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26 MMS April 2017 mmsonline.com RAPID TRAVERSE Machining Technology in Brief C ur re nt tre nds in mac hine -te nding robot technology include collaborative robotics, in which a human can safely work near a robot without conventional fencing; easier deployment of robots to different machine tools when neces- sary; and simplified programming. The Robo2Go machine-tending system from DMG MORI Systems leverages technologies that address each of these trends. It is particularly well-suited for shops that run a variety of differ- ent jobs, but would like to reap the benefits of unattended or lights-out machining on their DMG MORI turning centers that feature the company's Celos control. Jeff Wallace, DMG MORI USA general manager of national engineering, says this system was developed for job shops that are new to robotic machine tending, and that is why it was designed with an intuitive programming interface, meaning Robot Hits on Three Automation Trends BY D E R E K KO R N no dedicated robot programmer is required, and can be easily moved to and set up on various machines as necessary. (This is demonstrated in a video at short.mmsonline.com/robo2go .) Hardware-wise, there are three primary system components: robot, par t-loading module and safet y scanning sensor. The six-a xis robot is ava i l a b l e i n p ay l o ad c a p a c i ti e s of 22, 4 4 o r 7 7 p o u n d s ( i n c l u d i n g w o r k p i e c e a n d e n d ef fector/grippers). Mr. Wallace says the robot can be delivered with end effectors designed by DMG MORI, although some shops may choose to make their own end effectors or have a third party produce them. The robot accesses workpiece blanks from and delivers completed components to the sys- tem's part-loading module. This module is topped with a tray that shops can machine from thin plate to best match the size, shape and number of This robotic machine- tending system for DMG MORI CNC turning centers that feature the Celos control can be moved from machine to machine via a fork truck when necessary. During operation, a sensor scans the area around the unit to detect when a person is close to the robot, trig- gering the robot to either slow or stop its motion.