Meca500

A hand holds the black base and silver robotic arm, which is bent. — Fits right in your hand! Photo: Mecademic

Meca500 is the world's smallest, most compact 6-axis industrial robot arm. It's also one of the most precise. And with an embedded controller, it can easily be transported and set up in confined spaces.

Creator

Mecademic

Year

2015

Country

Canada 🇨🇦

Categories

Industrial

Features

A compact, 33cm tabletop silver robotic arm moves it's end effector towards the camera and then back. — See Meca500 move. Photos: Mecademic

Did you know?

The complete robot system can fit in a briefcase.

The robotic arm sits on a work tabletop and is bent over to grip a small die between its two fingers. — Size comparison: robot vs die. Photo: Mecademic

Meet the world's smallest six-axis industrial robot. Video: Mecademic

History

Meca500 was designed by a team led by Ilian Bonev at the École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS), in Quebec, Canada. A commercial version of the robot is currently offered by Mecademic and has found applications in aerospace, automotive, education and research, electronics, jewelry and watchmaking, lab automation, medical devices, and other industries.

The robot arm has a small yellow and green tool on its end, which it uses to do close and precise work on a black object on a tray. — Doing some precision work. Photo: Mecademic

Specs

Overview: 500-gram payload, 5 micrometers repeatability. Embedded controller in base.
Status: Ongoing
Year: 2015
Website: mecademic.com/en/meca500-robot-arm
Width: 9 cm
Height: 33 cm
Length: 33 cm
Weight: 4.5 kg
Speed: 7 km/h (arm speed)
Actuators: Maxon brushless DC motors
Degrees of Freedom (DoF): 6
Materials: Precision machined aluminum
Software: Custom control software
Power: 24-V DC (typical consumption is 100 watts)
Cost: $15,000