We are now firmly within the age of automation. As a result, the question of robotic vs manual welding is now on the debating table more clearly than ever before.

Which reigns supreme? Robots or human welders?

On one side of the table we have manual welding. The tried and tested method of welding, backed by decades of precedence and the skill and intuition of seasoned craftspeople.

On the other side of the table, we have robotic welding. The newest contender for best welding method. It boasts precision, productivity, and relentless consistency.

Let’s settle this debate once and for all…

Which welding method comes on top?

The 7 Debate Categories to Spark Discussion

As manufacturers, welding is a crucial aspect of many production processes. It can play a major role in determining the quality of your products.

When you look at your process, which categories can you use to compare manual welding with robotic welding?

Here are 7 categories that we’ll be using to compare the two methods:

1. Speed and Efficiency — The speed and efficiency of a welding method determines how productive your welding process can be. It is a crucial category in the debate.
2. Weld Quality — The quality of your welds influences both customer satisfaction and product reliability.
3. Flexibility — The ability to adapt to different projects quickly is important in a dynamic manufacturing environment.
4. Cost — As a significant factor in all business decisions, cost considerations include not only the initial expense but ongoing running costs.
5. Risks — Every production method carries risks, both physical and non-physical. From worker injury to cost of inaction, various risks affect welding.
6. Detail and Precision — It’s important to discuss the level of detail each method can achieve, particularly for products requiring fine details.
7. Problem Detection — Each method will have a different level of ability at detecting and resolving problems. Faster detection means fewer delays in production.

In the debate points below, we will draw from these 7 categories to compare manual and robotic welding.

Manual Welding: Traditional, Reliable and Adaptable

In the arena of welding techniques, manual welding holds its ground as a traditional, reliable, and highly adaptable method.

Let’s start the debate with manual welding’s biggest strength: flexibility.

For flexibility, manual welding certainly outperforms its robotic counterpart. Human welders can seamlessly shift between projects without the need for extensive reconfiguration. This makes manual welding particularly suited to custom orders and one-off jobs.

Humans are adaptable. This is also why manual welding can be better at problem detection. Adapting a robot requires the input of humans.

The cost of manual welding can also be quite low, particularly the upfront cost. Unless you have to hire new welding professionals — which can be costly and difficult given the skills shortage — manual welding is a process that has familiar costs.

It’s true that there are some disadvantages to manual welding. Increased risk of worker injury is certainly something to consider, as well as lower precision and an inconsistent weld quality.

However, manual welding truly excels for custom, artisan welding jobs that would require extensive programming to do with a robot.

Robotic Welding: Efficient, Precise and Consistent

Robotic welding is the “new kid on the block” — the welding method that is set to become a core part of any welding process. It is a force to be reckoned with in the world of manufacturing.

We can’t talk about robotic welding without mentioning its consistency. Robots are extremely consistent, producing the same high-quality welds time and time again. With this consistency comes faster, more precise welds, and a lower cost per weld over the long term.

While robots tend to be less effective at detecting problems on-the-fly than humans, they are also less likely to make errors as they are not subject to tiredness. Robots also don’t need breaks, so can be hugely more productive than manual welding.

It’s true that robots are less flexible than humans. However, this is why robotic welding is so well suited to routine, higher-volume welding tasks.

Using robots for welding also reduces the potential physical risks, as the human worker is no longer operating dangerous welding machinery. This helps to make the workplace a safer environment for all.

The Verdict: Which Welding Method Strikes the Hottest Iron?

The debate points have been made… so which method is best? Manual welding or robotic welding?

Let’s look at each of our 7 debate categories:

1. Speed and Efficiency — Robotic welding has the upper hand with a quicker work rate and higher output. However, this is less valuable on low-volume, custom jobs.
2. Weld Quality — Robots are a clear winner with consistent high-quality welds.
3. Flexibility — Manual welding wins in this category. Human workers can easily shift between projects without reconfiguration.
4. Cost — Let’s call this one a draw. There are many factors that affect the cost of the welding method, including labor costs, machine maintenance costs, and the varying upfront costs of robotic hardware.
5. Risks — There are risks with both methods. However, with robotic welding, the physical safety risks are significantly reduced compared to manual welding.
6. Detail and Precision — Robots tend to be more consistently precise than humans, so robot welding is a strong contender. But, for artisan-type detail, manual welding is usually the better option.
7. Problem Detection — Humans are often better at detecting and responding quickly to problems… however, they are also likely to make more mistakes than robotic welding.

The conclusion? While manual welding offers more flexibility and problem detection, these don’t fully offset the advantages offered by robotic welding.

Which Method Should You Choose?

Ultimately, the decision between manual and robotic welding comes down to your specific manufacturing needs.

If you are producing one-off, custom welds that require artisan levels of skill, manual welding will certainly be your best bet. But, if you have more consistent welding needs, robotic welding is surely a top contender.

As with many business decisions, there is no definitive answer to the debate of robot welding vs manual welding.

But, you can make your robot programming easy by using RoboDK and our Welding Add-in.

Which welding methods do you use in your business? Tell us in the comments below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or in the RoboDK Forum.. Also, check out our extensive video collection and subscribe to the RoboDK YouTube Channel

The post The Heated Debate: Robot Welding vs Manual Welding? appeared first on RoboDK blog.

The process requires skilled technicians to create the parts needed using specialized tools and equipment. This is often slow and expensive, which limits the quantity of parts that composite manufacturers can make.

The Composites & Automated Solutions group at Fives has developed a technology that allows their customers to create composite parts using a robotic fiber placement head. This technology provides a lower-cost entry point into the composite lay-up process, making it easier for manufacturers to create the parts they need.

This has the potential to significantly improve the composite lay-up process for Fives’ customers. Robotic solutions like this can help more companies to get the benefits of automation and compete in their markets.

Ultimately, this benefits the end users of the created products, in this case aerospace companies.

Here’s how Fives Group used RoboDK to create their new solution.

Why Aerospace Needs Close Tolerances for Fiber Placement

The aerospace industry has notoriously strict quality requirements and tighter tolerances than many other industries. Aircraft manufacturing involves a delicate balance between strength and weight. There is less margin for error than in other industries, where safety can be assured by a high safety factor – with an aircraft, you need to know you’re building it right.

These strict requirements make it especially necessary to use high-quality materials and manufacturing processes.

Fiber placement is one such process that requires tight tolerances. The accurate placement of fibers in a composite part is critical to the strength and durability of the finished product, such as an airplane wing.

Composites play an important role in reducing the weight of aircraft, helping to improve fuel efficiency and reduce environmental impact. Fiber-reinforced plastics are used widely in the aerospace industry because of their high strength-to-weight ratios.

A challenge is that fiber placement is a labor-intensive process. A single part can contain thousands of fibers, which would be almost impossible to place manually.

Automated fiber placement is a process where automated machinery is used to create multi-layered composite products.

Introducing Fives Group and High Precision Machines

Fives Group is a multinational industrial engineering group that offers innovative solutions and products to help major industry leaders boost their performance.

The company’s philosophy is that industry is the answer to the major issues in the modern world, such as environmental, societal, and economic challenges.

High Precision Machines group is one group within Fives. It is dedicated to developing manufacturing machinery that meets the most stringent requirements of accuracy, repeatability, and reliability.

Their technologies include solutions for material removal, composites and automated solutions, grinding, cutting, filling, sealing, and laser systems.

The group is always looking for new ways to help their customers improve their processes. This can mean creating solutions that do things differently from the existing options on the market, as with this project.

Robotic Fiber Placement

One challenge for manufacturers is that composite lay-up processes are often complex and expensive. Automation is necessary, but the cost of entry can be prohibitive for some companies and manufacturing groups.

Amanda Kotchon, Controls Engineer at Fives, explains:

We wanted to provide a lower-cost entry point into the composite lay-up market by allowing end users to quickly make complex parts to within aerospace tolerances.

To do this, the group decided to use robots for the labor-intensive process of fiber placement, in a project titled the Cincinnati Robotic Viper.

They needed to program their robots in an offline programming environment. But the problem was that the robotic systems on the market didn’t allow for accurate programming.

Kotchon continues:

When we started the project, most robot manufacturers weren’t offering accurate or corrected models of their robots.

The assumption was that your purchased robot perfectly matched the nominal geometry — which we know to be untrue.

This led to the team seeing positioning errors in the order of 1-10 mm for most off-the-shelf robots, which was not acceptable for their process. Their application required them to accurately synchronize hundreds of points at very high speeds — within milliseconds — to meet the required process speeds.

They wanted a solution that wasn’t locked into the robot manufacturer’s ecosystem.

Where RoboDK came in

RoboDK offered the team a flexible platform that gave them the accuracy and ease-of-use that they needed.

The calibration features of RoboDK were a core benefit of using the platform. Calibration is one of the platform’s powerful features. It allows you to quickly and easily improve the accuracy of almost any industrial robot.

For Fives Group, RoboDK’s calibration features gave them the control they needed to meet their tight tolerances.

Kotochon says:

RoboDK has been very helpful by not just providing calibration software, but giving us insight into the root causes of robot behavior and sources of error in the machine motion.

We appreciate RoboDK’s willingness to work side-by-side with us as we developed our application and to deep dive into robot mechanics to come up with creative solutions to new challenges.

The Team’s Robotic Setup

We always like to see how our users set up their robotic hardware and software for maximum efficiency.

Here are the components of their system:

The Robotic Hardware

The solution is based on these two core hardware components:

• An ABB IRB 8700 robot.
• A custom end effector for placing the fibers.

The Robotic Software

The core software components of the system are:

• B&R control platform. This supports easy integration with their ABB robot and also COMAU robots.
• The team’s ACES software, which determines the optimal carbon fiber placement and part geometry using the customer’s part data.
• A specially customized version of RoboDK to calibrate the robot and correct robot motions using the generated calibration.

How the System Works

The solution can produce complex curved composite parts.

To achieve the required path and position accuracy, the team begins by using the RoboDK calibration. This resolves the differences between each “as-built” industrial robot and the ideal robot model. Each robot in the system then receives its own unique corrected adjustments.

The system synchronizes 16 separate motorized tape spools and cutters with the generated robot paths. They achieve this with a combination of the robotic fiber placement head and the company’s software.

The path is synchronized with process data on the team’s B&R controller. This allows them to precisely time the thousands of input-output events that need to happen during the fiber placement process.

Who is the ideal user for Fives’ Composite Lay-Up Solution?

With this project, Fives Group aims to provide a lower-cost entry point to composite lay-up projects. Through the use of a robot arm, calibrated to aerospace tolerances.

Brent Keller, the Engineering Director of the High Precision Machines group, explains the perfect user for this solution sits in an underserved gap in the market:

This solution is ideal for an end user looking for a motion platform with position accuracy, which fills the gap between “off the shelf” robotic systems and Cartesian machine tool platforms.

In the future, the group plan to expand their use of robotic platforms in composite lay-up and automation.

In which applications do you require higher accuracy? Tell us in the comments below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or in the RoboDK Forum.. Also, check out our extensive video collection and subscribe to the RoboDK YouTube Channel

The post How Fives Group is Changing Composite Lay-Up with RoboDK appeared first on RoboDK blog.

hyperMILL is a CAM program designed for such specialist milling applications. It helps machinists in a range of industries to create high-precision machining paths easily and intuitively. When you combine it with RoboDK, you can achieve large-scale milling projects quickly and easily.

Like many machinists, you might be looking for a way to reduce the cost of your milling and achieve more with the same equipment. More and more these days, machinists are recognizing that robots are a powerful tool when you want to streamline your operations.

Robotic machining is the next logical step for many machining applications, particularly multi-axis milling, which is ideal for robots for reasons we outline below.

But, what if you don’t have experience with robots?

How can you integrate your hyperMILL milling project with a robot?

The RoboDK plugin makes the entire process easy.

What is hyperMILL?

HyperMILL is a Computer-Aided Machining (CAM) program developed by Open Mind, a software company based in Wessling, Germany. Open Mind has 17 subsidiaries across the world. HyperMILL is used extensively across industries, including automotive, aerospace, and energy.

The core user base for hyperMILL is machinists. The software tool can apply to many common application areas for CNC milling, such as modeling, prototyping, tool and mold making, and production. It has a wide range of features to support multi-axis milling, including collision avoidance, roughing, drilling, finishing, and many more.

Open Mind also provides a Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software, hyperCAD-S. They also targeted this at machinist and NC programmers. It makes the design process easier for these people who are less familiar with CAD programs than product designers.

Why Robotic Machining is the Next Step in Multi-Axis Milling

Despite hyperMILL’s impressive selection of features, there is one thing that it doesn’t support — robot machining.

This makes sense. One software can’t (and shouldn’t) do absolutely everything that you might need to do as a machinist. Software products that try to be “everything to everyone” often end up being less useful than specialist softwares. HyperMILL specializes in multi-axis milling, which is its area of great strength.

But, as a machinist, you can’t ignore robot machining.

Robots have some compelling benefits over conventional CNC machining. This is particularly true for multi-axis milling of large workpieces, such as propellers, turbine blades, and large tubes.

One benefit is that robots have a much larger workspace than conventional CNC machines. They are also more flexible. With a conventional CNC machine, you might have to run several milling operations — with manual changeovers in between — to achieve the same level of processing that you could achieve with one robotic operation. This ability to run multiple machining paths with the same robotic setup also makes robotic milling cheaper than with conventional machines.

What is RoboDK?

RoboDK is a highly popular, flexible robot programming software.

People use the software across an extensive range of industries and it is compatible with hundreds of robot models from dozens of manufacturers. Its intuitive interface makes RoboDK perfect for expert roboticists and new robot users alike.

RoboDK excels at robot machining. Its integrated machining wizard makes it very easy to convert your machining paths to accurate robot motions.

Introducing… the RoboDK hyperMILL Plugin

At RoboDK, we are devoted to making robot programming easy for anyone, no matter what CAD/CAM program you personally prefer to use.

Our hyperMILL plugin now brings this easy robot programming workflow to users of this powerful CAM package.

How to Access the hyperMILL Plugin

To add the RoboDK plugin to your copy of hyperMILL, simply download the plugin, as described on the documentation page and install it as an “AddIn” to hyperMILL.

Unlike with most of our other plugins, the interface doesn’t appear in hyperMILL as a new panel. Instead, it shows up in the right-click menu within hyperMILL

The hyperMILL-RoboDK Workflow

Using hyperMILL and RoboDK together is very easy.

Once you have developed your machining job in hyperMILL, you send the path to your robot with the following sequence of steps:

1. Right click on your machining job.
2. Select the AddIns menu.
3. Select the RoboDK AddIn.

This will send your machining path to RoboDK, which will create a robot program for the robot that you have set up in RoboDK.

How Will I Know if My Machining Path is Possible with my Robot?

Within hyperMILL, it would not be immediately obvious if your programmed machining path was achievable with the robot machining.

For this reason, we’ve added a feature that includes a green check mark if the machining operation will be possible with your robot setup. If there are any issues, a red mark will appear. You can then go into RoboDK and solve the problem in its simple GUI interface.

What Types of Milling Can You Do with the Plugin?

If your particular robot setup supports your machining path, you can do almost any milling application that you can think of with RoboDK.

Of course, a robot is not always the optimal tool for all milling tasks, which is to be expected.

Some tasks would be better with a conventional CNC machine. For example, if your milling task requires nanometer accuracy or needs a very high stiffness, a conventional machine might be a better option. But many tasks are very suitable for RoboDK and robotic machining with hyperMILL.

Examples of tasks that can benefit from robotic machining are:

• Impeller and blisk milling — These rotors are used to increase pressure and flow of a fluid. They can be huge, so the large workspace of robots is very helpful.

• Turbine blades — As with impellers, turbine blades can be huge so benefit from the robot’s large workspace. Some RoboDK users also use the software for turbine blade inspection.

• Tube milling — RoboDK has already been very successfully applied to tube and pipe milling. Its flexibility really helps with the process.

• Surface milling — hyperMILL specializes in milling complex surface geometries. The flexibility of a robot helps with such geometries, as they can reach the surface from more varied angles than a conventional milling machine.

How to Start Using the hyperMILL RoboDK Plugin Today

Want to get started using hyperMILL for robot programming?

Just go to the documentation page for detailed instructions on how to install and use the RoboDK plugin for hyperMILL.

What tasks do you use hyperMILL for the most? Tell us in the comments below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or in the RoboDK Forum. Also, check out our extensive video collection and subscribe to the RoboDK YouTube Channel.

The post Master Modular Multi-Axis Milling with the hyperMILL Plugin appeared first on RoboDK blog.

The question many manufacturers are asking themselves is “is now the time to buy new technology”?

Technologies like robotics — and associated technologies like robot programming software — can help you grow and improve your manufacturing processes. But you first need to identify if robotics is the right technology for you.

There are several factors you need to consider before deciding on any new manufacturing technology.

Let’s take a closer look at some of those factors.

How to tell if your current technology is outdated

In terms of investing back into your business, one of the biggest challenges for many manufacturers is knowing when the current technology is outdated.

Are you in danger of stagnating if you don’t keep up with the latest automation technologies on the market?

Here are a few signs it may be time for you to consider investing in innovation and new technology:

• You’re relying on manual processes. If your manufacturing process still relies heavily on manual work, you may not be making the best use of your resources.

• Your competitors are outpacing you. It’s likely that your competitors are already adopting at least some automation technologies. If you don’t join them, you risk being left behind.

• You’re struggling to meet customer demands. If your customers are demanding faster turnaround times, bigger order sizes, or higher quality products, automation can help you meet those demands.

• Your current technology is nearing its end-of-life. Even the best technology will eventually become outdated. Legacy equipment can become a risk so it’s worth checking how long your current technology has left.

• You’re facing financial constraints. Investing in new technology can be costly, but it usually saves you money in the long run.

Deciding to invest in new technology isn’t always easy. But remember that automation technologies can help you improve your efficiency, reduce costs, and stay ahead of your competition.

What factors to consider before investing in new technology

There are several factors to consider when investing in any new technology for your manufacturing business.

These include:

• Cost — How much will the new technology cost initially and on an ongoing basis? It’s important to balance the upfront costs with the savings you’re likely to make in the long run. And be aware of any hidden or non-obvious costs the technology could incur.

• Impact — It’s undeniable, new technology can be disruptive. Although robots are often less disruptive than other forms of automation, you need to weigh the benefits with the risks of such disruptions.

• Compatibility — Ideally, any new technology will be compatible with your existing systems. This is where a technology like robotics can strongly surpass other forms of automation. Robotic systems are very versatile and usually easy to integrate with other processes.

• Training — Your team members will also need to have the skills to use the new technology. Compared to other forms of technology, robots often require less training, as long as you use a programming software designed for ease-of-use.

• Implementation — Whatever technology you choose, you will need to have a plan in place for how you will integrate it into your existing operations. This includes everything from installing the software to physically installing the machinery./

Any new technology will require a period of adaption for your teams. By planning the integration well, and considering the relevant factors, you maximize your chance for success.

Why choose robotics over other manufacturing technology

There are a lot of options to choose from when you’re looking for new technology for your manufacturing business. Picking the right technology can help your manufacturing business by streamlining processes, saving time and money, improving productivity, and expanding the business.

But which new technology should you choose?

An increasingly popular option is robotic automation technology.

You can apply robots to a vast range of manufacturing processes, from classic assembly line production to newer applications like robot machining. Most times, robots can be a more cost-effective option than investing in new CNC machines or other types of technology.

A key when using robotic technology is to choose the right robot programming software. This will enable you to take full advantage of the capabilities of your robot while making your life easy in the programming stage. This is one aspect of robotics that new users often overlook, leading to them spending more time, budget, and effort integrating the robot than is really necessary.

How new technology will impact the future of manufacturing

The future of any industry is difficult to predict. But, judging from past performance, it seems likely that robotic technology will continue to make waves in the manufacturing sector.

In recent years, there has been a strong trend towards more automated production amid widespread labor shortages. Robots are increasingly taking the roles of workers for dull, dirty, and dangerous tasks. This trend seems likely to continue as businesses invest in technology that can help them improve efficiency and cut costs.

This move towards automation is creating various shifts in manufacturing. For example, it moves away people from the more unpleasant parts of the job and instead they take on more skilled roles. With new easy-programming options, robot programming can be part of this upskilling effort, helping workers to progress to more future-proof, rewarding jobs.

What new technologies are you considering for your manufacturing business? Tell us in the comments below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or in the RoboDK Forum. Also, check out our extensive video collection and subscribe to the RoboDK YouTube Channel

The post Is Now the Time to Buy New Manufacturing Technology? appeared first on RoboDK blog.

BobCAD-CAM is a design software created for machinists by machinists. With our new RoboDK Plugin, you can seamlessly machine complex paths with a robot without leaving the familiar BobCAD interface.

Robotics is no longer just a “nice to have” in the manufacturing industry. You have probably noticed that the discussion about robotics has moved away from “Is robotics a good idea?” to “Is this the right time for us to invest in robotics?”

Perhaps you assume that, as a machinist, you don’t have the skills to deploy a robot in your process?

Perhaps you are unsure of what applications you could achieve with a robot?

There is good news. Robots are ideal for a new type of machining called robotic machining. If you’re familiar with CAD/CAM programs like the popular BobCAD-CAM, you can easily learn to program a robot for machining tasks… when you use the right plugin.

What is BobCAD-CAM?

BobCAD-CAM is a powerful mechanical design and machining software targeted at machinists. The software is available as a stand-alone product or as an add-on to other popular CAD programs, including Rhino 3D and SolidWorks.

The company is based in Tampa, Florida, USA. Since 1985, they have been developing affordable software for manufacturers. BobCAD-CAM differentiates itself from other CAD/CAM software packages in that machinists designed it and it specifically caters to the needs of machinists.

The company has 3 core products: BobCAD-CAM, BobCAD-CAM for SolidWorks, and BobCAD-CAM for Rhino.

Various modules of the software are available, including CAD design, 2 thru 5 axis milling, turning, wire EDM, routing, laser, plasma and waterjet cutting. There is even a dedicated art module to serve the increasingly popular intersection between manufacturing and art.

If you are a machinist and you’re using BobCAD-CAM, you will already be very familiar with its interface.

But you might be less comfortable with the idea of machining with a robot…

Why Use Robots for Machining?

Robot machining is an increasingly interesting application for machinists. It involves using a robot to mill the machining paths instead of a conventional CNC machine.

Though it might sound surprising, robot machining can outperform a CNC machine in some situations.

There are a few core benefits of using robot machining:

• Robots are cheaper than conventional CNC machining, particularly for large or complex machining projects.
• It is more flexible than conventional machining. You can achieve a wider range of machining tasks with a single robot. With conventional CNC machines, this would require multiple machines.
• A single machining robot will use a lot less floorspace than several conventional CNC machines.

But you might be uncertain whether you have the skills to apply robotics to your machining task.

According to Udo Jahn, the General Manager of Modern Engineering, fear is the downfall of many CNC machining businesses. It causes people to hold on to their old legacy equipment, leading to poor productivity.

The fact, robotic machining is here to stay. You can take your machining business to the next level through the knowledgeable application of robotics.

What do you need to do to make the most out of robots?

For many situations, just having the right robot programming software is a great start.

What is RoboDK?

RoboDK is a highly popular, flexible robot programming and simulation software.

People use the software across an extensive range of industries, and it is compatible with hundreds of robot models from dozens of manufacturers. Its intuitive interface makes RoboDK perfect for expert roboticists and new robot users alike.

RoboDK excels at robot machining. Its integrated machining wizard makes it very easy to convert your machining paths to accurate robot motions.

Introducing… the RoboDK BobCAD-CAM Plugin

Here at RoboDK, we are committed to making robot programming as easy as possible for anyone, no matter what software you are already using.

The BobCAD-CAM plugin combines the robust features of this machining-focused software with RoboDK’s powerful robot programming features. It allows you to seamlessly generate robot machining paths from right within the familiar BobCAD-CAM interface.

You can access the main functionality of the plugin via the new panel that is added to BobCAD-CAM when you install it.

The panel includes 4 core buttons:

• Robot Setup — This launches RoboDK and creates a default robot machining project.
• Update Operations — When you change your machining toolpath in BobCAD-CAM, this button sends the new path directly to RoboDK and regenerates the robot program.
• Generate Program — If you have only made some minor edits, you can use this button to generate the robot program.
• Settings — This button brings up the plugin’s settings panel. This allows you to set parameters, such as whether the machine axis should be inverted, if you are coding in APT or GCODE, or if you are using metric or imperial measurements.

What You Can Achieve with BobCAD-CAM and RoboDK

Using BobCAD-CAM together with RoboDK is the perfect way to get started with robot machining.

It allows you to piggyback on your existing experience with this powerful machining software, giving you the functionality you need to program robots for machining tasks.

By moving to a robot machining process, you can reduce the cost of your machining for large workspace machining tasks compared to performing the same tasks with conventional CNC machines.

How to Start Using the BobCAD-CAM Plugin Today

What do you need to do to use the RoboDK BobCAD-CAM plugin?

If you haven’t already, the first step is to download a free trial copy of the latest version of RoboDK.

Then, head over to the BobCAD-CAM plugin documentation page to see more about how to install and use the plugin with your copy of BobCAD-CAM.

What features do you most often use BobCAD-CAM for? Tell us in the comments below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or in the RoboDK Forum.. Also, check out our extensive video collection and subscribe to the RoboDK YouTube Channel

The post Easy Robot Machining with the BobCAD-CAM Plugin appeared first on RoboDK blog.

When you are working with any industrial machinery, safety is a prime concern. Although the number of injury cases is generally low, this can only be because we continue to prioritize safety so highly.

Collaborative robots (aka cobots) are a specific type of robot that has become more popular in the past 10-15 years. Cobots hold the promise that they are inherently safe… but is this true?

There are a few things you need to know about collaborative robot safety before you can safely start to use cobots in your business…

Do Collaborative Robots Need a Safety Fence?

The much-advertised benefit of collaborative robots is that they don’t require a safety fence.

Robot safety fences can be a nuisance. They are large, bulky, awkward to install, and steal a lot of valuable real estate from your facility floor. As a result, it would be great if you could dispense with safety fences completely and just use the robot without one.

But, can cobots really operate without a safety fence?

The basic answer is… yes.

Cobots can operate without a safety fence, but only in specific situations.

It’s not true that you can dispense with fences completely with cobots. There are plenty of applications that require extra safety measures no matter what type of robot you are using. Even if you don’t need a fence, you might need extra safety sensors to ensure your robot meets the required safety standards for your application.

The Important Collaborative Robot Safety Standards

What safety standards do you need to become familiar with when you are using collaborative robots?

There is one main international standard for cobots. Then, there will be country-specific guidelines and recommendations depending on where you are in the world.

ISO/TS 15066 — Collaborative Robots

The main standard that you need to know about collaborative robotics is ISO/TS 15066. This standard was first released in 2016 by the International Standards Organization (ISO).

It specifies the safety requirements for collaborative industrial robot systems and guidance on the safe operation of cobots. A robot that has been manufactured in accordance with this standard will include specific features to aid safety, such as integrated safety sensing, speed limits, and force limits.

Country-specific Robotic Safety Guidelines

As well as cobot safety standards, your robotic applications will also need to adhere to your country’s specific guidelines for working with robotic equipment.

These guidelines are unlikely to address collaborative robots directly (although they might) but they will give you actionable advice on how to ensure your robot application is safe.

For example, in the United States of America, there are two sets of guidelines that are relevant

• NIOSH Guidelines for Robot Safety — These are published by the research agency National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
• OSHA Robot Safety Guidelines — These are the legal requirements for workplace safety in the USA, published by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

5 Questions to Determine If you Need a Robot Safety Fence

A key decision you will make when deploying a new robot to your facility is whether you should add a safety fence or safety sensors.

With conventional industrial robots, the answer is almost certainly — Yes. There are very few applications where non-collaborative robots are safe without a fence or sensors. With collaborative robots, you will need to ask yourself a few questions to determine if you need safety fences or sensors.

Some useful questions are:

• Is the robot holding a dangerous object? Even cobots can’t be safe around humans if they are holding a dangerous object. For example, if the cobot is manipulating heavy items that could easily fall and hurt someone, or if the item is sharp, or chemically dangerous, it will likely require extra safety measures.

• Is it moving faster than the safe speed? Cobots have a designated safety speed limit. This is why they often seem to move slowly. You can surpass this speed limit to improve task performance, but a safety fence will likely be required.

• Could items slip or move in its grasp? If the robot is manipulating items that could slip and fall, this is a sign of potential danger. The level of risk will depend on the type of object that is being manipulated.

• Is there a dangerous end effector? It’s possible to use collaborative robots for more dangerous process tasks, like welding or painting. In this case, the end effector itself is a hazard so safety measures are required.

• Have you done a risk assessment? All robot applications require a risk assessment, whether they are collaborative robots or not. With cobots, this is especially important as the assessment will help you determine whether measures like a safety fence are needed.

How to Conduct the Design and Deployment for Cobot Safety

When is the best time to start thinking about cobot safety?

The basic answer is… as soon as possible. Even before you purchase a cobot, you should be thinking about the safety implications of your specific application.

If it turns out that your task requires a safety fence, it could suggest that other types of robots are also suitable. Similarly, by considering a cobot rather than another industrial robot, you may find that you don’t need a safety fence.

There are two main phases where cobot safety is useful to think about:

• Design — In the design phase, you will want to assess the task for any potential risks. You can try out different robots and configurations in a robot simulator to identify the causes of any risks and mitigation strategies.

• Deployment — During the deployment itself, you will want to recheck the risk assessment that you performed during the design phase and identify if anything needs to be changed or updated.

Maybe you will need a safety fence or maybe not. The only way to find out is to be conscious of safety issues throughout the design and deployment of your robot cell.

When you identify potential cobot safety issues early, you can mitigate them without it impacting the productivity of your robot.

What aspects of cobot safety concern you? Tell us in the comments below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or in the RoboDK Forum.

The post What You Need to Know About Collaborative Robot Safety appeared first on RoboDK blog.

If you haven’t deployed assembly robots already, you might wonder if they are suitable for your electronics business.

What do your competitors already know about assembly robots?

The electronics industry is currently one of the most rapidly growing industries for robot usage. After the impacts of the 2020 global pandemic, signs indicate that demand for robots in the industry is rising as electronics companies seek to improve their operations and increase productivity.

Across the industry, companies are using robotic automation to streamline their assembly processes.

Are you missing out if you don’t use electronics assembly robots?

Don’t Assembly Robots Require a Lot of Investment?

If you haven’t invested in assembly robots already, you might be wondering if they are the right way to spend your budget.

Like any new technology, robots have both upfront costs and some ongoing costs.

Does it make sense for your profit margins to invest in assembly robots?

Electronics is one of the most competitive industries in the world right now. Margins are tight. It might feel difficult to justify purchasing one or more assembly robots, especially with the various pressures your company has probably experienced recently. It can be hard to keep up with the complex supply chains, fluctuating product demand, and increased sustainability regulations.

Some electronics manufacturers think that the solution is just to move more of their operations to lower-labor markets. However, this is no longer enough to maintain that competitive edge. Even in those markets, people are using robots.

China, for example, has huge growth in robot usage. It’s estimated that by 2024, demand for robots in China alone will be the size of the rest of the global robotics market.

If you want your company to stay ahead, robots are a key factor.

Why an Electronics Assembly Robot is a Safe Bet

Of all robot applications, electronics assembly is probably one of the most tried and tested tasks in the industry.

Assembly robots have been used in the electronics industry for years and their benefits have long been understood by manufacturers.

Modern electronics assembly relies on consistency and accuracy.

Even back in 2011, a decade ago now, assembly robots were already a great option for electronics companies thanks to their speed, accuracy, and precision.

If you’re looking to increase the use of robotics in your business, adding an assembly robot is now a pretty safe bet.

5 Ways Electronics Manufacturers Get More from Assembly Robots

Those electronics companies that are already maximizing their use of assembly robots tend to follow these 5 tips:

1. Pick the Type of Robots for the Specific Job

Various types of robots can be used in electronics manufacturing. Depending on your specific task, one robot might be more suitable than another.

Two common robots for electronics assembly are:

• Scara robots — The classic option for electronics assembly, Scara robots have a small footprint and can be very precise, which is perfect for most assembly tasks.
• Delta robots — These high-speed robots are very useful for pick and place but the precision of some models makes them suitable for some assembly tasks.

2. Use the Right Programming Tools

Many electronics companies make a mistake when they deploy robots — they only use the programming options that come shipped with the robot by the manufacturer. This can become very restrictive and means that you are tied into a programming system that doesn’t fully meet your needs.

By using a more flexible programming software, you can get your assembly robot up and running quicker. You will also be able to update the robot’s programming more easily to respond to changes in the marketplace, which are common at the moment in the electronics industry.

3. Start With High-value Assembly Tasks

If you want to maximize the return on investment of your robot, it’s a good idea to focus on those assembly tasks that bring the most value to your operations.

For example, is there a task that takes your human workers many hours of repetitive work and stops them from performing other tasks in the business? Or is there a manual assembly task that regularly produces wastage? Such tasks could be good candidates as they are likely to add immediate value to your process.

4. Start Small and Build Up

When you start thinking about the possibilities of robots, it is tempting to “think big”. You want to automate many tasks.

However, those companies that have had the most success with assembly robots are often those that have started with just one small robot application. When this robot proved its worth, they then scaled their assembly automation to build on this success.

5. Iterate and Optimize Over Time

Traditionally, it was difficult to update your robot’s program because of the high skill and experience required to program robots. This meant that, once a robot had been deployed, it usually wasn’t feasible to make changes to the program.

Easy robot programming tools now allow you to program your robot yourself. Even if you work with a robot integrator for the initial deployment, this means you can iterate your assembly application and optimize it over time. This is often where the biggest improvements come.

How to Deploy Your Electronics Assembly Robot Quickly

Want to start with your own electronics assembly robot?

A good option to test out your chosen task is to build the application in a robot simulator, like RoboDK. In the software, you can validate the application, choose the best type of robot for the task, and create the robot program at the same time, before you have even purchased the physical robot.

You can download a free trial copy on our download page.

What assembly tasks would you like to automate? Tell us in the comments below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or in the RoboDK Forum.

The post What Your Competitors Know About Electronics Assembly Robots appeared first on RoboDK blog.

Post processors are like the bridge between your simulation package and your physical machine. They automatically turn the graphical simulation into code that your robot or CNC machine can understand.

Most of the time, you won’t need to edit your post processor — it will just work “out of the box.” However, there are times when you need to configure some particular aspects of the post processor. In these cases, a dedicated editor can be a useful tool.

There are a few post processor editors available. The vast majority are incorporated into the software that they are used for. For example, a CAD/CAM software that can control a particular CNC machine may have an editor for its own post processors.

Some programs don’t include a post processor editor at all. So, if you’re looking for one for your particular CAD/CAM system, you might not always be in luck.

Let’s have a look at the various post processor editors you might be looking for…

1. RoboDK’s New Post Processor Editor

First, a rather unique post processor editor!

Many of the other editors in this list are only suitable for CNC machines. They are bundled with CAD/CAM software and only work for this specific type of machine. This can make them rather inflexible.

RoboDK is a robot programming software. It is compatible with robot machining, which can have better performance than CNC machining in some aspects. The post processor editor allows you to quickly and easily configure over 700 robot models with over 80 post processors.

You can find out how to use the RoboDK post processor editor on our documentation page.

2. Alphacam Post Processor Editor

Alphacam is an intelligent CAD/CAM software aimed at woodworking, metal cutting, and stone cutting applications. It supports various CNC machines through its ALP file post processors.

Like many CAD programs, there is no real post processor editor for Alphacam. You have to edit the program’s post processors using a standard text editor. However, there are various resources available online to show you how to edit Alphacam post processors.

3. Gibbscam Post Processor Editor

Gibbscam is a single CAM software solution that claims to work with any CNC machine for either single or multi-axis machining.

To edit post processors for Gibbscam, you need to use the Compost software from the company. According to some reports, this software is not so easy to get a hold of and it can be confusing as there are various conflicting versions of the software.

4. BobCAD-CAM Post Processor Editor

BobCAD-CAM describes itself as a powerful and affordable CAM software. It is compatible with the SolidWorks CAD software and Rhino3D.

There are 2 options for post processor editing in BobCAD-CAM: direct text file editing or a VBScript-based scripting API for more advanced users. The company also offers a whole tutorial on post processor editing, which is helpful as many software providers leave you to work out the process for yourself.

5. PowerMILL Post Processor Editor

PowerMILL is a high-speed and 5-axis machining software provided by Autodesk, one of the leading providers of manufacturing software.

Post processors in PowerMILL are available for a range of CNC machines and even some robots, but the editing process is different for both. There is no dedicated post processor editor so you have to edit the XML files directly.

6. SolidCAM Post Processor Editor

SolidCAM is an integrated CAM solution with a large library of post processors for CNC machines and controllers. It is compatible with SolidWorks and Inventor.

Like many CAM packages, the post processors are not the easiest to edit as the idea is that you shouldn’t need to edit them. Post processors are written in the GPP file format, which mostly consists of IF statements, and need to be edited in a text editor.

7. Autodesk Post Processor Editor

As well as PowerMILL mentioned above, Autodesk also offers various other CAD/CAM software packages, including Inventor and Fusion 360.

Post processors are cross-compatible with Fusion 360 as well as several of Autodesk’s programs. They can be edited using the dedicated editor extension for Visual Studio Code. This adds functions that make it easier to edit post processor files within this familiar coding environment.

8. CAMWorks Post Processor Editor

CAMWorks is a feature-based CAM software that is designed for adaptable automation. It is provided by SolidWorks.

CAMWorks is one of the few packages that offers a post processor editor that rivals the RoboDK editor. Just like RoboDK’s editor its Universal Post Generator has a flexible, graphical interface that allows you to quickly customize post processors and generate error-free code.

9. SolidWorks Post Processor Editor

SolidWorks is a highly popular CAD/CAM system from Dassault Systemes. If you are looking for a post processor for SolidWorks, you can also use the CAMWorks Universal Post Generator.

However, there is also another option. Instead of using CNC machines for your machining processes, you could consider robot machining. This is more flexible than conventional machining and you can use the RoboDK post processor editor to configure your chosen robot.

Learn more about robot machining in our introductory article.

What post processor editor do you tend to use? Tell us in the comments below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or in the RoboDK Forum.. Also, check out our extensive video collection and subscribe to the RoboDK Youtube Channel

The post 9 Popular CNC Post Processor Editors You Might Consider appeared first on RoboDK blog.

Is robot drilling the same as any other type of drilling when it comes to purchasing a tool?

Or are there are extra properties you need to be aware of?

Robot drilling is a relatively simple activity. You just need a bit of basic knowledge to find the right end effector for you.

Drilling Spindle: The Tool of Choice

Your options for drilling end effectors are relatively straightforward. If you want to drill with a robot, you likely need a drilling spindle.

A drilling spindle fits directly to the wrist of your robot. It holds the drill bit and provides the necessary torque and speed to drill holes. The robot simply holds the spindle in position on the material.

How a Drilling Spindle Works

You can think of a drilling spindle as being very like a handheld power drill. Unlike static pillar drills, which have large motors and drive belts to provide high torque, a drilling spindle is compact. Everything is contained within the spindle.

However, this doesn’t mean that the tool is necessarily less powerful than other drilling tools. The TeknoMotor C31/40-C machining spindle, for example, which is included in the RoboDK library has 700W power. This is double the power of many home pillar drills.

Finding the Right Robotic Spindle for Your Task

Which drilling spindle is best?

The answer depends on the needs of your specific task. You will need to assess a few properties when comparing the different robotic spindles available on the market.

Factors that affect your choice of spindle include:

• The robot model you are using.
• The material you are drilling.
• The speed and force required for this drilling task.

There are a few tips you can follow to get the most accurate robotic drilling, such as ensuring that the robot has the required stiffness to complete the drilling task.

Drilling vs Machining Spindles

Another type of robotic spindle you might see is machining spindles. These are very similar to drilling spindles. The main difference is that machining spindles support both axial and radial loads while a drilling spindle will only support axial loads.

If you are thinking of trying robotic machining, it could be worth investing in a machining spindle for both drilling and machining.

7 Properties to Look for in a Robot Drilling End Effector

What features should you prioritize when you are looking for a drilling end effector?

Compared to other robot tools, drilling spindles are reasonably simple. Even so, there are a few properties that you will want to consider when looking for the right spindle for you.

Seven common properties are:

1. Lightweight

A major difference between robotic drilling and other types of CNC drilling is the weight limit.

Robots have a limited payload capacity that influences the amount of force the robot can apply to a surface. If you choose a heavy drilling spindle, this may reduce the amount of force that the robot can apply when drilling, depending on the orientation of the end effector at the time.

2. Cooling

Drilling tools get hot. There are various cooling systems you can use to reduce the heat of the tool when it is operating.

Examples of cooling systems include air convection, air vortex (which uses compressed air to generate supercooled air), liquid, and fans.

3. Mounting Options

You need to be able to fix your drilling spindle to the end of your robot arm.

If there is no mounting option for your robot model, you can likely still use the drilling spindle. You will just need to manufacture your own mounting plate to connect the spindle to the wrist of the robot.

4. Power System

Drilling spindles are often electrically driven. However, there are also pneumatic and hydraulic drilling spindles available on the market.

Bear in mind that you may need to purchase an extra power system for your end effector if you don’t have a suitable one already available.

5. Spinning Speed

The speed of your drilling spindle will influence how quickly it will drill through a particular material and there are a few different formulas used to calculate this.

Spindles come with a wide range of speeds from 0 RPM to 30,000 RPM or more.

6. Power or Force

The power or force of the drilling spindle will influence the type of material that it can be used to drill. For instance, drilling titanium will require a higher power tool than drilling soft aluminum.

The power is usually specified in horsepower or watts.

7. Tooling Options

The “business end” of any machining spindle is the drill bit that you attach to it. You need to ensure that your spindle supports the drill bits that you want to use and vice versa.

Common tooling options include a standard collet (as seen on a pillar drill), pneumatic fitting, and automatic tool changers.

A Useful Tip for Programming Your Robot Drilling Spindle

What do you need to remember when you are programming your drilling robot?

Firstly, it’s a good idea to use a programming interface that is designed for robot machining and drilling. For example, RoboDK comes with a machining wizard that allows you to add machining and drilling paths quickly and easily.

A useful tip for programming is to remember that calibration is vital. When you are drilling manually, you can see the tip of the drill bit. This makes it very easy for you to adjust to changes in the bit position.

With a robot, the only way that you will know that the drill bit is in position is to properly calibrate the robot whenever you change the tool.

Which property is most important for your robot drilling? Tell us in the comments below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or in the RoboDK Forum.

The post What’s the Best End Effector for Robot Drilling? appeared first on RoboDK blog.

What are your options if you want your generated toolpaths to control a robot instead of a conventional CNC machine?

A few key software features are necessary if you want to control your robot easily and efficiently. Plus, there are some important considerations you will need to make if you want to get the most from your machining robot.

Here’s a quick guide to CNC toolpath software for robot machining.

What is a CNC Toolpath?

A CNC toolpath is the path that a computer-controlled cutting tool takes through a workpiece. Toolpaths must be planned with care to ensure the correct cutting rate for the machined material to achieve the desired surface finish.

The traditional way to program CNC toolpaths was to code them by hand using G-Code, a specialist programming language for machining. This programming language still underlies most machining operations today.

However, these days it is far more common that you use Computer-Aided Machining (CAM) software to automatically generate the required G-Code out of the 3D models of your part. This G-Code is then sent to your CNC machine which uses the instructions to machine the part.

Toolpaths for CNC: How They Fit With Robot Machining

Robotic machining is a form of computer-controlled machining where a robot is used in place of a conventional CNC machine. For certain machining tasks, it has some advantages over conventional machines including improved flexibility and the ability to work with larger workpieces.

When you are programming your robot for a machining task, you will likely use the same process as with conventional CNC machining.

This process is:

1. Generate computer models of your part in your preferred CAD program.
2. Use CAM software to generate the CNC toolpath in G-Code from those models.
3. Export this toolpath to your robot or CNC machine.

CNC machines natively understand G-Code so this third step is usually extremely straightforward. It just involves copying the generated G-Code file to the machine.

However, robots do not natively understand G-Code. They are usually programmed using the manufacturer’s proprietary programming language.

As a result, you need to use a dedicated robot programming tool to quickly and effectively program your robot for machining tasks.

What CNC Toolpath Software is Available

There are various options for CNC toolpath software, ranging from free software (often targeted at hobbyists) to expensive packages for industry.

In general, the tools come under the category of CAD/CAM software, which means that they can be used to both build the 3D models of your parts and generate the G-Code toolpaths.

The problem with most software is that it does not contain support for robot machining. This means you have to do the extra work to integrate the program with your robot… and this work can be significant!

Unless you pick a tool that makes robot machining easy…

An Integrated Robotic CNC Toolpath Software

There is an option if you are looking for an easy, reliable tool for robot machining.

RoboDK is a dedicated robot programming tool that supports hundreds of robot models from dozens of robot manufacturers.

Among its many features and supported applications, RoboDK contains an integrated machining wizard that allows you to work with CNC toolpaths within the software itself.

It also has native plugins for many popular CAD/CAM packages. This means you can add it easily into your production workflow.

You simply load your generated CNC toolpath into the machining tool and RoboDK will automatically generate a robot program for the machining operation. You can also use the software’s simulation capability to test the operation before you send the program to the physical robot.

3 Very Useful Features of RoboDK’s Machining Tool

Some distinctive features of RoboDK make it especially useful as a tool for robot machining.

The 3 top features that you are likely to use are:

Visualize the Toolpath

There is a whole category of software tools called “G-code simulators.” These exist so that you can visualize your generated toolpath before you send it to the CNC machine itself.

With RoboDK, there is no need for an extra G-Code visualization tool. The integrated machining wizard generates a visualization of the toolpath right inside the RoboDK itself. It also shows how the robot will move along this toolpath.

Collision Avoidance

One difference between robots and CNC machines is that robots are more in danger of collisions. Due to their flexible workspace, they can collide with the environment, with the workpiece, or with other objects within their workspace.

RoboDK automatically detects collisions that might occur during your machining task. As this is done during the simulation stage, it allows you to correct for these collisions before the program is sent to the physical robot.

Solves Singularities

Singularities are a unique problem for robots and other complex mechanical structures. They occur when the robot’s program tries to instruct the robot to make a physically impossible move. A few different types of singularity can occur.

By programming your machining task with RoboDK, you can solve singularities before they become a problem. The software automatically detects and solves singularities.

How to Visualize Your CNC Toolpath With the Machining Wizard

The best way to start using RoboDK’s machining wizard is to download a free trial copy on our download page.

You can find examples of robot machining projects, video tutorials, and detailed practical guidance on our documentation page.

What CNC toolpath software do you currently use? Tell us in the comments below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, youtube or in the RoboDK Forum.

The post Which CNC Toolpath Software to Use for Robot Machining appeared first on RoboDK blog.

While certain automated machines have been available for turning for years, automation has not been accessible to everyone. Until recently, it only made sense to add automation if you had large batch sizes. If not, you were stuck with a manual operation.

Robotic automation has changed all that.

There are now more opportunities than ever before to add automation to your turning applications.

Even if you are operating in a high-mix, low volume environment, you can automate your turning machines to improve their productivity by adding a robot to your process.

Why Automate: Are Turning Machines Only for One-Off Batches?

Some people think that automation is only suitable when you’re working with very large batches. If a shop’s turning machine is used for many different tasks every week, people assume that automation wouldn’t make sense financially or operationally.

If you are working in a machine shop environment, your turning machines are likely used for one-off batches. Perhaps your CNC lathe only runs the same type of job for a few hours every time.

But, even when your batch sizes are low, there are benefits to adding robotic automation.

Such benefits include:

• Human workers can move to more value-added tasks.
• Turning operations become more scalable. Producing, say, a dozen parts takes no more hands-on work than producing, say, 200.
• The quality of produced work is more consistent.
• Your overall turning process is more productive.

When You Should Automate a Turning Machine With a Robot

If you are already thinking that automation could be beneficial for your turning operations, you’re probably right.

According to specialists in turning automation, a good rule of thumb is that robotic automation is profitable if the batch size is big enough to run unmanned for one hour.

For most turning operations, one hour doesn’t amount to many parts in a batch.

Look for one of your existing turning operations that often experiences larger batch sizes and you have likely found a good candidate for robotic automation.

There may be several different opportunities to automate turning machines in your business. Once you have identified and deployed your first application, it takes much less time and effort to deploy subsequent turning applications.

The Basic Approach: Tending a Turning Machine

If you’re looking for a simple approach to increase the automation of an existing turning machine, the easiest way to start is machine tending.

With machine tending, the robot takes over the task that was previously done by a human — i.e. loading and unloading the CNC turning machine.

The advantage of this approach is that it allows you to continue using your existing turning processes and machines. The disadvantage is that it’s not as flexible as using robotic machining.

5 Steps to Set Up Machine Tending for Turning

Here are some practical steps to use a robot to tend a turning machine:

1. Load a model of your turning machine into your robot programming software. You can either use a detailed CAD model of the machine obtained from the manufacturer or you can approximate the machine using a simplified model. Both will work just as well from a robot programming perspective.
2. Pick your robot from the Robot Library.
3. Add an end effector to the robot, either from the library or add a custom end effector. This will likely be some sort of gripper to pick up the workpiece.
4. Program the loading and unloading motions using the software’s programming interface.
5. Export the program to the robot using the relevant post-processor.

The Complete Approach: Full Robotic Turning Machines

A more complete approach to turning machine automation is to use the robot itself in place of a conventional turning machine.

Robotic machining is a newer approach to machine shop automation and has some benefits over conventional CNC machines including more flexible machining, larger workspaces, and better affordability.

Unlike with machine tending, you need to make sure that the robot model you are using has adequate stiffness to handle the high forces and vibrations that will be applied during the turning task.

5 Steps to Set Up a Robotic Turning Application

Here are some practical steps to using robotic turning:

1. Load a model of your external axis into your robot programming software. This will rotate and hold the workpiece. There are a few of these in the Robot Library already but you can also add a new model easily.
2. Pick your robot from the Robot Library.
3. Add your machining spindle end effector to the robot in the simulation.
4. Use the software’s Machining Tool to automatically create machining paths.
5. Export the program to the robot using the relevant post-processor.

How to Deploy Your Robotic Turning Machine Quickly

One key to deploying your robotic turning application quickly is to use the right approach to programming.

The processes outlined above rely on you using a tool that makes programming easy.

With the conventional approach to robot programming, the process is often complex and requires extensive expertise. This makes the deployment harder than is necessary.

However, with the right offline programming software, you have the benefit of dedicated robot machining tools that make the whole process simple.

You can find our in-depth video tutorial on robotic machining on our documentation page.

What turning task would you like to automate? Tell us in the comments below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or in the RoboDK Forum.

The post Turning Machines: How to Automate Turning With a Robot appeared first on RoboDK blog.

And what if they had strict budget, time, and logistical constraints?

This is the type of challenge that Proptogroup handles every day.

In two of Proptogroup’s latest projects, they utilized RoboDK’s robot programming flexibility to create some amazing sculptures for two of their clients.

Here’s how they did it…

Introducing… Proptogroup

Proptogroup is a multi-disciplinary design studio (located in New York, USA) and fabrication studio (based in New Haven, USA). They most often work with artists, architects, designers, and builders on complex projects with critical constraints, whether those be timing, budgetary, or logistical constraints.

For this reason, Mena Henry, Proptogroup’s owner and principal engineer, describes the company as “a problem-solving creative space.”

When you enter their workshop, it is filled with fabrication machines: milling machines, various metal fabrication machines, a welding station, and two converted shipping containers at the end of the space that house a design studio and a materials store.

And then there’s the robot…

Finally, Henry explained the origins of the company’s name:

“The name Proptogroup starts with the word “prop. to.” Mathematically, it means “proportional to.” In this case, it’s about the proportional relationship of different industries, particularly in architecture and construction. Those are design, engineering, fabrication, installation, and logistics. We service all those trades.

Making complex sculptural work requires a lot of research and development, and material science. We count on partners that can enhance our skills. The small size of our company gives us an extreme level of flexibility and mental room to explore and play around.

Actually, playing of the biggest things that we do here, either with material or with technological processes. That really enhances the way that we think and are able to function with complex projects. “

Proptogroup uses RoboDK for Foam Architecture and Clear Acrylic Face

The two projects that we are exploring here are perfect examples of Proptogroup’s cross-disciplinary approach. Indeed, one is for the architectural space and the other is an artistic sculpture.

Foam Architecture

For the foam architecture, Proptogroup employed RoboDK to help them with robotic milling of a foam structure.

As shown above, the structure was made of expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam. In fact, this is a common material for robotic milling as it is easy to mill, has low moisture absorption, and doesn’t change its physical properties under normal operating heat. Such foam is often used, for example, in Hollywood to make architectural props for movies.

In this case, the EPS foam was being used as a form for a mold. The final piece would then be cast, using this mold, in glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC).

Acrylic Face Sculpture

The second project was a sculpture for artist Titus Kaphar. Kaphar is a painter, sculptor, filmmaker, and installation artist whose work examines the history of representation. Therefore, he often combines materials and fabrication methods.

In this case, Proptogroup has worked with Kaphar on several projects over the years. This latest one was the face of Thomas Jefferson sculpted in acrylic. They used robotic milling to sculpt the head and then a final manual polishing process.

Mena Henry explained:

“We took our time milling the acrylic considering the brittleness of the material. Timewise, I would estimate approximately 40 hours from roughing to finish pass. And 4 days of hand polishing.”

Proptogroup’s Robot Setup

Mounted on a rail and taking a prominent place in the workshop, Proptogroup’s large KUKA robot is, I think it’s fair to say, a centerpiece to their operations.

The Hardware

For the milling operation, the robotic hardware that Proptogroup used consisted of:

• A KUKA 6 DoF industrial robot
• A Güdel linear rail
• A milling head

Proptogroup will change the end effector of the robot depending on the fabrication needs of the particular project. No project is exactly the same so they need to remain flexible.

The Software

For programming the robot, Proptogroup used the following programs:

• Design was done in Rhino, a CAD package often used by architects.
• Machining paths were generated in Autodesk Fusion 360, a popular CAD/CAM software.
• Proptogroup uses RoboDK to seamlessly convert the machining paths into robot programs.

This software setup gave Proptogroup the flexibility to use the software that they are most comfortable with the power of RoboDK’s robot programming capabilities (actually, they might have been able to eliminate a step as RoboDK has a plugin to work directly with Rhino, but RoboDK fits in with whatever workflow our users most prefer).

How Proptogroup uses RoboDK to Mill an Intricate Face Sculpture

After all, RoboDK allowed Proptogroup to quickly turn their designs into a functional robot program.

In fact, conventional robot programming methods requires to have extensive robotics expertise to program the robot. Instead of focusing on the design and fabrication – which is where Proptogroup’s expertise lies – they would have had to waste a lot of time and effort “getting the robot to work” if they were using the conventional methods.

As a result, Proptogroup reduced robot programming to a minimum using RoboDK.

Indeed, the software easily slots into your existing workflow, whatever that may be, and allows you to focus on those aspects of the process that you are best at.

What Interesting Project Could You Use RoboDK for?

Overall, Proptogroup undertakes many interesting projects that push the boundaries of fabrication techniques under critical constraints.

If they can create such elaborate and successful projects using RoboDK… think what interesting projects you could achieve!

How could your next robotic fabrication project push the boundaries of what you are currently capable of?

Finally, a good place to start is to download a free trial copy of RoboDK and try it out for yourself.

What will your next robot project be? Tell us in the comments below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or in the RoboDK Forum.

The post Proptogroup Uses RoboDK to Make Amazing Sculptures appeared first on RoboDK blog.

If you are looking to automate a deburring task in your business, you might be uncertain which tool is the best one for you. There are various options for automated deburring.

Which deburring tool is the easiest to deploy?

There are some great benefits to using robots for deburring. Deburring tasks are dull, dirty, potentially dangerous, and expensive when performed by a human. These are the four hallmarks of a perfect task to give to a robot.

Robots also make deburring tasks more consistent and higher quality. Overall, they improve the productivity of the entire operation.

But, that doesn’t mean robotic deburring is always a perfect solution.

A common problem is that automation can lack flexibility. Compared to a human worker, most robot setups are unable to adapt to changes. Incorporating this flexibility into a robot cell is traditionally complex and expensive.

The Conventional Approach to Deburring Automation

Conventionally, deburring automation takes the form of large deburring machines. These take up a huge amount of space in your facility. They are only suited to particular types of deburring task.

Examples of conventional deburring automation include:

• Edge rounding deburring machines
• Tube deburring machines
• Belt deburring machines
• Brush deburring machines
• Sheet metal deburring machines

If you have multiple deburring tasks, you would probably have to invest in a separate machine for each of them. This becomes very costly very quickly. Not to mention the amount of time it takes to source and deploy the machines in the first place.

These are an example of inflexible deburring automation.

By contrast, human workers are very flexible. People can easily adapt to different deburring tasks. Moreover, they can start working on them immediately. But, they don’t provide the advantages of automation.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was some way to get the benefits of deburring automation combined with the flexibility of a human worker?

Deburring Flexibility + Automation Is Possible

Thankfully, there is a way to achieve highly flexible deburring automation quickly and easily.

Some robotic solutions, using particular deburring tools, can mimic the motions of a human worker with a hand deburring tool. This makes them suitable for a wide range of deburring tasks, not just the single task that conventional deburring machines manage.

With the right robot platform, you can get deburring automation up and running in your facility very quickly. And, with the right programming tool, you can easily program the deburring task even if you have no previous experience with robotics.

The trick is in finding the right robotic platform that will allow you to access these benefits.

A Highly Flexible Deburring Tool for Robotics

Which new tools will help you achieve fully flexible robotic deburring?

One such tool comes from ATI Industrial Automation. We recently teamed up with ATI and DIY-Robotics to create a solution for the quick and easy deployment of robotic deburring.

ATI’s Compliant Deburring Tool provides a more intuitive approach to automated deburring than has been possible in the past. Its compliant tip uses the same standard cutting media that is used in the tools for manual deburring. This allows the robot to mimic the motions of a human arm, making it easier to move from manual to automated deburring.

An advantage of the tool is that it is compatible with a variety of deburring tasks including edge deburring, chamfering, countersinking, and scraping. Its compliance can be modified to suit the specifics of your task.

The tool also comes in three slightly different formats, to suit the needs of the task:

1. Compliant Deburring Blade
2. Compliant Deburring Blade with Automatic Blade Changer
3. Radially-Compliant Deburring Tool

With ATI’s tools, robotic deburring becomes more like human deburring. The deburring robot can achieve a flexibility closer to that of a human worker. Instead of just a single task, the robot can handle various deburring tasks in the business.

How to Get Robotic Deburring Up and Running Quickly

In the past, robots took a long time to deploy into your business. It could take weeks or months to get a new robot up and running. As a result, it was often disrupting production in the process.

What if you are looking to deploy robotic deburring more quickly?

Finally, there is now a solution that lets you get the benefits of robotic deburring in just a few days.

We recently partnered with DIY-Robotics and ATI to produce a modular, off-the-shelf solution for robotic deburring. It combines everything needed for deburring into a self-contained cell. Also, it can be deployed to your facility quickly and easily.

The cell is based around the pre-engineered robotic cells that are the specialty of DIY-Robotics, with the programming power of RoboDK, and ATI’s Compliant Deburring Tool. In addition, it comes shipped as a bundle that can be either deployed in a few days by the provider, or you can deploy it yourself in the time that suits you.

For the first time, the Robotic Deburring Cell opens up flexible deburring to anyone who needs it, regardless of your previous experience with robotics.

Learn More About Easy-to-Deploy Robotic Deburring

Finally, if you’d like to learn more about the Robotic Deburring Cell, the best place to check it out is on DIY-Robotic’s website.

On the page, you can see how each of the 3 components (the cell from DIY-Robotics, ATI’s tool, and RoboDK) combine to create an easy-to-deploy deburring cell that is accessible to anyone.

In fact, all the hardware specifications are listed on the page and you can easily book a consultation to see if the cell might suit your needs.

Click here to learn about the Robotic Deburring Cell.

What would automated deburring mean for your business? Tell us in the comments below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or in the RoboDK Forum.

The post The Easiest Way to Use a Deburring Tool With a Robot appeared first on RoboDK blog.

Unfortunately, robotics can sometimes seem very complex. Every time you want to implement a new robot application, it feels like you have to jump through many hoops just to purchase the robot and the required extras. And that’s before the integration!

Simplicity is not traditionally a hallmark of robotic projects.

For years, every robotic cell has needed to be built from the ground up. Buying a robot has meant pouring through pages and pages of accessories, end effectors, and sensors to pull together all the required pieces.

In a way, deploying a robot felt a bit like building a new product — you had to start the design from scratch, you had to make all the decisions yourself, and you were feeling your way through the deployment as if it was the first time anyone had built such an application.

Skilled integrators have long been the only lifeline for manufacturers looking to get started in robotic automation. However, even integrators end up reinventing the wheel on applications that have probably been solved before.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could just buy your chosen robot application off-the-shelf?

But, is that even possible?

Is Your Robot Application Really Unique?

An objection that some people have to the idea of pre-built robot applications is that they will not suit their situation. You might think that your manufacturing setup is unique. Compared to other robot users, your process is more complex and your product flow is too unusual.

For many people, the concept of “off-the-shelf” suggests a system that will require a lot of extra engineering to fit into their existing processes.

While this concern makes some sense, it misses one truth about robotics that most people forget: their application is not really unique.

We are no longer living in a world where robots are a rarity. Millions of robots are used every day in factories around the world, especially by manufacturers.

Do you really think that someone hasn’t developed your robot application before?

It’s likely that dozens of manufacturers have deployed almost exactly the same application as you are currently considering. The problems you are going to face have already been solved. Improvements have been made in ways that you won’t be able to match for years to come on your own.

Just because a robot cell is pre-built doesn’t mean it’s inflexible.

It just means that you avoid reinventing the wheel.

Why Reinventing the Wheel Doesn’t Make Sense

In fact, reinventing the wheel is a very common problem in robotics.

It’s such a common problem that the now-closed robotic research lab WillowGarage co-created a comic about why it happens over 10 years ago — basically, too many roboticists work off proof-of-concept hardware setups without enough information to properly learn from each other’s mistakes.

Unfortunately, this is still largely the case over a decade later, especially in industry.

Indeed, the knowledge and expertise of robot integrations usually stays in the heads of automation engineers and integrators. When an integration is finished, they keep the knowledge to themselves and move onto the next project.

As a result, when you are starting a new robot deployment you are at a huge disadvantage.

You are left to figure everything out for yourself even though the problem has been well-and-truly solved by others already.

On the whole, a good pre-made robot cell can help you to get up and running as quickly as possible, with a setup that you know has been optimized for your intended application.

Introducing… the DIY-Robotics, ATI, and RoboDK Partnership

We have recently teamed up with DIY Robotics, a company that specializes in pre-engineered, modular robot cells. Each cell can be customized and configured, with choices of which robot to use and all required extras to make the robot work.

RoboDK comes now with the DIY Robotic Deburring Cell, thanks to its in-built support for a huge range of robots and its easy programming.

We have also teamed up with ATI Industrial Automation for the DIY-Robotics deburring application, which uses ATI’s Compliant Deburring Blade.

Pre-made cells like this remove all the complexity of designing, sourcing, and integrating the different parts of a robot cell. You just pull together your required components in their interactive Robotic Cell Configurator and you’ll be ready before you know it.

5 Benefits of Going With a Pre-Made Robot Cell

There are several benefits you can get by going with a pre-made robot cell.

Here are 5 of them:

1. Faster Time to Production

The most obvious benefit is that the integration time is drastically reduced. This means you can get your robot into production much faster and it will start to earn a return on investment sooner.

2. More Cost-effective

Thanks to the reduced integration requirement and the fact that the cells are pre-made, they are more cost-effective than the alternative. When you build the cell yourself, you have to shoulder all of the integration expense and other costs.

3. Clearer Costing

It is also much easier to get a clear cost for your robot cell upfront by using a pre-made cell. In fact, DIY Robotics even lists the prices of their cells on their website. With conventional robot deployments, it’s often hard to get a clear idea of the cost.

4. No More Headaches

There are lots of headaches associated with deploying a robot application for the first time. Even if you are using an integrator, you have many decisions to make and the project can take a lot of your time. With pre-made cells, these decisions are reduced considerably.

5. Optimization

A great benefit of using pre-made cells is that you have the advantage of an optimized cell upfront. The cell designs have gone through many optimizing iterations and they continue to be improved by building on real user experiences.

Interested in Learning More About Pre-Made Robot Cells?

If you’re looking to start with a new robot application, have a look at what pre-made robot cells could do for you.

After all, just check out the DIY Robotics website to see what they offer.

Together with RoboDK, it’s probably one of the easiest ways to get started with robotics.

What would you do with the extra time you gained by going with a pre-made robot cell? Tell us in the comments below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or in the RoboDK Forum.

The post Can You Buy a Robot Application Off-the-Shelf? appeared first on RoboDK blog.

With manufacturing industries changing rapidly, companies are increasingly turning to robotic automation to stay competitive. However, robot deployments have traditionally taken weeks or even months.

In February 2021, robot software company RoboDK partnered with DIY-Robotics and ATI Industrial Automation to create a pre-engineered, modular solution for robotic deburring that reduces deployment time considerably.

Why manufacturers need faster robot deployment

The use of robots is currently growing in various manufacturing industries. Robots allow companies to adapt to changes in the marketplace as they are more flexible than other forms of automation. A robot can be reprogrammed whenever the nature of its task changes and can even be redeployed to an entirely new task if needed.

A common constraint for companies looking to adopt robots is the time that they take to deploy. It can take weeks or even months to deploy a new robot into a manufacturing facility. As well as being disruptive during the initial deployment, this also reduces the long-term flexibility of the robot cell as any changes to the robot’s task will further disrupt production.

A modular, plug-and-play cell for robotic deburring

Deburring is a perfect task for a robot as it is dull for a human to perform and benefits greatly from the increased consistency that a robot provides. 

The new plug-and-play Robotic Deburring Cell addresses this need for faster deployment by providing a completely self-contained system that can be deployed in a matter of days.

The solution is based around a pre-engineered robotic cell from DIY-Robotics. ATI Industrial Automation provides the cell’s Compliant Deburring tool. This versatile tool accounts for variations in part and feature location through its compliant tip and can be used for a wide range of deburring tasks.

Tim Burns, Senior Applications Engineer for Material Removal Products at ATI, explained “Tool, program, and robotic cell work hand in glove to make successful material removal applications more approachable to end-users. RoboDK makes the programming simple and easy for operators of all experience levels. DIY Robotics alleviates the challenge of integration by pre-packaging the right pieces for their cell.”

Deploying a deburring robot in just a few days

With conventional robot deployments, the sourcing process can be daunting for companies. All the various sensors, tooling, and accessories required for a robotic application mean that the list of components can quickly mount up.

“Robotics can appear complex to handle when it comes to coding languages and the complexity behind the technology,” explained Steve Blanchette, President of DIY-Robotics. “The main advantage of the Robotic Deburring Cell is its plug-and-play aspect. This bundle allows anyone, regardless of their robotics knowledge, to equip their factory with the latest industrial robotics technology.”

DIY-Robotics makes the sourcing process as simple as buying a desktop computer. Unlike many other robot suppliers, the company lists the price of its solutions on its website. Once the order has been made, the robot cell ships within just 3 weeks. It can be deployed in a just few days for turnkey solutions or can be assembled by the user themselves.

Customizing the robot program with RoboDK

Programming functionality for the cell is provided by RoboDK, the offline programming solution that allows anyone to easily program their industrial robot even if they do not have robotic programming experience.

This gives an added level of flexibility to the Robotic Deburring Cell as the robot’s program can be created and updated through a simple graphical interface. RoboDK’s optimization tools for robot machining and deburring allow users to easily create error-free programs.

Albert Nubiola, RoboDK’s CEO, said “DIY-Robotics’ Deburring Cell and the ATI’s Compliant Deburring Blade are now completely supported by the software. This is a great addition to RoboDK as it allows users to build a cell for deburring in just a few clicks.”

Future plans

The Robotic Deburring Cell is the first in a series of application-specific bundles that are being developed by this partnership. By leveraging their complimentary expertise, RoboDK, DIY-Robotics, and ATI Industrial Automation aim to make plug-and-play robotic cells much more accessible to manufacturing businesses.

The post RoboDK, DIY-Robotics, and ATI release a plug-and-play cell for robotic deburring appeared first on RoboDK blog.

However, there is a short supply of skilled grinding technicians.

Robotic grinding is one potential solution for manufacturers who want to automate their grinding task.

But, is robotic grinding really worth it for you?

As a manufacturer, you may be experiencing a lack of skilled technicians for some of your most important tasks. The aerospace industry, for example, is suffering from a shortage of employees for surface finishing tasks, according to some reports. It is currently easier to hire a welding technician for aerospace than it is to hire a grinding technician. Welding is also suffering from a noted skills shortage.

As a result of this shortage, grinding is one of those tasks that many manufacturers are struggling to complete manually.

Clearly, there is a need for reliable automated grinding.

Is Robot Grinding Really Possible?

Despite the clear need for grinding automation, people are sometimes uncertain about using a robot for this highly skilled task.

You might think that grinding is just not suitable for robotic automation.

As an article in The Fabricator noted, some grinding applications aren’t practical to automate. They also noted that it is not cost-effective to invest in automation to achieve the task.

People are sometimes skeptical that robots can even handle the stresses and vibrations of grinding tasks. However, this concern is just not a problem with many modern industrial robots.

Robotic Grinding vs Other Grinding Automation

An alternative form of grinding automation — automated grinding machines — might be a good option for you. This would be a good option if you have large production numbers and highly consistent products.

But, they are not as flexible as robots.

This can make it difficult to justify the cost of dedicated grinding machines if you are not grinding parts continuously at high volume. Manufacturers who can’t justify such machines are often left frantically looking for manual grinding workers to complete their surface finishing tasks.

Robots are a perfect middle option. You first need to understand the benefits of robot grinding over manual grinding.

When Robotic Grinding is Better Than Manual

One of the huge benefits with robots is the consistency they bring to an operation.

A robot will move along the same path at exactly the same rate every single time. When performing the same grinding operation, it will wear out the grinding abrasive at exactly the same rate every time.

This consistency is where robots outperform human workers doing the same job.

Even the most skilled grinding technician will always make some minor mistakes. The occasional slight movement in the wrong direction can break a grinding disk. People often apply inconsistent pressure on different parts of the grinding disk, causing it to wear down faster.

With a robot, you can control the grinding motions throughout the task: this saves you money in the long run and allows for an even quicker Return on Investment (ROI).

7 Reasons That Robotic Grinding Is More Cost-Effective

The uncertainty that some manufacturers have about automating their grinding process with a robot, often comes down to cost: When you are already familiar with the cost of manual grinding, it can seem like a huge investment in the short term to change your manual process to a robotic one.

But, there are some reasons that robotic grinding is more cost-effective than manual grinding (in the medium-to-long term).

Here are 7 good reasons:

1. More Consistent Grinding

As mentioned above, consistency is a great benefit to robotic grinding. By improving the consistency, you make the ongoing costs of the grinding operation more predictable and easier to manage. You no longer have to offset the inconsistency of manual grinding by adding huge margins for error (e.g. purchasing much more abrasive than is needed, producing more products than needed in a batch).

2. Optimized Abrasive Wear

Any robot cell should undergo continuous improvement. You and your team should always be on the lookout for ways to tweak and improve the task. With a robot, you can start to optimize the wear of the grinding abrasive over time. This saves you more budget in the long term.

3. Better Quality Products

A product that has been finished by a robot is likely to be better quality than one finished by a human. Even the most skilled operator can’t consistently match the quality of a robot. This increased quality can positively affect your business. It makes it easier to ensure the best quality for your customers.

4. Fewer Non-conformities

The improved consistency caused by robot grinding also means fewer non-conformities in products. This means that you have to do less rework and you have less waste caused by rejected products. Both of these things contribute to more cost savings over time.

5. Faster Grinding

A clear benefit of using robots is their impact on productivity. Robots tend to operate more quickly than human workers, meaning that your throughput will increase. This productivity boost can help you to achieve a faster ROI.

6. More consistent throughput

A related benefit is that the robot will provide a more consistent output to those processes further down your workflow. A grinding technician will tend to process workpieces at an inconsistent pace. Maybe they work faster in the morning, slower as they get to lunchtime, and faster again as their shift is about to end. Robots will provide a more consistent output, which can help you to produce products more consistently overall.

7. Better use of human workers

Some people are concerned that bringing in a robot for grinding will mean that their existing grinding technicians will be out of a job. Nothing could be further from the truth. When the robot takes over the more regular, consistent grinding operations, the human workers will usually find themselves much more available for the one-off, irregular grinding operations that are often required. This makes much better use of their skills and therefore is more cost-effective.

How to Get Started with Robotic Grinding

If you’re interested in getting started with robotic grinding, a great strategy is to start by implementing your application in a good robot simulator.

This will help you to assess which robot, end effector, and accessories, will be right for the needs of your grinding task.

You can learn how to set up a robot grinding project in our tutorial on robot grinding.

How could robotic grinding help your business? Tell us in the comments below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or in the RoboDK Forum.

The post Is Robotic Grinding Really Worth It? appeared first on RoboDK blog.