Polar/Spherical Robots

Polar robots, also known as spherical robots, are a robot configuration with a combined linear joint and two rotary joints, with an arm connected to a robotic base and a twisting joint allowing the axes to create a spherical work envelope and a polar coordinate system. This type of robot is well known in the history of robotics because the first industrial robot, Unimate, was a spherical robot created back in the 1950s. Even with only three axes, this type of industrial robot significantly increases production over manual labor and has been utilized in the automotive industry.

Today, polar robots have been largely supplanted by other types of industrial robots, such as SCARA and articulated arm robots. SCARA robots perform closest to the polar robots and offer greater speed, however, conventional articulated robotic arms tend to scale to larger payloads and offer greater articulation. Both new systems offer the same capabilities, however, the software to control them has advanced greatly since the advent of the first polar systems to make programming faster and easier.

The automation applications that use Polar robots

• Machine tool tending
• Material handling automation
• Assembly operations
• Automated die-casting process tending
• Injection molding applications
• Welding applications
• Painting systems and paint line tending applications

While there are many vintage polar robots still in the industry, wear and tear can eventually take its toll, so it’s best to consider moving to other types of robotic systems, like the SCARA, articulated arms or delta-style robots for replacement.

If you’re looking to have your polar robot system serviced by our customer support department or would like to understand what options are available for replacing this style of robot, contact Midwest Engineered Systems today to speak with our highly trained application engineers. Trust our decades of robotic automation system experience to develop a robotic automation system that increases productivity and efficiency!