New Cobot from Schneider Electric: Made by Jaka China

The days Schneider Electric, the largest French industrial group with a turnover of about 34 billion euros, drew attention in Germany to its Cobot family called Lexium. It consists of five models, each of which has 6 lines of freedom. The cobots have already been on sale for a year.

Model	Reach in mm	Load capacity in kg
1	626	3
2	954	5
3	819	12
4	1327	12
5	1073	18

Schneider Electric had already pointed out at the presentation that the cobots are being built "by a partner". In fact, they seem to have been developed by this partner. It is apparently - as far as the hardware is concerned - a commodity. The software was apparently not translated, but in large parts developed by the company itself. At least this is what Schneider Electric writes. Because Leximum is now an integral part of the comprehensive automation platform Ecostruxure Machine. Schneider Electric thus offers a range including mobile robots, as we know them in Germany also from BoschRexroth (with Kassow Robots) and soon also Festo or Beckhoff.

Jaka cobot has exactly the same dimensions

For comparison:

Normative constraint of the factual

For a company from a country where industrial policy plays a greater role than here, labeling a Chinese robot with the EU flag is certainly a contradiction. Ultimately, it shows that Schneider Electric considers the cobot market to be very interesting, but has overslept its entry into development or is afraid of the costs/time for its own products. Of course, one can take the view that the hardware will be interchangeable and that what matters here - automation platform - is the software. Nevertheless, the impression remains that it is not possible without Chinese support, at least in terms of costs.

Market impact

The cobots are unlikely to be of any significance for the German market in the foreseeable future. However, they are capable of "blocking" the French market, so to speak. If they sell well there, German - or even Danish - suppliers will have a hard time. The French customer, on the other hand, will certainly pay more if he has the certainty that Schneider Electric stands behind the product. In addition, the automation platform should offer advantages. It should also enable the Cobot family to make inroads into large-scale industry.

Product description

The cobots are certainly of good quality. This is what Schneider Electric writes about them on their homepage:

Independent operation of the robots

• The robot is connected to a controller, the programming of which is done by the operator
  • Operators can change settings without the need for special robotics knowledge
  • Wireless tablet connectivity: IOS, Android and Windows support
  • Easy control and programming, including teach-in by direct manual guidance of the robot.
• The robots are equipped with safety features and do not require protective fencing or other industrial safety equipment, further reducing costs while shortening integration time
• Wide range of controller fieldbuses: TCP/IP, Modbus TCP, Modbus RTU, ProfiNet, Ethernet/IP
• The ease of programming a collaborative robot reduces the time and resources required for integration, which reduces the investment in automation.

Integration into a complete EcoStruxure machine solution

• Control integration with the PacDrive LMC and Modicon M262 motion controller hardware platform. Configured with EcoStruxure Machine Expert software.
• Software integration
  • Integration interface to the Machine Expert robot library
  • Integration with Machine Expert Twin for simulation and digital twin
  • User-friendly software interface.
  • Available predefined function blocks.
• Communication integration
  • Wide range of fieldbuses via Ethernet for communication with controllers (including third-party PLC/IPC for the system approach)
  • Integration of Automation Expert with next-generation Motion

Are we networking? LinkedIn
-> To the Cobot group on LinkedIn (Link)

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The author of this blog answers companies the question if and how a robot could be used in your company (initial analysis including recommendation). This in the greater areas of Trier and Lüneburg as well as Eastern Germany without Leipzig/ Berlin for 700 € net, in the rest of Germany for an all-inclusive price of 1,750 € net (incl. travel). The low price is possible thanks to promotion. Permanently looking for interesting solutions, he has already seen hundreds of applications. For this reason, his customers also include large companies that have know-how but do not know the entire market. For companies with 250 employees or more or those based in Austria or Switzerland, the flat rate does not apply. You can find more about him here.