CNC Machine Tending

The robot presents a blank to a lathe chuck or mill vise, confirms clamp, retracts, and waits for the cycle to finish. When the machine signals done, the arm removes the finished part and often runs it past an air blow or gauge before staging it on a conveyor.

Payload of 5 to 35 kg covers most single-spindle work, and reach in the 1200 to 1800 mm range clears the door, chuck, and adjacent staging. A mid-size six-axis like the M-20iD/25 or ABB IRB 2600 suits most cells that are not throughput-limited.

Chuck-compatible jaws with soft or hard inserts handle round stock, while vise fixtures usually call for a two-finger or parallel gripper sized to the raw material. Coolant and chip exposure make IP-rated construction, protected cabling, and wrist covers a baseline part of the spec.

If parts land off-center in the chuck or drop on pick, verify the tool frame, gripper alignment, and whether chuck jaws are worn or drifting on close. If the robot times out waiting for the machine, check the handshake IO and confirm the door-open signal matches the physical door position.

Very short spindle cycles or heavy raw stock push toward gantry loading or a heavier arm. Where parts arrive jumbled instead of presented in a fixture, straight tending falls apart and the job shifts toward bin picking with 3D vision.

A common layout runs a UR10e tending a two-jaw lathe from a stock cart on one side and a finished-part conveyor on the other. In-process probing on the machine or a post-machine gauge station catches drift before scrap piles up.

Adding a probe check every N parts is one of the cheapest ways to catch tool wear before it lands in reject stock. Combined with a documented door interlock setup, the cell can run a shift with only stock replenishment from the operator.