The SCARA acronym stands for Selective Compliant Assembly Robot Arm or Selective Compliant Articulated Robot Arm.

In general, traditional SCARA?s are 4-axis robot arms, i.e., they can move to any X-Y-Z coordinate within their work envelope. There is a fourth axis of motion which is the wrist rotate (Theta-Z). The ?X?, ?Y? and the ?Theta-Z? movements are obtained with three parallel-axis rotary joints. The vertical motion is usually an independent linear axis at the wrist or in the base. SCARA robots are used in assembly operations where the final move to insert the part is a single vertical move. Component insertion into printed circuit boards is an example. This is often called “vertical assembly”.

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