Manufacturing Automation at CubCrafters

On a recent visit to CubCrafters to help build a Carbon Cub UL, our editor in chief got a first-hand look at the company's latest bit of manufacturing tech: a semi-automated Haas six-axis milling machine. The coolest part? The robotic arm that manages raw billet blocks going in and, almost tenderly, extracts the finished piece from the mill when it's done some 40 minutes later.

[@TailDragger83_PAW]

At least they aren’t laser cutting parts 😂

[@SuperYellowsubmarin]

That is plain wrong ! Automation on CNCs enables you to do more on fewer machines, in addition to 5 axis. It doesn't matter if they make low quantities, because they produce repeated small quantities in batches. That's all it takes. As 5 axis reduced or sometimes suppresses setup time, changeover matters less.

[@PDZ1122]

Such robots are justified when you're making thousands of products. On this type of airplane production it's an expensive toy. But then again, they have to spend the money they get from their insane prices somewhere, right?