Dabbling with Dobots in Dallas

A few weeks ago, I packed my bags and hopped on a plane to Texas. My mission? Play with some robots; and just like everything else in Texas, these robots were on the bigger side.

I traveled down to Dallas for some hands-on, on-site training at Dobot’s new U.S. headquarters. With the expert guidance of our instructor, Zary (pictured above on the far left), I and four other trainees learned how to operate and program two of Dobot’s larger and more complex robotic arm models: the MG400 and the Magician E6.

The MG400 and Magician E6

You can think of the MG400 as a bigger, beefed-up version of the Dobot Magician and the Dobot Magician Lite, the two education-based Dobot units we provide here at STEM Education Works. Like these two units, the MG400 is classified as a 4-axis robot. This means that this robot can move its arm in the three dimensions of space (in the x, y, and z directions) and can additionally rotate its end effector around the z-axis. (So the math goes something like this: 3 linear dimensions + 1 rotational dimension = 4 degrees of freedom.)

The Magician E6 robotic arm was definitely my favorite, as the “6” in the name “E6” indicates that this model is a 6-axis robot. So not only can this robot move its arm in the three dimensions of space (in the x, y, and z directions), it can also rotate the end of its arm along all three rotational axes (along the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis). This means that this robot can reach any nook or cranny you throw at it and can be mounted either horizontally on a tabletop or vertically on a wall,  just like a true-blue, industrial-grade robotic arm you would find on a factory floor!

Uses for the new robots

While the Dobot Magician and Dobot Magician Lite units are designed to immerse younger students into the world of robotics and computer programming, the MG400 and the Magician E6 (along with their optional training table and PLC systems) are oriented more towards training career academy students, college students, and manufacturing technicians how to work with robotics systems on a truly professional level. As the age of Industry 4.0 becomes more and more of a reality, tools like this are becoming both more ubiquitous and more important than ever. We here at STEM Education Works are currently looking into adding both the MG400 and the Magician E6 to our product portfolio in the near future!

I had a great time in Dallas, not only playing with robots and machine learning software, but also savoring some of the best barbeque and Mexican cuisine Texas has to offer. (Could we teach a Dobot how to barbecue? I’ll look into that later…) A special thanks to Zary and Julie at Dobot for being wonderful hosts and putting on some excellent training sessions! If you’re interested in diving into the world of robotics education, check out the Dobot Magician and Dobot Magician Lite pages on our website, and perhaps soon, the MG400 and Magician E6!

Until next time.

 – Dr. Jake Roark