CNC Machining for Robotics
Robot cells are hard on tooling: every gram on the wrist costs payload, and the tool has to land exactly where the program thinks it is. We machine the mounting and tooling parts around the robot — gripper bodies, adapter plates, sensor brackets, nests and cable guides — to your drawings.
- Gripper bodies, jaw carriers and soft jaws
- Flange adapter plates, riser and base plates
- Sensor, camera and cable-guide brackets
- Nests and part presentation trays
- Aluminium, stainless steel and engineering plastics
The short answer
Robotics work is rarely about one hard dimension. Two things decide whether a tool works on a cell: how much it weighs on the wrist, and whether the tool frame sits where the program expects it. Both are machining decisions — where material comes out, and how accurately the mounting holes sit relative to the datum.
We machine those parts to your drawing with ISO 2768-m as standard and ±0.01 mm on the dimensions you mark critical: bolt circles, dowel pin holes, datum faces and jaw slots. Lightening pockets, webs and radii come out of the solid rather than being built up from a stack of plates, which is usually where both the weight and the backlash come from.
Send the tool drawing, the flange pattern you are mounting to, and the payload budget if you have one. You get a priced quote within 48 hours in the normal case. If this is a one-off tool for a single cell, see our page on CNC machining for industrial automation.
What we hold on automation parts
The numbers we quote against, and what they mean for the parts above.
General tolerance
ISO 2768-m
Applies to every dimension with no callout of its own. Most brackets and plates need nothing tighter.
Critical features
±0.01 mm
Held on bore fits, shaft fits, datum faces and hole patterns — the dimensions you mark as functional.
Milling envelope
1000 × 600 × 500 mm
3-axis and 4-axis work. Larger is quoted case by case.
Turning capacity
Ø 300 × 500 mm
Shafts, hubs, bushings and coupling parts, with Ø 42 mm bar capacity for small turned parts.
Materials
Al / SS / steel / plastics
6061-T6 and 6082, 304 and 316, 1018 to 4140, plus POM, PEEK, nylon and UHMW.
Finishing
On the same order
Anodising, passivation, zinc and nickel plating, black oxide and powder coating arranged with the machining.
Robot tooling and mounting parts we machine
What each part is usually made from, and what the cost actually hangs on.
| Part | Typical material | What usually matters |
|---|---|---|
| Gripper bodies and jaw carriers | 6061-T6, 7075-T6 | Weight, and stiffness where the jaw clamps |
| Soft jaws and gripper fingers | POM, 6061-T6, 4140 | Grip surface matching the part profile |
| Tool flange adapter plates | 6061-T6, 304 | Bolt circle and dowel pin position to the robot flange |
| Sensor and camera mounts | 6061-T6, POM | Staying put, and slot position repeatability |
| Robot base and riser plates | 6061-T6, 1018 | Flatness, and the anchor hole pattern |
| Vacuum and air manifold blocks | 6082, 6061 | Port threads, clean cross-holes, no leaks |
| Cable and hose guides | POM, 6061 | Smooth edges and a radius where the cable bends |
| Nests and presentation trays | POM, 6061 | The part sitting where the robot expects it |
Have a drawing ready?
Send a STEP, IGES or DWG — you get a priced quote within 48 hours in the normal case, with tolerance and lead time stated on it.
Weight and tool frame, not headline tolerance
A tool that is 200 g heavier than it needs to be takes payload away from the part or costs cycle time. Most of that weight can come out of the webbing and the outside faces without touching the mounting face — so we ask what the tool has to survive before deciding how thin to go.
Position matters more than size. If the dowel pin holes and the bolt circle are quoted to the outside edges instead of to the datum that sets the tool frame, the tool lands a few tenths off and the whole program needs re-teaching. We quote those features to the datum you mark, and keep the setup notes so a second tool or a spare is made the same way.
If the cell runs several of the same tool, say so — it changes how we plan the fixture and how often we measure. For repeat batches of the same part, see CNC machining for industrial automation.
Processes behind these parts
Most automation parts use one or two of these. Where a job needs more than one, we run them on the same order rather than handing it back to you to coordinate.
POM · PEEK · UHMW
Insulators, wear strips and light tooling that metal cannot do.
Getting the drawing right the first time
Small decisions on the drawing that save a round of re-teaching on the cell.
- Give the flange you are mounting to — bolt circle, pilot diameter and dowel pin positions. We machine to that pattern, not to a generic plate.
- Mark the datum that sets the tool frame. Bolt circles and pin holes quoted to that datum assemble; the same holes quoted to an outside edge do not.
- Tell us the payload budget. If 50 g matters, say so and we will take it out of the webbing rather than the mounting face.
- Say whether the cell gets washed down. That decides 304 or 316 instead of aluminium, and it is cheaper to decide before the first chip.
- For soft jaws and fingers, send a STEP of the workpiece as well as the jaw — the grip surface is machined to the part, not to a dimension.
- Give the target date up front. Standard lead time is 2–4 weeks; rush orders are confirmed case by case.
Frequently asked questions
What robotics and automation engineers ask before they send the first tool drawing.
Can you machine an adapter plate for our robot flange?
Yes. Send the flange drawing, or the bolt circle, pilot diameter and dowel pin positions, plus what mounts on the other side. We machine the plate to that pattern and quote it with the pin holes held to the datum you mark.
Can you make gripper fingers to match our part?
Yes — send a STEP of the workpiece along with the jaw drawing. Fingers are machined to the part profile, so the profile is what we need, not only the jaw dimensions. POM or aluminium for soft jaws, 4140 where the grip surface sees wear.
What material keeps a tool light?
6061-T6 for most bodies, and 7075-T6 where the section is thin and the load is high. Move to PEEK or POM where the tool needs to insulate or grip without marking the part. If the section you have drawn will not survive the clamp load, we will say so before we quote.
Do you machine the nests and trays the robot picks from?
Yes. Nests, presentation trays and part locators in POM or aluminium. Send the part model and the pick position, and we machine the nest so the part sits where the robot expects it.
Do you make parts for washdown or food-adjacent cells?
Yes. Send the material callout — typically 304 or 316 — and we machine to it. Surface finish and corner radii are cheapest to get right when they are on the drawing rather than decided afterwards.
What do you need to quote, and how long does it take?
A 3D model plus a dimensioned PDF, the material, the quantity including spares, and your target date. You get a priced quote within 48 hours in the normal case, with tolerance and lead time stated on it. Standard lead time is 2–4 weeks; rush orders are confirmed case by case.
Send us the drawing
Send a STEP, IGES or DWG model with a dimensioned PDF, the material, the quantity including spares and your target date. If the tool mounts to something, include that pattern — a bolt circle quoted to the wrong datum is the most common reason a tool has to be re-taught. You get a priced quote within 48 hours in the normal case, with tolerance and lead time stated on it. If an NDA needs signing first, say so and we will do that before you send anything.
Ready to Start Your Project?
Send drawings in STEP, IGES or DWG. You get a priced quote within 48 hours in the normal case, with tolerance and lead time stated. Tooling quoted to the datum that sets the tool frame.