Automated deburring lab at Matrix Design

For our February issue’s Industry Briefs department, I’m writing an article about the Deburring Application Laboratory at Matrix Design LLC. The company designs, builds and installs robotic automation systems for deburring parts, as well as machine tending and material handling. I visited one of the Matrix 17,000-sq.-ft. facilities in South Elgin, Ill., but the company plans to move this month to a 100,000-sq.-ft. building in Bartlett, Ill., which Matrix will share with its sister company, Camcraft, a high-volume job shop.

At Matrix, I met Michael J. O’Reilly, vice president of operations, and Jeff Bennett, vice president of sales and marketing.

Matrix reports that it created the deburring lab to streamline the testing process, enabling the company to test various deburring processes and technologies on parts provided by end users. Previously, Matrix developed automated deburring systems by having eight sales people with engineering backgrounds gather input from customers and work with them to develop deburring systems, O’Reilly said. But until a customer purchased a system, Matrix wasn’t able to deburr the customer’s actual parts. One aspect that hasn’t changed since the installation of the deburring lab is customers are still closely involved in the system design process.

In addition to a FANUC robot, Matrix uses proprietary adaptive technologies in the deburring lab that include a compliance spindle, a touch-detection system powered by a heavy-duty, 3-phase motor and an iRVision positioner (iRVision from FANUC provides accurate positional data for precision tasks). These adaptive technologies are designed to simulate flexible and delicate human movements.

The servo-driven compliance spindle features:

● Constant tool pressure with adjustability;

● Automatic detection between part and tool;

● Automatic tool detection and compensation; and

● Fully programmable spindle speeds for multiple tools.

Touch detection offers:

● Constant tool pressure with adjustability;

● Automatic detection between part and tool;

● Automatic tool wear detection with compensation; and

● Adjustable tool speeds for optimal tool performance.

The iRVision positioner features:

● Coordinated motion for path/edge deburring;

● A compliant deburr spindle for constant tool pressure;

● The ability to mount parts directly on the indexing table for accurate positioning; and

● A 3-jaw chuck mounted to the table for chucking applications.