Articulated robot

How it is used

Used in catalogs, quotes and classifications of robot types, next to SCARA, delta and Cartesian robots. In conversation people simply say 'a six-axis robot'. Articulated robots are flexible and used for welding, painting, handling and machine tending.

Example sentences

1. For welding car bodies we use articulated robots, because they can reach around the part.

2. An articulated robot needs more floor space than a SCARA for the same task.

Common collocations

• six-axis articulated robot
• articulated arm
• shoulder, elbow and wrist
• floor-mounted robot

Related terms

• industrial robotA programmable machine, usually an arm with several axes, that does production tasks such as welding, painting, handling or assembly on its own and with high repeatability.
• SCARA robotA fast robot, usually with four axes, whose arm moves in a horizontal plane and has a vertical axis at the end. SCARA stands for Selective Compliance Assembly (or Articulated) Robot Arm.
• gantry robotA robot that moves along straight X, Y and Z axes mounted on an overhead frame. It can cover a large working area and carry heavy loads.
• degrees of freedomThe number of independent ways a robot or a body can move. A typical industrial arm has six, enough to place its tool at a chosen position and orientation within its workspace.
• robot armThe moving mechanical part of a robot, made of links connected by joints, that brings the tool at its end into position. Technical texts also call it the manipulator.

More terms: Robot Types and Components

• end effector
• gripper
• joint
• payload
• reach
• collaborative robot
• vacuum gripper