CNC MACHINES
What to Inspect Before Buying Any Used CNC Machine
Before you buy any used CNC machine, see it under power if you can. Confirm the control comes up with no standing alarms, measure spindle runout an...
Surface, Internal and Tool and Cutter Grinders Compared
A surface grinder finishes flat faces, an internal grinder finishes bores, and a tool and cutter grinder sharpens or makes cutting tools. A center ...
Used CNC Lathe Buyer's Guide
A used CNC lathe comes down to the spindle, the chuck, the turret and the control. Check spindle runout and bearing noise, the chuck and its hydrau...
Buying a Used Vertical Machining Center: What to Check
When you buy a used vertical machining center, check the spindle, the ways and ballscrews, the control, the tool taper, and the coolant and chip sy...
FANUC ROBOTS
Software on a Used FANUC Robot: Options, Registration and What to Ask
On a used FANUC robot, the software options are tied to the controller. Those options decide what the robot is set up to do, whether that is arc we...
FANUC M-710 Series: M-710iC/20L, /45M, /50, /70 and /70T
The FANUC M-710iC is FANUC's medium payload robot line, sitting between the M-20 and the heavier R-1000 and R-2000 arms. The models we stock run fr...
FANUC M-410 and M-420 Palletizing Robots
The FANUC M-410 is FANUC's dedicated palletizing robot. The M-410iB arms we stock carry from 160 kg up to 700 kg with more than 3,100 mm of reach, ...
FANUC S-500i and S-500iB: Older Six Axis Robots on RJ3 and RJ3iB
The FANUC S-500i and S-500iB are older six axis robots. The S-500i runs on the RJ3 controller and the S-500iB on the RJ3iB. If you are buying one, ...
FANUC M-10 and M-16 Series Robots
The FANUC M-10 and M-16 are six axis robots in the 10 kg to 20 kg payload range. The M-16 robots we see are older units on RJ3 and R-30iA controlle...
FANUC M-20 Series: M-20iA, M-20iA/35M, M-20iB/25 and M-20iD
The FANUC M-20 is FANUC's mid payload six axis robot, built for parts and tooling from about 10 kg up to 35 kg. The versions you will run into are ...
INDUSTRIAL ROBOT APPLICATIONS
Spot Weld Guns on Used Robots: Dengensha Servo Guns and What to Check
Several of our FANUC R-2000iB/165F and R-2000iC/165F spot welding robot listings include a Dengensha servo spot weld gun and power supply. Before y...
Coating Robots: Painting, Spraying and Sealing With a Used Robot
A coating robot carries a spray gun or dispensing nozzle along a set path to paint, spray or seal a part. A standard industrial arm can do much of ...
Order Picking Robots: Picking From Bins, Totes and Shelves
An order picking robot takes single items out of bins, totes or shelf slots and places them into an order tote, carton or conveyor. Most of these j...
Meat Processing Robots: What Buyers Need to Know
Meat plants use robots for cutting, portioning, supporting deboning lines, loading trays and packing finished product. The first question for any r...
Router Robots: Trimming and Routing Plastic, Composite and Fiberglass Parts
A router robot is a six axis arm carrying a router spindle that trims flash, cuts openings and finishes edges on formed plastic, composite and fibe...
Spindle Robots: Putting a Spindle on the End of the Arm
A spindle robot is an industrial arm that carries a powered spindle instead of a gripper, used for drilling, trimming, routing, sanding, polishing ...
Milling Robots: What a Six Axis Arm Can and Can't Machine
A six axis robot can mill aluminum, plastics, foam, wood and composites, and it does its best work trimming large or complex parts. It cannot match...
Robotic Deburring: Choosing a Robot for Finishing Work
The right robot for deburring is stiff enough to hold a path under cutting load, repeatable enough to hit the same edge every cycle, and rated to c...
Packaging Robots: Case Packing, Labeling and Palletizing
Packaging robots cover three jobs at the end of a line: case packing, where product goes into boxes or trays; labeling, where cases or parts get ma...
Injection Molding Robots: Using a Six Axis Arm at the Press
A six axis robot at an injection molding press pulls parts, loads inserts, cuts gates and stacks finished parts, all in one cell. It makes sense wh...
Foundry Robots: What Holds Up in Heat, Dust and Grit
Foundry robots handle castings, support ladling, grind and deburr castings, and move parts between molding, shakeout and finishing. The work is hea...
Pick and Place Robots: Matching the Robot to the Job
Pick and place robots move parts from one spot to another, over and over. For small, light parts at high speed, the usual choices are a delta robot...
Cutting Robots: Plasma, Waterjet, Laser and Fiberglass
Industrial robots cut metal, stone, fiberglass and plastic with a plasma torch, a waterjet nozzle, a laser head, a router spindle or a saw. The rob...
Robots for Machine Loading: What to Look For
A machine loading robot puts raw parts into a CNC, press or other machine and takes finished parts out. To pick one, add the part weight to the gri...
INDUSTRIAL ROBOT COMPONENTS
Teach Pendants on Used Robots: What Comes With the Robot and What to Check
Most of our used robot listings ship complete with the controller, teach pendant and cables, so you are not hunting for a pendant after the robot l...
Seventh Axis Tracks and Robot Transfer Units Explained
A seventh axis track, also called a robot transfer unit or RTU, is a floor rail with a moving carriage that carries a robot along its length. It le...
What a Robot Riser Does and When You Need One
A robot riser is a steel stand that bolts under the robot base and lifts the arm. You need one when the work sits higher than the robot reaches wel...
Robot Cable Sets: Matching Cables to Your Robot
A robot cable set is the group of cables that runs from the controller to the base of the arm, carrying motor power and encoder signals. To match o...
Reading FANUC Servo Amplifier Part Numbers
A FANUC servo amplifier is identified by the A06B part number on its label, such as A06B-6105-H002 or A06B-6114-H302. Order by that full number, ev...
Identifying the Right FANUC Servo Motor
To identify a FANUC servo motor, read the nameplate on the motor body. It shows the model name, such as aiS 8/4000, and the A06B specification numb...
KAWASAKI ROBOTS
Kawasaki Large Robots and Palletizers: BX, ZX, MX and CP Series
Kawasaki's large robots cover the heavy end of its lineup: the BX and ZX series of large general purpose arms, the MX series for high payloads, and...
KUKA ROBOTS
KUKA KR60 Jet and Gantry Mounted Robots
A gantry mounted robot hangs from an overhead linear axis instead of standing on the floor. The KUKA KR60 Jet is built this way: a 60 kg class robo...
KUKA KR Series Guide: KR6, KR16, KR30, KR60 and KR100
KUKA names its robots KR plus a number, and on a standard arm that number is the payload class in kilograms. A KR6 is a 6 kg class arm, a KR16 a 16...
OTHER ROBOTS
Used SCARA Robots: When They Beat a Six Axis Arm
A SCARA robot beats a six axis arm when the job is fast, flat and repetitive: picking parts off one surface and setting them on another, pressing i...
Collaborative Robots vs Traditional Industrial Robots
A collaborative robot is built to limit force and stop on contact, so some jobs can run next to people with less fixed guarding after a proper risk...
Universal Robots UR10: What Buyers Should Know
The Universal Robots UR10 is a six axis collaborative robot in the 10 kg payload class, the largest of UR's UR3, UR5 and UR10 models. It can work n...
PLANT EQUIPMENT
Buying a Used Forklift: Capacity, Power and Condition
When you buy a used forklift, start with the data plate. It gives the rated capacity at a stated load center and lift height, for the truck as it i...
Sizing a Used Air Compressor for Your Plant
To size an air compressor, add up the CFM every tool and machine draws at the pressure it needs, adjust for how many run at the same time, and add ...
PRESSES AND FABRICATION
Buying a Used Stamping Press: What to Check
Before you buy a used stamping press, check the frame for cracks, the clutch and brake for wear and stopping time, the crown for gear and bearing w...
Sizing a Press Brake for Your Work
Sizing a press brake comes down to two things: the tonnage it takes to bend your toughest part and the bed length to fit your longest one. Tonnage ...
Straight Side vs Gap Frame Presses
A gap frame press is open on the front and both sides, so it is easy to get at the die, but the frame opens up under load. A straight side press cl...
TOOLING
Building a Tooling Package for a Used Machine
A used machining center can show up with an empty tool changer. To make parts you need holders in the right taper, pull studs that match the drawba...
Boring Heads and Boring Bars Explained
A boring head is an adjustable holder that offsets the cutter so one tool can finish a range of hole sizes, set by a dial in fine steps. A boring b...
CAT 40 vs CAT 50 vs HSK: A Tool Holder Guide
CAT 40 and CAT 50 are steep taper tool holders that pull into the spindle by a pull stud. CAT 40 fits most vertical machining centers. CAT 50 is th...
YASKAWA MOTOMAN ROBOTS
Yaskawa Motoman DX-200 Industrial Robot Controller
The Motoman DX200 is a very powerful controller that has increased productivity thanks to its proven core software. It has a patented mul...
Yaskawa Motoman MH, MPL, SSF, HP and UP Robots
Yaskawa Motoman's MH, MPL, SSF, HP and UP robots cover a wide spread of jobs, from small handling arms to dedicated palletizers. On our floor in Im...
Motoman Controllers: NX100, DX100, DX200, YRC1000 and FS100
Yaskawa Motoman controllers run in this order from oldest to newest: NX100, DX100, DX200 and YRC1000. The FS100 is a separate compact controller fo...
Motoman EA Series Arc Welding Robots: EA1400N and EA1900N
The Motoman EA1400N and EA1900N are Yaskawa arc welding robots built to carry a MIG torch. The units we stock run on the NX100 controller. The EA14...