With the growing density of robots in developed and developing countries, there is a growing need for end-effectors or tools that can extend the functionality of these industrial and collaborative robots. End-effectors are key to the effective utilization of the growing robotic infrastructure. Below are four reasons why we believe the Plug-n-Play tools and end-effectors are the best choices for utilization of robotic infrastructures instead of complex end-effectors.
Plug-n-Play End-effectors: Lightweight 5-10 kg, robot agnostic controller, set up in hours
Complex End-effectors: Heavy 50-150 kg, specialised cell, setup in months
1. Price
An industrial or collaborative robot cell along with safety and other infrastructural elements can cost around 50k–100k euros.
A complex end-effector requiring special setup will occupy the entire cell and is capable of a single type of operation. Assuming mass manufacturing facility this really makes sense. However, one tool occupies one robot function and thus limit the possible change in operations.
Plug-n-play end-effectors along with open-source software ecosystems are becoming more popular because of their cost-effectiveness and rapid changeability. More than one tool can be utilized per robotic cell making them 4–5 times more cost-effective per robotic cell.