Yaskawa Electric Corporation (Representative Director and President: Hiroshi Ogasawara) has developed the MOTOMAN-MH5BM (load capacity: 5 kg), a six-axis vertical articulated robot that will be ideal for areas which require high levels of hygiene control such as the biomedical field, which includes drug discovery research, pharmaceutical and medical industry, as well as the beverage industry. The company starts sales of the MOTOMAN-MH5BM on November 1, 2016 (Tue).

To date, Yaskawa has been working on providing robotic solution for the biomedical field where automation is difficult and there has been no choice but to depend on manual work; such as experiments in drug discovery and R&D in the pharmaceutical industry; the sample preparation in clinical testing; and the cancer drugs compounding at hospitals.

Due to the increasing demands for further quality improvement, as well as safety and security today, the robots do not only have to realize automation, but also be able to deal with the biologically clean environments^*1 where hygiene conditions are strictly controlled.

To meet these needs, MOTOMAN-MH5BM has adopted a smooth and flash surface body design and offers a superb level of cleanability. With the new coating and surface finish, MH5BM is compatible with various decontamination methods using hydrogen oxide; wiping, VHP gas, and mist sprays.

*1: A sanitary environment which requires control over airborne particles and the enumeration of microbial populations.

（１）Designed for biologically clean environments

・Compatible with hydrogen peroxide decontamination (wiping, gas or mist sprays)

・Compatible with ultraviolet irradiation

・Conforms ISO 5 cleanroom standards

・Smooth body form to prevent the adhesion of dirt

・Elimination of the surface bolts allows easy cleaning

・Dust-proof and drip-proof structure (wrist axis: IP67; other axes: IP65)

（２）Optimal design for automation in biomedical applications

・A small, lightweight design that will fit in an isolator or safety cabinet

・Can be set any direction; Floor mount, wall mount, ceiling mount

・The hand cable is built-in to the end of the wrist axis to resolve the issues caused by externally routed hand cable, such as cable brake and contaminations of foreign matter

Various applications shown below that require sterile or hygienic environment; drug measurements and filling, material handling, packaging, testing, assembling, dispensing, cell culture or other procedures

・Drug discovery research　　　                   ・The manufacturing of drugs

・The manufacturing of medical devices　　   ・Healthcare and regenerative medicine

・The manufacturing of beverages