Yaskawa Motoman HC20DT

What it's for

The HC20DT is the largest standard model in the Motoman HC family, a cobot for jobs where smaller arms simply cannot cope. It weighs 140 kg, lifts up to 20 kg and reaches 1700 mm (horizontal reach). In palletizing the arm picks up a carton or crate and stacks it layer by layer on a pallet. It does this beside the operator, without a fence, because, like the other HC models, it has six built-in torque sensors and is programmed by Direct Teach. The applications we list are palletizing and machine tending with heavier parts: loading large castings, moving heavy components, feeding blanks into machining centers. The 1700 mm reach covers a large workstation area from one spot, so a single arm can even serve two stations. The price of that strength is mass: 140 kg is not an arm you can shift on a cart in five minutes; it needs a solid, fixed station. Repeatability of ±0.15 mm is weaker than on the lighter HC10 and HC10DT, a typical trade-off at higher payload and reach. If you need precision and water resistance, the manufacturer offers the separate Yaskawa Motoman HC20DTP. Among other cobots it is a player from the heavy segment. Typical workplaces are a factory or a logistics hall (factories, warehouses).

Who it's for

The HC20DT is for plants with heavy parts or pallets to stack that do not want to give up fence-free operation, where the Yaskawa Motoman HC10 cannot lift the load. It fits medium-volume palletizing and machine tending with heavier components. It is not for you if you need a mobile robot, since 140 kg limits relocation; for changing workstations consider a lighter competitor such as the UR20 (64 kg). Nor is it for precision tasks: ±0.15 mm is a figure for packing and transferring, not for assembling small parts. A note on costs: the manufacturer gives no price, and there is no information on energy consumption or noise level either, so put those questions to the supplier. How to calculate the total cost of a workstation is covered in “How to Buy a Cobot Step by Step”.

Deployments

We have no documented, named deployments of the HC20DT, in Poland or worldwide. The sources confirm only that the model is sold through yaskawa.pl, Yaskawa's direct subsidiary in Wrocław. The most commonly described applications of heavy cobots in the category are palletizing and machine tending, which our overview confirms; see cobots. When planning a deployment, ask the supplier for a reference visit at a plant that stacks similar loads. Until public references exist, rely on a trial with your own part.

In the 20 kg class it has several serious competitors. The UR20 is a Universal Robots cobot from 2022 (on sale from 2023) with a 20 kg payload, 1750 mm reach and 64 kg weight, more than twice as light as the HC20DT and aimed at palletizing and welding. The FANUC CRX-20iA/L has a 20 kg payload and 1418 mm reach, is meant for palletizing, and is available through spawalnictwo.pl. The Doosan H2017 is an H-series cobot with 1700 mm reach and a 20 kg payload, for machining and palletizing, via coboty-doosan.pl. The Yaskawa Motoman HC20DTP is a variant from the same family with higher precision (±0.05 mm) and IP67 for food applications. The choice depends on whether weight (UR20), reach (HC20DT, H2017) or washdown resistance (HC20DTP) matters most. Ask each supplier for a trial on your pallet and your carton, because the result depends on the gripper.

The HC20DT entered the range in 2019 as the largest standard cobot in the Motoman HC (Human Collaborative) family, three years after the debut of the Yaskawa Motoman HC10 in 2016 (Yaskawa Electric). Yaskawa then offered a higher payload, 20 kg, and 1700 mm of reach, while staying with the same philosophy: torque sensors in the joints and Direct Teach programming. Later the Yaskawa Motoman HC20DTP variant joined the family with higher precision and IP67 certification. The model remains on sale and is available in Poland through yaskawa.pl. Competitors arrived later: the UR20 in 2022, so the HC20DT was one of the earlier players in the heavy-cobot segment.