3D Printed Robotic Arm Tooling
Additive manufacturing is changing the way manufacturers design and create tooling. Robotic arm end effectors are just one great example. By removing the design restrictions of traditional manufacturing, 3D printed robotic arm effectors can increase part longevity while decreasing costs.
Advantages of 3D Printed Robotic Arm Effectors
In the example on the right, the customer was able to reduce manufacturing from 20 days down to just 3, while also cutting production costs by 94%!
3D printed parts are just as durable and will last just as long.
Vacuum channels can be built internally. If manufactured traditionally, these tubes would need to be on the outside of the part and would likely be damaged over repeated runs.
These simplified designs require little to no assembly. Arms manufactured by traditional technologies would have to be welded together from machined billet blocks, fabricated sheet metal and stock components.
3D printed effectors are lighter and less expensive because they use fewer materials. Lighter end effectors allow for larger payloads and improve motion control by reducing the torque on the robotic arm.