Piab unveils larger Picobot L Vacuum pump unit

28 March 2023

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Piab has continued to develop its piCobot specialised collaborative robot (cobot) vacuum gripper offering with the addition of larger version, the piCobot L.


The piCobot L has a lifting capability of 16kg, combined with a low building height, to enable maximum capacity usage. This makes it ideal for e-commerce, logistics and warehouse applications. It is also suitable for assisting with the lifting of heavier items in production.

The piCobot L is built on the same technology platform as the original piCobot, consisting of a vacuum pump unit and an optional gripper unit.

The vacuum pump unit is scalable and can be equipped with any of Piab’s newest Coax vacuum ejector cartridges. The cartridges are designed to be smaller, more efficient and more reliable than conventional ejectors.

This results in higher vacuum performance, enabling fast movement when lifting heavier items for high productivity in packaging and palletising, part assembly or machine tending.

The piCobot L’s high vacuum flow is suitable for various end-effectors, such as the deployment of large Kenos foam grippers. The grippers can lift a wide variety of objects, from single large and heavy objects to a number of small objects together.

The vacuum connection at the bottom of the pump means that no extra cabling is required when attaching a different gripper unit.

While gripper changes and dissembling the tool from the pump unit can be done manually, the process can be automated with the addition of the optional automatic tool changer combined with a docking station for further end-effectors. This ensures continuous operations and provides flexibility for deployment of one solution for many different tasks at a lower cost.

The automatic tool changer is equipped with a lever to lock or unlock the adapter plate of the end-effector. The lever can be opened and closed automatically by the docking station to remove a gripping unit from the cobot and pick up and connect a different one without human interference. The gripper switch at the tool changer can also be done manually.

The piCobot L also features dust protection filters to further maximise machine uptimes and its IP65-compliant robust pump body ensures long operation times in harsh environments.