ABB IRB 1100 small parts assembly robot

ABB has announced the IRB 1100, its smallest, lightest robot to date, as part of its growing range of solutions for small parts assembly. The IRB 1100 was designed to meet the challenges of semiconductor, pharmaceutical and electronics manufacturers who need to handle small and often delicate parts while working at speed and maintaining both high productivity and quality.

The IRB 1100 offers up to 35% faster cycle times to maximise productivity and highly repeatable accuracy. Powered by ABB’s OmniCore controller, the IRB 1100 is equipped with advanced motion control capabilities, making it suitable for supporting rapid assembly, pick and place, and materials handling applications.

Flexibility is another important small parts assembly consideration, as manufacturers need to increasingly accommodate smaller lots of greater variety in much shorter product cycles. The IRB 1100 has a 10% smaller footprint and a 20% lighter, slim body compared to previous robot generations, so that it can be flexibly deployed in confined spaces and into existing automation lines. In addition to improving production space flexibility, the IRB 1100 allows more flexible handling for heavy-load operations with complex tools or end effectors.

The IRB 1100 is also among the first of a range of robots built around ABB’s flexible design approach, which will help introduce a wider variety of robot sizes and variants that can be combined into tailored solutions. IRB 1100 will be certified for cleanroom applications in the future and is available in two variants — one with a 4 kg payload with 475 mm reach and one with a 4 kg payload and 580 mm reach.