Intro to Roboforming
Machina Labs exists to un-constrain innovation in manufacturing. Our current focus is sheet metal forming, a vital segment of manufacturing that suffers from slow and expensive design cycles... until now.
Traditional sheet metal processing like stamping are so slow and inflexible because they require custom tooling. By fully eliminating tooling, Machina Labs delivers sheet metal parts in days instead of months, and for a fraction of the cost.
How have we eliminated tooling? Our robots incrementally form parts with proprietary end effectors, so our only requirements are a CAD design and stock sheet. The robotic sheet metal froming process, called Roboforming, combines AI, precise robotics controls, and material science knowledege to build your parts accurately.
The steps below outline our process:
CAD Design
Begin with your CAD design, following the recommendations in this guide.
Skirting
Our software will add geometry that connects your part to the sheet in a way that optimizes Roboforming accuracy. This extra geometry will be trimmed away before delivery.
Roboforming
Your part is formed by a pair of robots that use AI to ensure accurate parts even under high loads.
Scanning
Our robots measure deviation between the formed part and your original CAD. Our system will adjust parameters and re-do the robot path plan if needed to deliver parts within tolerance.
Trimming
The final part is trimmed from the skirt. The robots handle any drill holes or cutouts specified by your design automatically.
The video below shows Roboforming in action:
How to use this guide
This guide is for prospective and active customers to learn about the Roboforming process. Specifically you'll learn how to best structure CAD files to ensure a successful project, whether you're piloting one part or heading into a production run for a large assembly.
Head to the CAD Guidelines page to get started. If you have questions about Roboforming, the CAD prep process, or you'd like a quote, please reach out (opens in a new tab).