Robot arms are finding their way into a wide variety of applications because of their precision, strength, and versatility. Robotic milling systems have become more common in recent years and have several advantages over traditional machine tools for certain applications. One application for which robot arms are well suited is using a kind of deburring […]
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Robotics integrators are finding an increasing need for robotic deburring systems, and for good reasons. Deburring is necessary for various fabricating operations, but attracting and retaining employees to perform the work is difficult. Labor shortages are ongoing, and the National Association of Manufacturers reported that in 2022 there were 800,000 unfilled manufacturing jobs in the […]
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Have you optimized the performance of your robotic arm as it performs milling operations? Machining with articulated robot arms is an attractive alternative to machine tools because they offer ease of set-up, repeatability, a large workspace, and versatility. However, machine tools are as much as 50 times stiffer than robotic arms.1Posture optimization in robotic machining […]
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Machine downtime is the leading cause of lost production time. Unfortunately, according to the Business Industrial Network, more than 80% of business owners can’t accurately calculate their actual downtime costs — partially because there are two types of downtime: Planned Downtime Unplanned Downtime The Downside of […]
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Have you experienced a series of spindle failures, causing you to wonder why? Maybe you’re a Quality Control engineer looking for reasons your cuts are going out of tolerance. Or, perhaps you’re looking for information that would help you design a preventative maintenance program for your CNC machine or robotic material removal system. If any […]
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Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT)—are these buzzwords? Sort of. You can’t read any woodworking publication and not see this terminology today, especially from machine builders touting that they are IoT ready or Industry 4.0 compliant. So what is Industry 4.0? It refers to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In the interest of time […]
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There is a good chance that if you build cabinets, doors, store fixtures or are in the architectural millwork arena in any scale, you own and/or operate a CNC panel saw. At the very minimum, you have an industrial sliding table saw. All these machines have a common denominator: arbors. Most machines have a scoring […]
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An aggregate or angle head is a device that is attached to the spindle drive of a CNC to allow the user to rout or drill at different angles other than where the spindle is orientated. They are almost always used in conjunction with a tool change format like HSK, ISO or BT. The use […]
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It’s been a while since I have talked about maintenance and care of some of your most expensive machine components. I have covered router spindles and aggregates in previous columns. So…based on what I see coming through the door lately, I think we should address a few new topics. Moulder Spindles I don’t know what […]
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