What Kinds of Parts are Best for Robotic Machine Tending?

If you’re planning to introduce robotic automation for machine tending, you’re probably thinking about what different kinds of parts work best with robots?

The good news is that there has been real progress in robotic machine tending so these days robots and cobots are able to handle a wide range of part types from simple stock parts all the way to complex geometry components and multi-part assemblies. 

Advances in robotic end-of-arm-tooling and palletized workholdings have made it possible to manage a wide mix of parts with intricate shapes, tight tolerances, and uniform, repetitive requirements where precision and consistency are critical.

Robots can handle a diverse range of form factors, surfaces, and materials, making them ideal for processing parts with consistent shapes, weights, and surface textures. 

Robotic systems can accommodate materials from metals and alloys to composites, plastics, and delicate surfaces without causing damage or contamination. 

Even parts that adhere to ISO 2768 and ISO 286 precision tolerances are suitable for robotic machine tending, including Class III orthopedic and implantable components, which must conform to strict compliance standards in manufacturing. Robotic machine tending does require consistent handling so to address wide ranges of parts with variations in sizes, shapes, and weights palletized workholdings should be applied.

Today, the use of robotic machine tending is applicable across a broad spectrum of industries, enhancing efficiency and quality in both high-volume and high-mix production environments. 

The continuously expanding breadth of part types is invaluable in sectors like medical devices, semiconductors, automotive, aerospace, space, and defense manufacturing.

These are sectors where parts often have complex geometries and require specific handling to meet regulatory compliance requirements.

For more insights into robotic machine tending, you may want to explore our Complete Guide to Robotic Machine Tending Projects, or if you’d like to discuss specifics on an upcoming project get in touch with us directly.