Epson Takes Safety to a New Level with Expanded 6-Axis Robot Lineup

Continuing a longstanding position as one of the leaders in high-speed robotics, Epson just unveiled its newest generation of 6-axis industrial robots. The new C-B lineup features enhanced safety and control features while maintaining the excellent foundation of performance specs delivered by the previous C series models.

Safety in Industrial Applications

Safety is always a #1 priority in the workplace, but there is a wide gap between best practices versus actual hardware and software implementations of safety devices. The robotics industry has attempted to bridge that gap in the past decades with the introduction of collaborative robots (cobots). While these do provide excellent safety benefits, the sacrifice is a lower operating speed and, therefore, lower potential cycle time.

Three new models in the Epson C-B robot lineup. Image used courtesy of Epson

The resounding answer from Epson is the addition of critical safety performance features into the industrial robot lineup, as illustrated by the announcement of this newest version of C-B robots, which includes the RC700E controller powered by SafeSense technology.

Enhanced Safety Features

What benefits are provided by this new robot upgrade? Primarily, the functional safety built into the RC700E controller reduces the requirements for physical safety fencing, even though this is not classified as a cobot. The RC700E enables this dynamic of ‘industrial collaborative’ scenarios with high acceleration, deceleration, and maximum joint speed. Safety limited speed and position ensure that interaction with workers and workspaces occurs with utmost control while allowing normal high-speed operation during most of the cycle.

The controller operates on a PC-based architecture with the ability for integrators and end users to incorporate apps that enable advanced features not normally found on robot control boxes. The GUI-based programming allows standalone robot work cell operation or remote control from a PLC or PC (with Modbus I/O, Ethernet, PROFIBUS, or .NET API support).

Epson’s unique GYROPLUS technology, leveraging in-house grown quartz crystal gyroscopes, enables more accurate positioning when running at maximum speed with a built-in PID control, familiar to many motion control applications.

The included software, Epson’s RC+ Express, is a low-code environment that lowers the barrier to entry for programming implementation. The simple use case templates, like palletizing, depalletizing, and pick-and-place, accelerate the time between initial setup and final production running status.

The RC700E controller and TP4 teach pendant. Image used courtesy of Epson

C-B Performance Specifications

Several robot models make up the new C-B series, including:

• C4B/C4LB: 4 kg payload with a 600-900 mm maximum work envelope

• C8LB/C8XLB: 8 kg payload with a 900-1400 mm maximum work envelope

• C12XLB: 12 kg payload with 1400 mm maximum work envelope

The joints boast a repeatability rated as low as 0.02 mm per joint for the smaller models. Standard cycle times, the ultimate measure of ROI for any robotic application, is less than 0.52 seconds for all robots, with the lowest cycle time naturally belonging to the smaller models.

The power input for all models in this series is 200-240 single-phase VAC, a universal supply available in most commercial and industrial facilities.

Robots That Emphasize Safety

When considering high maximum joint speeds, there are certain standout applications. Moving boxes on a pallet isn’t always the job for high-speed robots, but the strengths shine for most sorting and pick-and-place applications throughout electronics, pharma, logistics, food & bev, and any other sorting and placing industry. 

Epson, with the new C-B series, builds on an outstanding legacy of high performance, now with the additional safety features that continue to provide a collaborative sense to the world of industrial robotics.