Robotic Automation of a CNC Machine

Robotic automation of CNC machines is becoming more popular as robot technology advances and becomes more readily available. While some CNC machines can run autonomously with part catchers, vertical milling centers require an external entity to keep the machine running. Collaborative and Industrial robots are the two main selections for automating a vertical CNC milling machine. We investigate specifically which robot type is most effective for machine tending a Haas VF2 vertical milling center. To do this a cell floorplan, risk assessment, overall equipment effectiveness evaluation, and a total cost analysis are performed to compare robots. With this results of each analysis process, it appears the industrial robot is most effective for the machine tending case.