Dobot Robotics, a leading manufacturer of collaborative robots (cobots), proudly announces the opening of its U.S. office in Dallas. This marks a major milestone in its global expansion strategy. Also, Dobot launched the new CRA Series of cobots and the associated VX500 Smart Camera on the U.S. market. The cross-sector products expand the range of high-performance, easy-to-use cobot solutions primarily for companies in a score of industries, including electronics, automotive, metal processing and so on.

“The Dallas office functions as the headquarters for Dobot’s North American operations. It encompasses a showroom, training center, logistics hub, and service center. Leveraging our U.S. subsidiary, we are committed to enhancing support for our local partners and customers, delivering top-notch products and services, and continually strengthening our presence in North America,” said Alla Huang, General Manager of Dobot USA.

CRA Series: Fully Enhanced New Generation

Mainly, the new CRA Series comprises a total of seven models with a broad payload range. It is available from a minimum of 3kg to a maximum of 20kg, and working radius of 620 to 1,700mm. They are used in high-precision industrial applications. Among them are pick-and-place, sorting, screwing, inspection, gluing, welding, transporting, polishing and palletizing. Compared to the previous model, the CRA cobots offer a more powerful gearbox that shortens a work cycle by an average of 25 percent. The control boxes of the devices are also about 25 percent smaller. They are optionally protected according to the IP54 protection class in challenging environments and extensive maintenance is thus reduced in the long term.

Electromagnetic brakes stop the gripper arms from descending within 18msec, protecting workers in the immediate vicinity even during power outages. In addition, the models with payloads of 3, 5 and 10kg are compatible with Dobot’s self-developed SafeSkin technology. This detects obstacles within a radius of 15cm and avoids collisions.

Also, the CRA Series supports Modbus, Ethernet/IP and Profinet communication and connects seamlessly with PLC and other automation systems. With 24 available I/O ports and PNP/NPN switching, expansions can be carried out more easily. The cobots’ operating software, also new, supports graphical programming, scripting and drag-to-teach for trajectory replay. It is particularly user-friendly and compatible with diverse end devices, from PCs to tablets.

VX500 Smart Camera

Meanwhile, the new VX500 Smart Camera uses Dobot’s proprietary 2.5D spatial compensation technology. Specifically, the technology enables robots equipped with it to more accurately detect tilted or angled objects. This enables a variety of vision-based automation scenarios for cobots of the new CRA Series as well as the existing CR Series. Users can set up the new camera quickly and easily via Dobot’s latest software.