HEPHESTOS: Hard Material Small-Batch Industrial Machining Robot

Abstract

In September 2012 a European collaborative project was launched entitled "Hard Material Small-Batch Industrial Machining Robot (HEPHESTOS)". HEPHESTOS' main objective is to develop novel technologies for the robotic hard material removal that will provide standard industrial robots with advanced techniques in machining planning, programming and real-time control. Hard materials machining has recently attracted great attentions from the advanced industries, in particular, the European automotive, the aerospace and the biomedical industries. However, the existing technology failed to provide these industries with a cost efficient solution to cope with small-batch production of large and complex-shaped products. The project HEPHESTOS, with its focus on developing sophisticated methods in robotic manufacturing, shall give rise to a cost-efficient solution in hard materials machining for this small-batch production of highly customized products through the application of industrial robots.