Robot Case From Concept to Reality

Team RPWORLD

fromRPWORLD

21 Oct, 2022

Ross Robotics is currently finalizing development of the Scale 2.0 robot platform, which are currently being used in the nuclear industry and are being adapted for use in oil & gas and in intensive agriculture. The company came to RPWORLD for assistance in developing customized products.

Injection Molding

- cnc milling

- manufacturing systems

- product design

Client Background

Ross Robotics is a privately owned UK company specializing in modular robotics. The company was formed in 2015 and has successfully developed the technologies underpinning the modular robotics platform. These technologies are applicable both to robotics and beyond, and are protected by over 30 granted patents.

The modular robotic platform addresses many of the issues faced when designing and developing robots to perform sophisticated tasks in challenging environments. Where conventionally a product is developed from concept to finished exploitable item via a number of iterative steps, modularity uses generic building blocks which can be recombined. By using proven system elements linked by robust modular systems engineering, the product integration process becomes a product-assembly process. Cost, complexity and business-risk are dramatically reduced. Many tasks hitherto considered to be out of the reach of robotization are now achievable and much of the cost and jeopardy of ownership is removed.

Project Background

Ross Robotics is currently finalizing development of the Scale 2.0 robot platform, which are currently being used in the nuclear industry and are being adapted for use in oil & gas and in intensive agriculture.
Early in 2009, the company came to RPWORLD for assistance in developing customized products. The product characteristics are a complex structure, the requirement for real/solid colour, and materials that have specific mechanical performance characteristics. The parts initially produced as prototypes will also be used as finished product. The demand per batch is dozens of sets with a design that can require modifications to respond to changing market needs.

RPWORLD Solution

1. PROCESS SELECTION：

Combine SLA, urethane casting and CNC milling. Due to product structure constraints, CNC machining is not a viable option as the cost for a typical batch would be over $100,000 and most of the parts need to be redesigned. Moreover, the process is not suitable for small batch requirements.

4. COLOR ADJUSTMENT：

All the colors are adjusted according to Pantone color code, with solid color.

POSTSCRIPT NOTE

We completed this project through cooperation with SIEMENS, who provided software support. RPWORLD provided hardware (housings and other components) support.

TESTIMONIALS

We have been working with RPWORLD since 2009. This continuity means that there is a two-way understanding of how both companies operate, both at the technology level and at the organizational level, therefore few surprises about lead-times, quality and results are very consistent. Turn around of projects is very fast and few technical challenges are considered impossible. This is crucial for a small, innovative technology company. RPWORLD has itself grown and changed in these nine years and now has the ability to scale production (for example tool-making and plastics injection) as requirements evolve. This is a valuable factor when planning future development work.

Philip Norman
Co-Founder, Ross Robotics

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Faster than Courier Services

Time is money. Normally we only choose from the Top 3 express partners in the world to deliver finished goods to our clients. Occasionally, however, the delivery timeline is too tight, and we have to use our internal "transporter", which is faster than courier service.

Team RPWORLD

fromRPWORLD

16 Mar, 2023

Injection Molding

- cnc milling

- digital manufacturing

- manufacturing systems

- product design

Project Background

RPWORLD received a purchase order from an instrument company for a complete shell project for protein analysis and detection equipment. The customer advised us that we must deliver the demonstration prototypes to their office in Shanghai before 12 pm on April 28th. Timing was very tight as this instrument shell would be sent to the United States for the exhibition.

Prototypes for exhibitions are quite different from standard development prototypes as they have strict cosmetic appearance requirements. The project was quite complex, and considering the urgent deadline there was no room for mistakes.

Risk Evaluation

During the early stages of project analysis, we determined that a transparent, curved part required 5 silk screen layers in order to properly show the In Molding Labeling (IML) effect. Since this represented the primary visual element of the prototype, it required extremely high quality. After consultation with engineering and production teams, we settled on an ideal solution and established a suitable process flow. We also prepared a backup solution as a contingency

Resolving Issues

Three days later, the curved part was to be silk-screened. We did not succeed during several initial trials. As time was running out, an overnight project meeting was called and it was decided that we would make changes to the process plan. At the same time, we updated the status of the project with our client, informing them of the issues that we were facing. With the deadline quickly approaching, our team worked overtime. Finally, thanks to the modified process plan and the efforts of all team members, the prototypes were completed on the night of the 27th.

Resolving Issues

Normally we would entrust a Top 3 global carrier to ship international express goods, and major domestic carrier to sh

Case study

Aesthetic Model of Automobile Lamp

The client is a well-known automotive company. They developed a new headlights, and then come to RPWORLD for high quality aesthetic model. The mold is used for appearance reviewing and lighting testing, which sets high process standard for after treatment. what’s more, the lead time is 20 days.

Team RPWORLD

fromRPWORLD

14 Oct, 2022

Injection Molding

- cnc milling

- manufacturing systems

Background

The client is a well-known automotive company. They developed a new headlights, and then come to RPWORLD for high quality aesthetic model. The mold is used for appearance reviewing and lighting testing, which sets high process standard for after treatment. what’s more, the lead time for this project is 20 calender days.

Challenges

• Tight schedule

• High quality and multiple after treatment requirements

• Functional lighting. The high beam, low beam, turn light and driving lamp should be lighted in any combination or single way.

• The design was not final freezed, we should adjust the assembly manually if any interference or unexpected problems occurs.

• The headlight shell was oversized with a complex structure, which has to be split first and then glue them together. It is easy to cause bubbles and other defects.

• Two or three different surface effect are required to show on several parts, which needs high standard on the combination of different manufacturing solutions and after treatment processes.

PRODUCTION

Detailed production schedule was prepared for production and quality control.

After Treatment

Polishing on PMMA parts:

• The headlight and led shell are made from PMMA material.

• The headlight shell was produced by split and glue solution with PMMA material, it will cause bubbles and other defects if we did not glue well.

• To reach good transparency effect, we polished the PMMA parts with 600#，800#，1200#，1500#，1800#，2200# sand paper step by step.

• The led shell have many details on surface, the polish work is important to make sure the appearance.

• The headlight shell was polished by our senior