ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | SEPTEMBER 2025 18 and aging surpasses the literature design allowables for the same alloy conventionally processed (Fig. 2). Across all material types, there is growing interest in connecting process variables to microstructural evolution and final part performance. The company is collaborating with materials scientists and metallurgists to deepen its understanding of these links and to create predictive frameworks for designing better parts and processes. MANUFACTURING ASSEMBLIES: FROM CAD TO COMPLETE STRUCTURES The RoboCraftsman platform is not limited to individual parts—it is increasingly being used to manufacture full assemblies. This process begins digitally, with the user importing a CAD model and orienting the part appropriately. Because a part cannot exist in free space, this step includes designing necessary “skirting” geometries to secure the sheet metal during forming. Once the setup is complete, the part is initially RoboFormed using “default” process parameters. These initial results typically yield a part that is close, but not yet within the target tolerances. A laser scan of the part, carried out by the RoboCraftsman, is then compared to the original CAD model, and deviations are analyzed. The system iterates on the toolpath and forming parameters based on this feedback until the resulting part meets in lead time and tooling cost savings that can exceed $1 million per unique part design. Each robot arm is equipped with force, torque, and displacement sensors that enable real-time, closed-loop feedback control. This sensor-driven adaptability ensures precise control of forming forces and geometric accuracy, overcoming the limitations of earlier incremental forming implementations. Following the RoboForming step, the robotic arm replaces the forming end- effector with a laser profiler to capture a high-resolution scan of the part, which is aligned with the nominal CAD model for quality assurance. The system can then perform optional heat treatment and robotic trimming, delivering finished parts in one continuous workflow. While incremental sheet metal forming itself is not new, the combination of AI-driven robotics, multi-operation integration, and software-defined control within a RoboCraftsman system represents a major leap forward[5,6]. Leveraging these technologies offers manufacturing flexibility, traceability, and cost efficiency previously unattainable in conventional forming. MATERIAL CAPABILITIES AND METALLURGICAL CONSIDERATIONS The RoboCraftsman is engineered to form a wide variety of metallic materials. The majority of current use cases involve aluminum alloys and steels, both of which are highly relevant to the aerospace, defense, automotive, and energy sectors. Currently, RoboForming is performed at room temperature for safety and process simplicity. However, room-temperature incremental forming introduces its own set of challenges. Chief among them is the residual stress that accumulates during progressive plastic deformation of the sheet and the associated springback of the as-formed part. The team is actively addressing this through a combination of predictive process modeling and targeted post-forming heat treatments. These efforts aim to ensure that the final part meets geometric tolerances and satisfies mechanical performance criteria such as tensile properties, fatigue properties, dimensional stability, and corrosion resistance. Precipitation-hardened aluminum alloys in the 2000, 6000, and 7000 series have proven to be particularly well- suited to RoboForming. These alloys derive their final strength and service properties from the final heat treatment steps rather than from work hardening. That makes them ideal for RoboCraftsman’s workflow: forming is carried out in the more ductile and soft tempers of the alloys, and the final mechanical properties are recovered through subsequent solution treatment and aging. Machina Labs has demonstrated that the mechanical properties of RoboFormed parts after solution treatment Fig. 2 — Tensile properties, normalized to A-basis design allowables, of a 2000 series aluminum alloy that has been RoboFormed in the O temper and then solutionized, quenched, and naturally aged to a final temper of T42. Initial feedstock material was 0.080-in. thick and RoboFormed to 0.040-in. thick. Different RoboForming parameters were selected to create varied surface roughness. There were 10 samples per forming condition.
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