The world of robotics is very diverse and with every passing day, experts and engineers are creating new robots to make our lives easier. Today, let us look at two of the most commonly used robots-industrial and collaborative ones. Which one is perfect for your industry? What are the main differences between the two of them? Here is a deep dive:

An industrial robot is large in size when compared to a collaborative robot. It is a fixed equipment and is usually designed for high-accuracy, high-speed and high-volume production. It is due to the speed of the robot and its arm movement, that industrial robots are looked upon as a risk to one’s safety. There are a lot of safety measures established while working with industrial robots. The robot’s integration and also the safety caging generally increase the cost of the robot.

Collaborative robots, aka cobots are the best choice for manufacturers who have high-mix and low-volume production. Cobots are ideal for those who require safe automation processes alongside the services of human workers. This could include automation of a repetitive task or completion of an assembly process which is complex.

Cobots come with lower costs and are much easier to program. They are smaller than industrial robots and are lightweight. They can be easily redeployed and moved from place to place. They are generally known to be cost-effective, user-friendly and versatile.

Cobots are popular for their ease of use. A few of them have a hand-guided teaching ability. In this, the operator teaches a cobot a brand new program and this can be done by manually moving the robot. Industrial robots have a reputation for being labour intensive when it comes to programming.

There will always be a debate and argument for industrial robots and collaborative robots. However, the decision on which robot to select will depend on your requirement.