Yaskawa Motoman is one of the major robot brands in North American plants, best known for arc welding and material handling. Buying one used comes down to matching payload and reach to the job, knowing which controller generation comes with the arm, and confirming what ships with it. We keep used Motoman robots on our floor in Imlay City, Michigan.
Where Motoman Robots Earn Their Keep
Many used Motoman arms come out of welding lines. Motoman built a strong following in arc welding robots, and a lot of the used units on the market spent their working life running a MIG torch. Our write up on MIG welding industrial robots covers how those cells are laid out.
The bigger arms do material handling robots work: loading parts, moving heavy castings and stacking at the end of a line. Motoman's MPL robots are built for palletizing robots jobs, and the small arms are a common pick for machine tending robots next to a CNC. Everything we have in the brand is on our used Yaskawa Motoman robots page. If your plant standardized on another brand, we also carry deep stock of used FANUC robots.
How to Read a Motoman Model Name
On most Motoman handling robots the number in the model name is the payload class in kilograms. A GP25 is a 25 kg class robot, an MH50-II is a 50 kg class robot and a UP350N is a 350 kg class arm. The letters tell you the family. HP and UP are older general purpose lines, MH came after them, and GP is the current general purpose line.
An L at the end usually means a long arm. The GP280L carries 280 kg with 3,114 mm of reach, per our Motoman GP280L data sheet.
The arc welding models break that pattern. On the AR series the number tracks reach. Our Motoman AR2010 data sheet shows a 12 kg payload with 2,010 mm of reach. The EA welding robots we carry, the EA1400N and EA1900N, follow the same idea, and the 1900N is the longer reaching of the two.
Controller Generations
A Motoman robot is only as current as the controller it runs on. From oldest to newest, the main cabinets are the NX100, DX100, DX200 and YRC1000. The FS100 is the compact controller for small robots. Here is how our stock lines up, going by the listings:
- NX100: the EA1400N and EA1900N welding robots, the HP6, the UP350N and the SSF2000.
- DX100 and DX200: the MH50-II on a DX200, plus units on both controllers on our other Motoman page.
- YRC1000: listed on the GP280L data sheet. Our GP25 and GP280L listings do not name the controller, so ask us to confirm what ships.
- FS100: the MH5F.
If the robot is going into an existing line, check how it will talk to your PLC before you commit. Our guide to industrial robot I/O covers the basics.
What to Check Before You Buy
- Pendant and cables. Confirm the teach pendant and the robot connection cables between arm and controller are part of the deal. Length matters if the controller will sit outside the cell.
- Tooling. Most used robots come with no gripper, or with one built for somebody else's part. Plan your end of arm tooling early.
- Welding package. On a welding robot, ask whether the torch, wire feeder and power source are included. We also carry Lincoln 455M welding power supplies and a Pema robotic weld positioner.
- Parts. Check our robot parts and accessories for cables and dress packs, and ask us which items fit a Motoman.
- Freight and budget. Everything ships FOB Imlay City, Michigan, and the buyer arranges freight. Ask about equipment financing if you want to spread out the cost.
Motoman Robots We Carry
Stock moves fast. Click a model to see what is on the floor today.
- Yaskawa Motoman GP25: 25 kg class payload, 2021
- Yaskawa Motoman GP280L: 280 kg payload, 3,114 mm reach, 2022
- Yaskawa Motoman MH50-II: 50 kg payload, 2,061 mm reach, DX200
- Yaskawa Motoman MH5F: 5 kg class payload, FS100
- Yaskawa Motoman HP6: 6 kg class payload, NX100, 2005
- Yaskawa Motoman UP350N: 350 kg class payload, NX100, 2006
- Yaskawa Motoman EA1900N: arc welding robot, NX100, 2008
- Yaskawa Motoman EA1400N MIG welding cell: NX100, 2008
- Yaskawa Motoman EA1400N MIG welding robot: NX100, 2005
- Yaskawa Motoman SSF2000: NX100, 2008
- Other used Motoman robots: recently an MPL160II palletizer and units on DX100 and DX200 controllers
Selling Motoman Equipment?
We buy used robots and machinery, from a single arm to a whole plant. If a line is coming down, see how to sell your used robots to us, read about what RAB Industries buys, or ask about robot and machinery appraisals.
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- used FANUC robots buyer's guide