Epson, a leader in digital imaging and printing solutions has announced the launch of the new C8 Series of vertical six-axis industrial robots aimed at manufacturers of auto parts, electronic equipment and other products. The C8 Series robots are light, compact with slim powerful arm highly flexible, superior repeatability, precise path control and wide working range suitable for such applications. Epson also launched the new TP3 teaching pendant that will offer better-than-ever operability for robot teaching.

Robots in the new C8 series boast an 8-kg payload capacity, double that of the smaller C4 series. The higher transport load was achieved with the slimline arm thanks to Epson’s unique vibration control technology. The higher payload capacity will allow the robots to use items such as heavier multi-grippers and tool changers, and will also enable the transport of heavy objects and the simultaneous transport of multiple workpieces.

The C8 Series – Epson’s first long-arm six-axis series – boasts a maximum operating radius up to 1,400 mm. The slender arm is better able to slip past surrounding objects without touching them, making this robot perfect for tasks that require the arm to enter confined spaces, such as is the case when removing parts from machine tools or moulding machines. Due to its lighter weight, the C8 is still a table-top robot unlike many competitors that require ground fixing. It can be substituted for heavier robots with a similar reach. These features make the C8 the best model for machine tending in the auto parts and electronic industries.

Apart from the auto parts and electronic industry the C8 Series are also ideal for FMCG packaging, medical and pharma, and electronics and precision manufacturing. The main applications within auto parts manufacturing and FMCG packaging will be machine tending, assembly, palletising, deburring, polishing, and inspection. India is also seeing and upsurge in simple robotic automation in CNCs, press, injection moulding, palletising, deburring, polishing and assembly processes using mainly 6-axis robots with a payload of up to 7 kg.

The TP3 is a feature-rich tablet-type teaching pendant that has a 10.1-inch colour touchscreen panel and an intuitive interface. Intuitive touch operation makes the panel far easier to operate than other pendant-based panels, and users will easily be able to teach even complex six-axis robots tasks. Users will also be able to use the TP3 to make robot parameter changes, a task that used to require a PC, thus contributing to improved efficiency of robot set-up.

“We are delighted announce our new series of C8 vertical six-axis robots,” said Venkatesh R. Director of robots sales at EPSON India. “With this series we are proud to offer new benefits to customers such as long reach with low weight and vibration. With its enhanced capability and ease-of-use, the new series helps lowers the barriers to automation and increase production line efficiency.”