I have been a bit under the weather with some good-old Midwest summer allergies. Add that to an overdose of World Cup soccer, and I have been out.
Time to catch up.
A decade ago, I would have declared robot end-of-arm-tooling a mature, unexciting technology. That plus manufacturing employment discussions in America—what with going overseas thanks to the beancounters.
Caught up with Matthew Bush, CEO of Hirebotics, at Automate last month. Hirebotics manufacturers robotic end-of-arm tooling with a newly released product. Mostly we discussed the shortage of workers and how we will need more tooling and automation in order to produce what we as a society will be needing in the future.
As for new products announced at the show, check out this Cobot painter produced with FANUC.
Hirebotics, a leading provider of collaborative robot (cobot) solutions for metal fabrication, announced the first explosion-proof cobot solution built using its no-code Beacon platform and the FANUC CRX-10iA/L Paint hardware. Hirebotics’ Cobot Painter is available now, offering metal fabricators and manufacturers a practical, high-mix, low-volume alternative to manual spraying and complex automated lines.
In the past, fabrication shops and other manufacturers had to outsource coating work, as traditional automation lines were too costly and complex. This resulted in a loss of control over lead times, quality, and profit margins. Compared to traditional automated paint systems that require dedicated cells and major exhaust or conveyor infrastructure overhauls, the portable, lightweight Cobot Painter works inside a manufacturer’s existing manual spray environment. This means the solution can be deployed and working within days rather than months.
“The Cobot Painter eliminates the need for dedicated paint cells and complex programming,” said Matt Bush, co-founder and CEO of Hirebotics. ”By combining FANUC’s world-class, explosion-proof hardware with our intuitive, no-code Beacon platform, we’ve created an affordable, flexible finishing solution. Shops can now bring their coating in-house, deploy automation in days inside their existing booths, and deliver the flawless finishes their customers expect. And they can do it all without a single robotics specialist on staff.”
Hirebotics’ Cobot Painter brings robotic spray painting to manufacturers who need a flexible, affordable alternative to traditional paint booths and manual spraying to handle liquid paint and powder coating with repeatable precision. (Image from Hirebotics)
FANUC CRX-10iA/L Paint cobot is the first explosion-proof collaborative paint robot on the market approved for liquid painting, powder coating, and gel coating applications in hazardous environments. Featuring a 55.82-inch reach, the cobot handles large and complex parts with repeatable precision, delivering a consistent coat every time while significantly reducing paint waste and overspray.
Like Hirebotics’ welding and cutting solutions, the Cobot Painter is designed to be fully accessible to operators without robotics or programming experience. Using the Beacon interface on any tablet or phone, operators can simply use “click-and-teach” paths to guide the robot through the motions once. The cobot then flawlessly repeats the exact speed, distance, and angle for every cycle.
“Built on the CRX-10iA/L Paint cobot, the system brings the safety and precision of explosion-proof automation into standard manual coating environments,” said Dave Wagenhauser, Manager of Paint Robot Sales, FANUC America. “The CRX Paint series is designed to deliver consistent, high-quality performance in painting and finishing applications, combining collaborative safety features, ease of deployment, and FANUC’s proven reliability for manufacturers seeking flexible automation. Our collaboration with Hirebotics and its Beacon platform further streamlines setup and programming, helping reduce integration complexity and enabling faster deployment in high-mix, low-volume production environments.”
Hirebotics’ Cobot Painter currently supports stationary painting, with parts placed in a paint booth where robots perform all spraying operations. Future versions will support line tracking, with the robot tracking and painting parts while in continuous motion along a production line.
