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Sepro America is marking a new phase of its ´óÏó´«Ã½ development in this hemisphere with the display of its one of the first Sepro robots “made in America.” As a result of a recent expansion doubling the size of its facility in Warrendale, Pa., Sepro America is now building large Cartesian robots in the U.S., the company’s first manufacturing outside its home plant in France.

The five-axis 7X-45 model on display (equipped with a Staubli servo wrist) is one of the first of 40 large robots planned to be built in Warrendale this year. It’s one of 15 Sepro robots at the show, six in its own booth with the others at those of molding machine suppliers—Absolute Haitian, Sumitomo Demag, Toshiba, Maruka/Toyo, Billion, and more.

Other new developments shown by Sepro include retrofittable apps for its Sepro Visual controls, such as OptiCycle, a “plug-in” that uses “expert logic” to help users optimize robot and machine cycles, potentially achieving up to 40% faster robot in/out cycles and 5-10% shorter overall molding cycles. Another new app is Live Support, which links robots with remote troubleshooting assistance.

Sepro is also showing six-axis articulated-arm robots, including a 6X-170, one of the smaller Yaskawa-Motoman units added to Sepro’s line last year. Sepro also offers six-axis robots from Stäubli.