As a core piece of equipment in the field of industrial automation, milling robots, with their characteristics of high precision, high flexibility, and high stability, have been widely integrated into the production processes of various industries. They effectively address the pain points of traditional milling processes, such as high labor costs, low efficiency, and difficulty in controlling precision. The following will elaborate on the six core application areas, providing a detailed analysis of their specific application scenarios, technical advantages, and typical cases.

I. Automotive Manufacturing Industry: The "Core Tool" for Body and Component Processing

Automotive manufacturing is one of the most mature application fields for milling robots, covering the entire process of processing from body frames to precision components, and is particularly suitable for high-volume, standardized production needs.

• Key Application Scenarios:

a. Milling of Automotive Structural Components: For metal structural parts such as automotive chassis brackets, door hinge seats, and frame connection points, planar milling, hole system processing (e.g., threaded holes, positioning holes), and contour milling are performed to ensure the assembly precision of components (with a tolerance controllable within ±0.02mm). For example, in the processing of aluminum alloy brackets for the chassis of Tesla Model 3, 6-axis milling robots are used to replace traditional CNC milling machines, increasing production efficiency by more than 30%.

b. Surface Treatment of Interior Components: For plastic or composite parts like automotive center consoles and instrument panel frames, surface trimming, chamfering, and texture milling (e.g., wood grain imitation, brushed texture) are conducted. This avoids surface scratches or dimensional deviations caused by manual milling, and at the same time realizes "one-time forming" to reduce subsequent grinding processes.

c. Processing of Powertrain Components: In the processing of engine blocks and gearbox housings, milling robots can cooperate with visual positioning systems to complete the milling of complex chambers (e.g., oil passages, air passages). They are compatible with various materials such as cast iron and aluminum alloy, meeting the high requirements for sealing and strength of powertrain components.

• Industry Advantages: It adapts to the "multi-model, rapid production change" needs of the automotive industry. By replacing fixtures and programs, the switching of processing components for different vehicle models can be completed within 1 hour, significantly reducing the cost of production line transformation.

II. Aerospace Industry: The "Solution" for High Precision and Complex Structures

The aerospace industry has extremely high requirements for the precision, strength, and material compatibility of components. Relying on its multi-axis linkage capability and high-precision positioning technology, milling robots have become the core processing equipment in this field.

• Key Application Scenarios:

a. Milling of Aero-Engine Blades: Aero-engine blades are made of difficult-to-process materials such as titanium alloys and superalloys, and have complex curved structures (e.g., twisted profiles, tenons). Through 5-axis or 6-axis linkage and in combination with high-speed milling tools, milling robots can achieve high-precision processing of blade profiles (with a surface roughness of Ra ≤ 0.8μm) while avoiding material deformation caused by overheating.

b. Processing of Aerospace Structural Components: Structural parts such as casings and brackets of satellites and rockets mostly use lightweight materials (e.g., aluminum alloy, carbon fiber composites) and need to meet strict dimensional tolerances (e.g., ±0.01mm). Milling robots can simulate processing paths in advance through offline programming technology, reducing the number of test cuts and improving processing efficiency and yield.

c. Processing of Aircraft Fuselage Skins: A large number of hole systems need to be milled on fuselage skins (e.g., holes for connecting rivets). Traditional manual processing is inefficient and prone to hole position deviations. With the help of visual guidance systems, milling robots can adjust the processing position in real time to ensure hole position precision, and at the same time realize continuous batch processing, with the number of holes processed per day reaching tens of thousands.

• Industry Advantages: It can handle large-scale components with a diameter of more than 10 meters (e.g., main spars of aircraft wings), and the processing precision is not affected by the size of the components, solving the pain point of "limited processing range" of traditional machine tools.

III. 3C Electronics Industry: The "Efficient Processing Tool" for Small Precision Parts

Products in the 3C electronics industry (computers, communications, consumer electronics) are characterized by "small size, high precision, and rapid updates". With their advantages of miniaturization and high flexibility,  robotic arms are widely used in the processing of components for mobile phones, computers, and smart devices.

• Key Application Scenarios:

a. Processing of Mobile Phone Casings and Middle Frames: For the milling of aluminum alloy middle frames and glass back covers of mobile phones, milling robots can achieve high-precision contour milling (e.g., rounded corners, grooves) and hole system processing (e.g., camera holes, charging port holes), with a tolerance controlled within ±0.005mm, meeting the strict requirements for mobile phone appearance and assembly. For example, in the processing of aluminum alloy middle frames of Apple iPhones, multiple milling robots are used to form a flexible production line, realizing "24-hour continuous production" with a daily output of tens of thousands of pieces.

b. Processing of Computer Components: For plastic or metal parts such as laptop keyboard brackets and screen bezels, refined trimming, chamfering, and texture milling (e.g., anti-slip texture) are required. Milling robots can complete processing quickly through high-speed spindles (with a rotational speed of up to 40,000 rpm), and the surface smoothness is high, eliminating the need for subsequent polishing.

c. Processing of Smart Wearable Devices: The casings of smart watches and earphones are mostly made of materials such as ceramics and stainless steel, with complex structures and small sizes (e.g., holes with a diameter of less than 5mm). By using micro-milling tools (with a diameter of 0.1mm) and high-precision positioning systems, milling robots can achieve precise processing of small structures, solving the problems of "difficult operation and high scrap rate" in manual processing.

• Industry Advantages: It supports "multi-variety, small-batch" production. A single robot can process 3-5 different types of parts at the same time, with a switching time of only 5-10 minutes, adapting to the "rapid iteration" needs of 3C products.

IV. Mold Manufacturing Industry: The "Precision Forming Tool" for Complex Cavities and Curves

Mold manufacturing is an important application field for milling robots, especially suitable for the processing of cavities, curves, and parting surfaces of complex molds such as plastic molds, stamping molds, and die-casting molds, which can significantly shorten the mold development cycle.

• Key Application Scenarios:

a. Cavity Milling of Plastic Molds: The cavities of molds for home appliance casings and automotive interior parts have complex curves and patterns (e.g., leather texture imitation, three-dimensional patterns). Through 3D modeling and offline programming, milling robots can accurately restore the designed shape of the cavity, and at the same time realize fine milling of patterns (with a texture depth error of ≤ 0.01mm), ensuring the consistency of the appearance of products formed by the mold.

b. Cutting Edge Processing of Stamping Molds: The cutting edges of stamping molds need to have high hardness and high precision (with a cutting edge gap of ≤ 0.003mm) to ensure the flatness of the cut of stamping parts. By using cemented carbide tools and in combination with low-temperature cooling systems (to avoid tool wear caused by overheating), milling robots can achieve high-precision milling of cutting edges, extending the service life of molds.

c. Mold Repair and Refurbishment: During use, old molds may have problems such as cavity wear and cutting edge chipping. The traditional repair method requires disassembling the mold and reprocessing, which is time-consuming. Milling robots can detect the wear position of the mold in real time through online measurement systems and perform targeted local milling repair. The repair time is shortened by more than 50%, and the repair precision is consistent with the original mold.

• Industry Advantages: It can process mold steel with a hardness of more than HRC60, and no multiple heat treatments are required during the processing, reducing the risk of mold deformation and improving the precision and service life of molds.

V. Medical Device Industry: The "Processing Guarantee" for High Cleanliness and Customization

The medical device industry has extremely high requirements for the cleanliness, biocompatibility, and customization of components. Through special protective designs and precise control, milling robots meet the strict requirements of this field.

• Key Application Scenarios:

a. Processing of Surgical Instruments: For the cutting edges and joint parts of surgical instruments such as surgical scissors, forceps, and hemostats, high-precision milling is required (with a cutting edge sharpness error of ≤ 0.002mm) to ensure the accuracy of surgical operations. Milling robots use medical-grade stainless steel materials for processing, and perform aseptic treatment after processing to avoid bacterial residue.

b. Processing of Implantable Medical Devices: Implantable devices such as artificial joints, dental implants, and heart stents need to use biocompatible materials such as titanium alloys and cobalt-chromium alloys, and have complex structures (e.g., the spherical surface of artificial joints, the threads of dental implants). Through 5-axis linkage and high-precision measurement systems, milling robots realize smooth milling of the device surface (with a surface roughness of Ra ≤ 0.2μm), reducing the friction between the device and human tissues and improving the safety of implantation.

c. Processing of Medical Equipment Casings: The casings of CT machines and nuclear magnetic resonance instruments need to have radiation protection and high strength, and the surface needs to be flat and smooth (to avoid dust accumulation). Milling robots use materials such as lead alloys and carbon fiber composites for processing, and ensure the sealing performance and surface precision of the casings through high-precision milling, while meeting the radiation protection requirements of medical equipment.

• Industry Advantages: During the processing, "oil-free lubrication" and "negative pressure dust removal" designs are adopted to avoid oil pollution and dust contamination, complying with the GMP production standards for medical devices.

VI. Construction Machinery Industry: The "Stable Processing Equipment" for Large and Heavy Components

Components in the construction machinery industry (such as excavators, cranes, and road rollers) are characterized by "large size, heavy weight, and hard materials". Traditional milling equipment is difficult to meet the processing needs. With its high load capacity and stable processing performance, milling robots have become an important supplement in this field.

• Key Application Scenarios:

a. Processing of Excavator Buckets and Boom Arms: Excavator buckets and boom arms are made of high-strength wear-resistant steel (e.g., NM450), and require weld milling, pin hole processing, and bucket cutting edge milling to ensure structural strength and connection stability. Milling robots fix workpieces through heavy-load fixtures (with a load-bearing capacity of more than 500kg) and cooperate with high-power spindles (with a torque of up to 1000N·m) to efficiently complete the milling of hard steel materials.

b. Processing of Crane Slewing Bearings: Slewing bearings are core components of cranes, which require the processing of annular rails with a diameter of 2-5 meters and a large number of bolt holes, and have high requirements for hole position precision (with a circumferential distribution error of ≤ 0.05mm). Milling robots move through annular guide rails and cooperate with laser positioning systems to realize full-circumference milling of large annular parts, and the processing efficiency is 2-3 times that of traditional machine tools.

c. Processing of Road Roller Steel Wheels: The surface of road roller steel wheels needs to be milled with anti-slip patterns (e.g., diamond-shaped, strip-shaped patterns) to enhance friction during road rolling. Milling robots can quickly mill uniform patterns on the surface of steel wheels through multi-tool simultaneous processing, and the pattern depth error is ≤ 0.1mm, ensuring the consistency of road rolling effect.

• Industry Advantages: It can adapt to outdoor or semi-open processing environments (such as open-air workshops of large construction machinery factories), and has dust-proof, waterproof, and anti-vibration capabilities. The processing stability is not affected by the environment.