Universal Robots Introduces PolyScope X Software for Machine Tending

At Automatica in Munich, Universal Robots A/S yesterday unveiled its PolyScope X platform, which includes a new, customizable user interface. The software will “add new levels of flexibility to high-mix, low-volume machine tending automation,” said the company.

Beta testers including customers and partners provided valuable feedback throughout the development of PolyScope X, said Universal Robots. The collaborative robot leader showed a prototype at the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) last year.

“PolyScope X is a perfect example of how we approach innovation at Universal Robots,” said Anders Billesø Beck, vice president for strategy and innovation at the Odense, Denmark-based company, in a blog post.

“We want to include our partners and end customers right from the start, making sure we understand the full scope of the challenges our customers are facing,” he added. “For me, this is an essential part of creating this new product, and we are confident as a result that it will help our customers to grow and reach their full potential.”

PolyScope X promises flexibility

Manufacturers around the world are looking for increased flexibility to handle shifting and increasingly diverse orders, noted Universal Robots.

“With PolyScope X, machine shop operators can achieve changeover times of less than 10 minutes – far below what is possible today with any other software,” it said.

The machine-tending software will enable users to run more batches in a day and to run them in a more strategic and flexible way, claimed the company. It includes node programming, Freedrive for fast cobot positoining, a dedicated toolbox for security configuration, and a built-in wizard for estimating physics.

PolyScope X includes a reworked programming experience and toolset, noted Universal Robots. These features will allow integrators and OEM partners to structure their code into operations that can be reused throughout the program, making each operation simpler to understand, maintain, and troubleshoot, it said.

UR works to advance machine tending

“PolyScope X is a landmark development in machine tending automation,” asserted Beck. “The simplicity of the user interface and the much faster changeover times will provide manufacturers with a whole new set of possibilities for how to automate their machine-tending tasks, and it will allow them to break some of the barriers that are holding them back today.”

“I wouldn’t hesitate to call it a gamechanger for the industry, especially for those who have a high-mix, low-volume production,” he said.

PolyScope X for machine tending is initially available through distributors in Germany, the U.K., and Denmark. Universal Robots noted that the investment in its cobot arms has an average return on investment of six months.