Yaskawa Motoman develops fenceless robotic training program

Yaskawa Motoman has developed an educational workstation for use in classrooms, robotics labs and robotics training centres.

The pre-engineered EduCart workcell features a fenceless design and six-axis industrial robot. The lightweight, extruded aluminum cart is portable and features fold-in windows and a fold-up tabletop for transportation through a standard 36” doorway.

The platform then easily expands to provide an increased work envelope for training. The EduCart platform includes a fully integrated suite of industrial grade academic tools for teaching a wide variety of real-world applications.

“Actively collaborating with our education community and workforce development partners has been the catalyst for this STEM* robotics training platform design,” says Bob Graff, senior manager for Yaskawa Motoman Education Products. “Offering educational solutions that use the same innovative equipment used in factories is vital to providing high schools, community colleges, vocational schools and technical colleges with the best possible tools for students who are pursuing careers in advanced manufacturing.”

Featuring Yaskawa’s GP8 robot and YRC1000micro controller, the EduCart is powered through a standard 110 VAC outlet. The YRC1000 standard pendant provides an easy-to-use graphical interface for programming, I/O control and monitoring. A SCHUNK gripper package with 3D printed fingers and a robust control interface is included.

Offering 270 degrees of unobstructed coverage, an integrated laser scanner establishes a safe working zone, while a plexiglass guard offers additional safety from the rear. Robot play speed is limited to 25 per cent for enhanced student safety.

A dry-erase table top offers a convenient marking surface, and a replaceable magnetic teaching mat provides virtually unlimited curriculum options, including palletizing and path following. Source files to create customized mats are included.

An optional vision kit easily integrates with EduCart for additional certification opportunities.