If you manage, integrate, or simply work near industrial robots, you’ve probably heard a string of acronyms thrown around: ISO 10218, ANSI/RIA R15.06, ISO/TS 15066, OSHA Technical Manual. But what are robot safety standards in the workplace really, and why do they matter so much? In this guide I’ll walk you through the regulatory framework, … Read more
Industrial robots are the backbone of modern manufacturing. From welding car frames to packing blister packs of pills, these programmable machines run millions of production lines worldwide. If you are evaluating automation for a factory, a research lab, or a startup product, the first decision is the most fundamental one: which type of industrial robot … Read more
ISO/TS 15066 was a Technical Specification published in 2016 that defined the safety requirements for collaborative industrial robot systems and their work environments. For nearly a decade, this document served as the global reference for engineers, integrators, and safety professionals who needed to deploy robots that share workspace with human operators. If you searched for … Read more
If you have spent any time on a factory floor or in a modern machine shop lately, you have probably noticed something new: a robot arm working right next to a person, with no cage, no fence, and no panic. That is a cobot, and it is changing the way we think about automation. A … Read more
A polar robot (also called a spherical robot) is an industrial robot arm with two rotary joints and one prismatic joint, whose axes form a polar coordinate system. That joint mix creates a spherical work envelope, which is why you will see these machines called either polar or spherical robots depending on the manufacturer. I’ve … Read more
A SCARA robot is a type of industrial robot with a jointed two-link arm design. The acronym stands for Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm (or Selective Compliance Articulated Robot Arm), and these robots are rigid along the vertical Z-axis while remaining flexible in the horizontal X-Y plane. I have spent the last several years working … Read more
An articulated robot arm is a robot with rotary joints that mimics the movement of a human arm, typically having 6 or more degrees of freedom for complex motion sequences. These multi-axis machines dominate factory floors around the world because they can reach into tight spaces, lift heavy parts, and repeat the same motion millions … Read more
A cobot works alongside humans in a shared workspace, while an industrial robot operates independently inside a safety cage, replacing human labor on dedicated tasks. That single sentence captures the entire cobot vs industrial robot debate, and it is the starting point most buyers and engineers need before they get lost in spec sheets. I … Read more
A Cartesian robot is an industrial robot whose three principal axes of control are linear and sit at right angles to each other. Also called a linear robot, it moves along the X, Y, and Z directions of the standard Cartesian coordinate system using prismatic joints. This simple geometry is exactly why Cartesian robots show … Read more
If you have ever watched an assembly line pick up a part, rotate it into position, and place it with the same precision hundreds of times per hour, you have likely seen a cylindrical robot at work. These machines have been quietly powering factories since the 1970s, and they remain one of the most cost-effective … Read more