Milling is the process of removing material to form a specific structure using a spinning multi-tooth cutter. Milling robots execute this function by performing the exact movements and cuts needed to produce quality parts. The robots’ arms are featured with adjustments, programming, and EOAT to make molds of different sizes and shapes.

Previously, Milling was mainly accomplished with CNC machines. However, many companies today use milling robots because of the numerous advantages of this traditional milling method, for its flexibility, consistency, and flexibility. This article will go over some of the benefits of using a milling robot arm over conventional milling methods.

Advantages of a Milling Robot Arm

One of the most significant advantages of a milling robot arm is its flexibility. A robot arm offers more movement flexibility compared to traditional milling machines. With a UR milling robot, you do not need to reposition and re-clamp the mold or prototype to cut different parts. This robot can mill complex parts from multiple angles from a stationary position.

The Right Touch

The other benefit of using a UR robot arm for Milling is its lightweight. Many of the materials used for producing the milling robot, including foam, clay, and REN board, are soft and light. This factor makes the UR robot arm well suited for Milling using all types of mediums.

Greater Throughput

Milling with a UR robot arm can increase the overall throughput because of its accuracy and consistency. A milling robot arm does not need to be repositioned or re-clamped. It, therefore, makes fewer mistakes and has a greater throughput.

Affordability

Using a UR robot arm for Milling is exceptionally economical. Unlike traditional milling machines, you can reassign this robot to execute other functions such as material building and arc welding. This multi-purpose machine not only saves time but also increases throughput.

In addition, the UR milling robot arm works under very minimal supervision. It handles many more milling tasks without requiring human Intervention. The six-axis milling robot is integrated with turntables that significantly increase its ability to cut complex shapes. A six-axis robot allied with an integrated turntable will substantially increase the possibilities of cutting complex shapes.

In addition, Milling using a robot arm makes the process more economical for metal, aluminum, plastic, wood, and carbon fiber. It also has extensive working envelopes that make it cheaper than other traditional milling machines like CNC machines. The UR milling robot is also flexible and has the ability to six-axis tool paths.

Greater Accuracy

The UR milling robot arm produces high-quality and exceptional geometric parts through precise cuts and movements. It can mill any object regardless of its shape or size within its envelope by adjusting the end-of-arm tooling and the off-line robot programming.

Methods of Programming Milling Robots

There are two ways that you could program a milling robot arm for milling accuracy. Firstly, using the teach pendant and secondly through an off-line program to generate and save the positions. The manual teach method is often inaccurate and time-consuming.

The off-line programming allows a faster method of producing robot trajectories. You could program the robot path on a computer while the robot is still performing operations with the current program. The OLP software has features that take advantage of the milling robot arm’s advantage of better robot tolerance.

Conclusion

More and more companies are replacing CNC machines with robot arms for milling operations. There are several advantages that make a milling robot arm the better solution of the two. The main benefits include a milling robot arm’s ability to mill big and more complex things and its affordability compared to traditional CNC machines.

It’s also quite flexible. The flexibility of its six axes enables the robot to support undercuts from all angles and produce complex shapes within a much shorter time compared to CNC and other milling machines.