Cobot plasma cutting

Collaborative cobot solutions provide productivity, flexibility, and quality

Cobots are designed to share a workspace with humans, making automation more accessible than ever for businesses of all sizes.

• Cobots significantly increase productivity and safety levels of repetitive and ergonomically challenging tasks.

• Moving a cobot to new processes is easy. This enables you to automate almost any manual task, including those with small batches or fast changeovers.

• Improved cut quality delivers better part consistency and reduces secondary operations.

Plasma cutters and cobots are revolutionizing the metal fabrication industry by enhancing precision, versatility, safety, and efficiency

How plasma cutters work

Plasma cutting involves using a high-velocity ionized gas (plasma) jet to cut through metal. Plasma is created by heating a gas, such as air, to a very high temperature until it becomes ionized. This ionized gas is directed through a nozzle at high speed, creating a plasma arc that can cut through metal precisely.

Benefits of using cobots with plasma cutters

1. Precision and consistency: Cobots can follow highly accurate programmed paths, always ensuring consistent and precise cuts. This reduces the likelihood of errors and the need for rework.

2. Versatility: Cobots can handle various cutting tasks and materials, from thin sheets to thicker metals. They can quickly switch jobs, making them ideal for custom and small-batch production.

3. Safety: Cobots reduce the need for human operators to perform cutting operations in positions that create significant strain and fatigue.

4. Efficiency: Cobots can operate continuously without fatigue, increasing overall productivity. They can also perform complex cuts that would be challenging and time-consuming for human operators.

Using a plasma cutter with a collaborative cobot significantly enhances various applications across industries

These applications highlight the versatility and efficiency that cobots bring to plasma-cutting tasks: 

• Metal fabrication
  Cobots can handle complex and repetitive cutting tasks with high precision, reducing errors and rework. This is particularly useful in industries like automotive and aerospace.

• Custom manufacturing
  For businesses that require custom or small-batch production, cobots can quickly adapt to different cutting patterns and materials, making them ideal for prototyping and bespoke manufacturing.

• Construction
  Cobots can make precise cuts on metal parts, ensuring high-quality results with minimal errors. This is crucial for creating components like steel beams and reinforcing bars.

• Art and design
  Artists and designers can use cobots for intricate plasma-cutting tasks, allowing for more creative and precise designs in metal sculptures and installations.

• Maintenance and repair
  Cobots can assist in maintenance and repair tasks by providing precise cuts for parts that need to be replaced or modified, ensuring a perfect fit and reducing downtime.

• Shipbuilding
  Cobots can perform challenging cutting and gouging operations within places like a ship’s hold and interior hulls.

• Agriculture equipment manufacturing

  Cobots can be used to cut parts for agricultural machinery, ensuring high precision and consistency, which is essential for the durability and performance of the equipment.

Hypertherm plasma with a collaborative cobot is superior to competitor solutions:

• Easy to use
  Hypertherm cartridges simplify setup and operation and deliver consistent cut and gouge quality.

• Versatile
  Plasma’s versatility facilitates robotic teaching tools, setup guides, and a variety of torch options and applications such as cutting, gouging, flush cutting, and extended length/reach consumables for hard-to-reach applications.

• Reliable
  Plasma cutting is Hypertherm Associates' core competency, with over 50 years of experience. Our products deliver consistent and superior cut quality and are known to last decades in the field, minimizing maintenance and downtime.

Committed to quality cobot partnerships

Hypertherm Associates is committed to partnering with the best in the world. We only partner with authorized and certified robotic integrators who are industry leaders and offer the correct product configuration for the customer. Our partners have a range of capabilities, from complex application configurations to simple-to-use general fabrication configurations. Cobot partners focus on applications and integrations and offer extensive service capability, and the Hypertherm channel offers the largest selection of parts and consumables to maximize cobot uptime.