ODENSE, Denmark — Purple Robotics, founded by key developers behind the world’s first collaborative robot (cobot), has launched the PR10, an innovative vacuum gripper designed for collaborative applications. With its double-grip function, the PR10 can handle several items in a single operation, enabling small and mid-sized businesses to reduce production time by up to 50 percent. Unlike traditional vacuum grippers, the PR10 requires no external air supply so there are no cumbersome air hoses to manage and the gripper works independently of changes in the pressure, cleanliness and availability of external air. The gripper can be installed in less than 30 minutes with no prior training, which dramatically reduces both the cost of implementation and changeover time between production lines. With round edges and easy implementation, the PR10 is designed for safe, collaborative implementation alongside human workers, using any of Universal Robots (UR) three models. The PR10 is ideal for a wide range of applications, including pick-and-place, machine tending and palletizing.
“Our experience with Universal Robots clarified that the market needed a new generation of robotic vacuum applications,” says Lasse Kieffer, CEO and founder of Purple Robotics. “We are entering a market with sky-high growth rates, and we have the development and distribution experience to match our aggressive goals.”
The global market for collaborative robots, or cobots, is estimated to reach $3.3 billion by 2020, with annual growth rates of more than 50 percent, according to Qyresearch Publishing. The PR10 gripper has the potential to be applied to the majority of cobot applications. The PR10 combined with a robot arm is especially attractive for small and mid-sized companies whose competitiveness depends on their ability to change over and deliver quickly, without requiring extensive robotics expertise.
