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Acquisition leads to launch of 49 robots in three families
Published:  30 March, 2016

Following Omron’s $200m acquisition last year of the US robot-maker Adept, a newly-formed business, Omron Adept Technologies, is launching a total of 49 industrial robots in 39 countries around the world.

The robots span three technologies – Scara, Delta and articulated – and all can be controlled using the same integrated development environment, known as ACE (automation control environment). This contains application-oriented wizards that reduce the amount of programming needed. A 3D emulation tool cuts the time needed to validate new automated processes. A tool for packaging lines, called ACE PackXpert, supports vision-guided robotics applications.

The robots have been integrated with Omron's sensors and safety components, and with machine control environments managed by its Sysmac NX/NJ automation platform. This is said to improve throughput on demanding production lines, overcoming some of the limitations of conventional robots. 

Three technologies (from left): Omron's Quattro parallel robot; eCobra Scara robot; and Viper articulated robot