Does anyone have experience using the IIWA in a production environment?   If so, how does it compare to the UR?  I have not seen very many videos on YouTube of the robot working in an actual production environment.  Most of the videos appear to be demo type videos of what it might be capable of doing.  Also, how is the pricing on these?  Kuka has been slow to respond to requests even though they are supposed to call me back later in the week...

@Samuel_Bouchard we are just looking to see how it compares in functionality and price with the UR.  I like the higher payload of 7kg for a comparable size to the UR5 as there are times where we find ourselves needing the UR10 not for the reach but the payload capacity in some of the workers we are looking to hire out.

@matthewd92 we're trying to implement a machine tending process, surface quality and physical properties study of components projects with our KUKA iiwa, all intended for production side. Other than the alien java language software (for me) and the communication, I'd say this robot has full advantage over the cobot competitors. (Except payload of Fanuc - you cannot just beat that)

Our UR10 is the cheapest we have. And with that many factors come in hand. Limited options to communicate, No solenoid, not rigidity in arm, vibration prone, etc.

When I connect the robotiq gripper and compare in both robots, UR10 seems like it's vibrating a bit. In the case of the study of the surface, both robots compared, and the variations were quite astounding.

Cheap may come with a hidden price tag.

Also, not saying UR10 is the worst robot, but production side will kill us if we send something that sometimes work and other 9 times don't.

@WalterPintor how does the price compare to the UR10?  I have reached out to Kuka several times for quotes and more information.  The one time they did call I was upside down under a robot and asked them to call me back the next day....never heard from them again even though I have sent it more requests. Very disappointed in their level of support, at least here in the states.

When you connected the gripper to the UR10 did you adjust the TCP payload and CG settings?  If not, you will get some vibration as the robot tries to counteract gravity.  I actually use a gram scale to weigh all of my end effectors including the bolts to get as accurate as possible to get the best performance possible.

We have had some UR10's and UR5's running in production, 10 hours a day for a year and half without any real issues from the robots.  We currently have a UR5 that runs on average 15-18 hours per day, 5-6 days a week and the robot has been free from mechanical issues (had a bug in the software that would cause an issue but they found it and fixed it and haven't seen that issue since) and it runs around 90% max speed and 80% max acceleration through its entire operation of running a punch press.  Knock on wood now that I am bragging on it..... 

@matthewd92 in my opinion IIwa is like a measure instrument. It can be useful if you need high touching sensitive with a lot of function for manage this features with software. Regarding UR we have hundred application installed and trust me no big issues at all. Our experience told us that you have to have deep application analysis for first step in project management and remember to program UR in UR philosophy you will be ok. If you want to program UR like Fanuc Kuka or wathever you will have a lot of problems.

@Fabio_Facchinetti thanks for sharing your opinion.  I agree about the UR programming, if you follow their philosophy and program it the way that it is designed to work they are great little workers.  We have very few problems in production once you work around their requirements for how they want to function.

I'll have to quote because I saw some interesting points. 

@WalterPintor how does the price compare to the UR10? I have reached out to Kuka several times for quotes and more information.

We currently have a UR5 that runs on average 15-18 hours per day, 5-6 days a week and the robot has been free from mechanical issues (had a bug in the software that would cause an issue but they found it and fixed it and haven't seen that issue since) and it runs around 90% max speed and 80% max acceleration through its entire operation of running a punch press.  Knock on wood now that I am bragging on it..... 

I agree about the UR programming, if you follow their philosophy and program it the way that it is designed to work they are great little workers.

Guys 

In the interests of fairness , please take a look at the attached video link, real application, real Human Robot Collaboration, no guarding.

https://youtu.be/OxNC8yvsZ6s

@bernard, thank you for sharing the video and the application!

Could you share a few details regarding the application? How does the robot detect the contact with the human during the assembly task? Is this contact detected by the iiwa and how would you configure this function in a program? 

Are there any external safety sensors used in this application? 

Could you share some details regarding the tooling that is mounted on the iiwa's media flange? Is this electrical or pneumatic?