The Future of Precision Engineering: Integrating Robotics in Sheet Metal Fabrication

Date:2023-12-19 20:00
CNC Machining
Sheet metal fabrication is on the cusp of a major change, one that is likely to push the process even closer to the ideal of perfect precision. Ever since the days of handwork, the trade has stressed accuracy and quality, and that has filtered down through intermediate stages of development—tooled-up handwork, for instance, and using CNC machines—to serve as one of the guiding principles of the process today, making the integration of industrial robots a reality. Now, the individual steps or operations of the overall process are already being carried out using robotic arms. Yet, overall, the use of such devices has not yet reached the level of vision or ambition of their proponents and advocates.
The introduction of robotics into the sheet metal fabrication industry represents a fundamental change in how tasks are executed. Robotic arms perform intricate jobs with remarkable speed and efficiency. Why are they being used in this industry? To understand that question, we need to first take a close look at the segments of the production process they work in and the kinds of jobs they do. Then we can better appreciate the human-robot interaction that is reshaping the production floor and the safety aspect of that relationship. Finally, we will look at collaborative robots—why they are called that and what they do.
The application of robotics in sheet metal fabrication goes beyond merely using them for high-precision machining. "Robobas," or robotic bases, in an automated material handling system, can increase the efficiency and speed of a system while maintaining or even reducing the error rates found with manual handling systems. Using robots can also increase the system's overall adaptability and agility, so it can perform several similar tasks without any significant loss of efficiency in either speed or error rate. The big question today is whether these same advantages can be afforded to using robots for the unimproved, non-adaptive task of welding.
When we combine robotics and 3D printing with additive manufacturing, we get unprecedented potential. We can create with robots and therefore have far greater creative control. We can control the deposition of material, and we can do it in a way that is both more precise and more efficient than in the past. What we see here—this thing that we can label the "robotic revolution"—is really the next step in the evolution of fabrication technologies. Rather than just enhancing existing technologies, however, robotics allows for a kind of "human/robotic collaboration" that we have never seen before in the art of fabrication, specifically in sheet metal precision fabrication. We can create a perfect piece of art in the sheet metal world to unprecedented levels of affordability and accessibility.
It's no longer just humans or just machines engaged in the work of creation; it's both, working together, and what they are creating is the future of metalworking. In it, sheet metal (and all that it can become in the hands of deft designers and engineers) will help power the next era of unparalleled precision fabrication.
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