Robotics & Automation Machining

Not every robotics part needs an ultra-tight tolerance

A common mistake in robotics sourcing is treating the whole assembly as tolerance-critical. Some parts do need it: a bearing seat, a shaft journal, a mating face that sets alignment, a pin hole that has to line up with its partner. Plenty of others do not — a mounting plate, a cover, a bracket that only has to clear its neighbours.

Applying a tight tolerance where it is not needed adds cost and lead time without adding function. We read the drawing for the features that actually drive the assembly, and tell you when a callout is doing more than it needs to. Where a tolerance is genuinely required, we confirm which process holds it and by which route.

Parts we machine for robotics and automation

• Structural parts — base plates, mounting plates, frames and brackets
• Shafts and pins — plain, stepped and threaded, where the geometry suits turning
• Housings and enclosures — machined bodies, covers and end caps
• Mounts and interface parts — motor mounts, sensor mounts, coupling and adapter parts
• Actuator and mechanism parts — where a feature has to run true or hold a fit

Which processes do the work

Robotics and automation builds usually mix processes in one bill of materials, which is why sourcing them from one supplier saves a round of coordination.

• CNC milling and turning for plates, housings, mounts and shafts — see CNC Milling and CNC Machining
• Swiss-type turning for small turned parts in quantity, from Ø0.5 mm to 32 mm bar — see Swiss Machining
• Precision grinding where a shaft, seat or mating face has to run true or hold a close relationship — see Precision Grinding
• Finishing — anodizing and marking — coordinated with qualified suppliers and inspected on return
• Assembly where a sub-assembly is easier to build and test than to kit
• One-off and small-batch build quantities, where a robot or cell is often a made-to-drawing component order rather than a repeat production part

Materials

Aluminium is the default for structural and housing parts. Stainless and engineering plastics take the applications where aluminium is the wrong answer.

• Aluminium — 6061 and 7075 for plates, housings and mounts, usually anodized
• Stainless steel — 303, 304 and 17-4PH for shafts, wear surfaces and corrosion exposure
• Delrin (POM) — bushings, spacers and low-friction parts
• PEEK — where a polymer part has to hold tolerance at temperature

Prototype iteration, then production

Robotics programmes usually start as a design that is still moving. A build needs a dozen different geometries in small quantities, and the design changes after the first fit check. That is a different workflow from production: short lead times, easy re-quoting on a new revision, and no tooling to write off when the design moves.

Once a design settles, the same part moves to repeat production against the same drawing and the same inspection plan. Nothing about the part changes just because the quantity went up. Before it settles, that first phase is low-volume CNC manufacturing in the literal sense: a dozen geometries, small quantities, and requoting on each revision.

Inspection and documentation

Dimensional inspection is available, and what is reported is agreed at RFQ. For most robotics work a dimensional report on the critical features is enough. Where a fit matters, tell us which features have to match and we will measure those against the drawing.

See Quality & Certifications for how inspection is built into the process. Certificate documentation available on request.

Send a robotics part for quote

Send the drawing revision — a 2D PDF plus 3D CAD if you have it — with the material and finish, the quantity you need for this build and any production volume you expect later, the critical fits and features, and the delivery date. If the design is still moving, say so; quoting against a revision that is about to change wastes everyone's time. See How It Works for what happens between the quote and the first delivery.