about the company: Techman Robot.