Industry Pain Points
Deburring is a critical step in the post-processing of aluminum-alloy die-cast parts. It is also one of the most labor-dependent and time-consuming procedures. Die-casting factories today face multiple common challenges in manual deburring: the process is inefficient, workpiece quality is inconsistent, and on top of that, hiring is hard and labor cost is high — all driving overall production efficiency down and total cost persistently high.
Industrial Robotic Polishing
Automated upgrade path:
To break through the bottleneck of manual deburring, industrial-robot automated polishing systems are becoming the direction of industry transformation. Compared with traditional manual methods, the core advantages span three dimensions:
Efficiency and output leap
- Robots can run 24 hours continuously; a single unit is equivalent to 3–5 skilled workers.
- A well-known domestic die-casting company's case shows that, after introducing robots, single-piece processing time decreased by 62% and average daily output rose by 200%.
Quality consistency and precision control
- Through force-control sensing and visual positioning, the robot achieves ±0.1 mm repeat-positioning accuracy, eliminating the operator-to-operator variability of manual work.
- Tests on aluminum-alloy components for an automaker showed that automated polishing reduced the defect rate from 8.7% (manual) to 0.9%.
Total-cost structure optimization
Cost dimension Manual method Robotic solution Direct labor cost Avg. ¥15,000/person/month (incl. training) Equipment depreciation ≈ ¥3,000/month Quality loss cost 5–8% of output value Controlled to within 1% Long-term marginal cost Continuously rising 3-year payback
Extended value of the technology:
- Flexible-manufacturing capability: Through fast recipe changeover, a single workstation can handle 20+ different types of castings, adapting to the trend of small-batch customization.
- Closed-loop data management: Polishing parameters are uploaded to the MES system in real time, enabling process-data traceability and providing decision support for lean manufacturing.
Key-Advantage Summary
Industrial robots not only address the efficiency and quality pain points of the manual mode — they also restructure the production value chain through a standardized operation system. Although the upfront investment is higher than manual (≈ ¥400,000–800,000 per unit), within a two-year operational cycle the total cost can flip positive through efficiency gains (capacity uplift), quality dividends (lower defect rate), and implicit cost reduction (lower injury risk / management overhead), giving die-casting enterprises a sustainable competitive edge.
iNexBot Polishing Types
Automatic abrasive-wheel changes and multi-pass polishing in different directions are supported. Supported polishing types include:
- Grinding of welding spatter
- Polishing of surface scratches
- Leveling of excess weld height
- Leveling of excess machining material
- Long and large weld grinding
- Removal of sharp edges and burrs
Combined with external-axis equipment such as positioners, large titanium castings can be polished, ensuring a smooth and flat finish.
Combined with offline programming, smooth polishing of complex curved workpieces is achievable.
Combined with line-scanning laser-tracking technology, the following automated polishing programming is achievable:
- 2-point straight-line positioning
- 3-point / 4-point user-coordinate positioning
Polishing Use-Case Scenarios
Scenario 1
Description:
- Polish a single straight line.
- Polish one pass at a 0° angle (the current teach point's angle), starting the polish.
- After polishing, wait for the next "continue-polishing" signal.
Scenario 2
Description: Polish a single straight line. The teach position polishes 4 passes: 2 passes offset +15° in the positive direction, 2 passes offset +15° in the negative direction.
Scenario 3
Description: The polishing head wore down by 1 mm, requiring parameter adjustment.
Setup steps:
- Enter Process / Polishing Process / Polishing Parameters, select the corresponding process number, and click Modify.
- Set Tool-wear compensation to 1, and click Save.
- Once the setup is complete, run the program.
Scenario 4
Polish a single straight line. The teach position polishes 4 passes, with the positive direction offset by 15°, and laser-locating polishes 2 passes.
Download
Click here to start downloading the [polishing documentation](/api/cms-assets/downloads/手册中文版/2. 控制系统手册/24.03/2403 打磨工艺手册.pdf)
