All Axis Robotics, which produces turnkey custom robot solutions for machine shops and manufacturers, has invested in a MakerBot Method X 3D printer to help it make short run parts.
The company, which is based in Dallas in Texas, USA, uses the Method to create bespoke part to solve customer problems. Gary Kuzmin, CEO of All Axis, explains: “One of the challenges we faced when adapting our collaborative robots and automation in the machine shop was the need to develop custom parts during the process. We would have to develop custom brackets, fixtures, or fingers for the grippers, and not all of this would be possible to produce on CNC machines.”
He added: “When we purchased the MakerBot Method, we automatically obtained all that capability for customizing all these different parts. Within days, we were able to print custom parts for our machines. The relevance of having this machine within our process is that we have a quick turnaround capability to produce custom parts that we can integrate into our systems immediately.”
Kuzmin says that the Method machine has helped All Axis produce customised parts with reduced lead times, saying: “Not only was it extremely valuable for us to make on-demand custom parts for what we needed to keep our operations going, but we were able to implement 3D printing for our customers and their needs. As our engineers realized the capabilities of 3D printing, we were able to create a product line of 3D printed parts for existing customers who had similar challenges.”
An example of this is a robotic part sander, which All Axis engineers designed and printed on the Method X using MakerBot’s ABS material. This part, which is used to automate aluminum sanding, features two sides with different grid sand pads as well as a connection for a vacuum to remove debris. Printing the part in-house allowed All Axis to save on expensive machinist time and material costs. This approach also meant the sander could be designed as one complex part, rather than having to design it as several components needing to be assembled together. The use of production-grade ABS printed in the 100°C heated chamber produced a very strong and durable tool capable of withstanding the harsh machine shop environment, with the part mating perfectly with the robot arm on the first try.
Kuzmin concludes: “One of the interesting things about our shop is that right next to our million-dollar machines on the production floor is a MakerBot METHOD, which is about $6,500. And it’s that $6,500 machine that is able to keep our million-dollar machines running automation.”
You can find more information on the robotics side at allaxisrobotics.com and on the Method 3D printers from makerbot.com.
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