With the ending cell, ABB mentioned it hopes to bridge the hole between custom-made automation and entry-level instrument kits. | Supply: ABB Robotics
ABB Robotics final week launched its first absolutely automated sanding and sharpening cell. The Zurich, Switzerland-based firm mentioned the OmniVance Collaborative Floor Ending Cell can automate key floor ending duties, akin to sanding and sharpening.
Floor ending is a essential step in manufacturing throughout nearly each business. Nevertheless, companies are going through twin pressures of extra advanced manufacturing calls for and a scarcity of expert labor. Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute have predicted that 1.9 million manufacturing jobs can be unfilled by 2033.
“A rising variety of corporations wish to automate processes akin to sanding and sharpening, however many smaller companies lack in-house robotics experience – so whereas they should ship excellent high quality each time, till now, many haven’t had an answer that matches their wants,” mentioned Craig McDonnell, managing director of business-line industries at ABB Robotics.
“Many companies are cautious of investing in advanced, bespoke automation, whereas off-the-shelf instruments lack the scalability and functionality they require,” he adde.d “With our new OmniVance Collaborative Floor Ending Cell, we’re introducing industrial-grade robotics in a easy, inexpensive, and scalable answer.”
OmniVance designed to be self-contained, straightforward to deploy
With the OmniVance Collaborative Floor Ending Cell, ABB mentioned it hopes to bridge the hole between custom-made automation and entry-level instrument kits with its turnkey answer. It makes use of a GoFa cobot to execute high-quality, precision floor ending.
The cell is solely self-contained, delivered as an entire plug-and-play providing together with GoFa and security elements. The absolutely CE-certified cell doesn’t require any extra engineering to change on and start manufacturing, famous ABB. The corporate claimed that it’s straightforward so as to add new instruments and equipment, making the system extremely adaptable for high-mix environments.
By automating repetitive sanding and sharpening duties, the cell can improve throughput and scale back conventional scrap and rework, saving time, effort, and prices, ABB mentioned. Built-in mud extraction readiness helps keep a clear, wholesome work atmosphere whereas additional enhancing completed product high quality. Automation additionally reduces bodily pressure and frees expert staff to focus on extra precious duties, mentioned ABB Robotics.
The corporate mentioned it developed its software program to be intuitive for straightforward deployment and to manipulate your complete ending course of. A tablet-style interface is user-friendly for these with out robotics experience and desires no customized programming, based on ABB.
Options akin to lead-through 3D path recording, 2D preset path creation, and intuitive path enhancing, built-in into Wizard Straightforward Programming blocks, can scale back programming time by as much as 90%, it asserted.
Ending cell joins rising ABB Robotics portfolio
ABB is among the world’s main producers of robots. The firm‘s portfolio contains industrial automation, collaborative robots, and autonomous cell robots (AMRs) for a variety of industries, together with automotive, electronics, and logistics.
In October 2025, ABB Group introduced plans to promote its robotics unit to SoftBank Group for $5.3 billion. ABB Robotics has about 7,000 staff, and its U.S. headquarters and manufacturing facility are in Auburn Hills, Mich.
Final month, ABB launched its new PoWa household of force- and power-limited robots. PoWa extends ABB’s cobot capabilities with industrial-grade efficiency, together with six completely different payload classes, from 7 to 30 kg (15.4 to 66.1 lb.), and it may possibly attain a prime pace of as much as 5.8 m/s (13 mph).
