AOV-10 Robotic Orbital Sander Well Suited for a Variety of Robotic Applications
At Booth B23036 ATI Industrial Automation (Apex, N.C.) will feature the AOV-10 Robotic Orbital Sander, an ideal robotic solution for surface preparation and finishing.
Posted: August 12, 2021
With built-in compliance, the AOV-10 is well-suited for many different robotic application types — even those that require a light touch.
In manual material removal operations, a skilled person’s ability to feel and visually inspect subtle changes in surface conditions allows them to instinctively adjust forces to compensate for variations and produce a uniform process on the workpiece. Manual material removal jobs, often labeled as dull, dirty, and dangerous, need responsiveness to ensure consistent results. For systems using the AOV-10, a pneumatically actuated, adjustable, compliance mechanism provides dynamic control of contact forces, ensures an ideal result every time, and accommodates a wide variety of applications.
ATI’s Axially-Compliant Robotic Orbital Sander can be used as a direct replacement for manual surface preparation and finishing techniques to ensure high quality results without safety hazards or compromised labor. The design is compact and lightweight, which suits a range of robot sizes and types, from cobots to industrial models. Double-acting motion offsets the weight of the AOV-10 to produce the desired finish no matter how the tool is configured. Users can mount the AOV-10 directly to their robot or fixture in any orientation, including upside-down, and also integrate the Automatic Media Changer for hands-free exchange of sanding media.
Automation with the AOV-10 Robotic Orbital Sander and Automatic Media Changer not only keeps employees away from undesirable conditions, but also overcomes process variation due to part misalignment, part geometry inconsistency, or robot path deviations. This leads to three main benefits: the programming process becomes quicker and easier, and the overall quality of the process increases, which ultimately drives costs down, and quick hands-free media change increases productivity.
ATI’s robotic sander is optimized with 3M abrasives and includes a curated 3M media kit of sanding discs and backup pads. The AOV-10 Robotic Orbital Sander is the perfect platform for 3M’s wide range of abrasive products, while the Automatic Media Changer enables users to store and process with any combination of media discs. Together, this system enables users to successfully automate a variety of manual surface preparation and finishing tasks on many types of materials. Robotic sanding and surface treatment with ATI’s AOV-10 and Automatic Media Changer alongside 3M media ensures consistent processing using familiar media, while keeping workers safe and reducing some uncertainties associated with a new automation project.