Tormach Shows Off New Robot Arm Prototype

December 26, 2020

Tormach, an employee-owned company of about 40 based in Madison, Wisc., recently posted a YouTube video highlighting its new robot arm, which it refers to as a “ROS-based Open Industrial Manipulator.” Daniel Rogge of Tormach, discussing the project, talked about the company’s goal of helping people make things, which led to the development of the robot arm.

The company, which develops CNC machining equipment that includes milling machines, lathes, surface grinders, and similar tools, also developed a controller that is built on top of the open-source LinuxCNC framework. It was through this relationship and positive results in working with LinuxCNC that Rogge encountered ROS for the first time. 

In the video (see below), Rogge discusses the possibilities of walking into a two-car garage and finding a milling machine, lathe, and a robot cooperating at a work cell, which could help bring industry back to the U.S. through “citizen machinists.” The robot arm features a 6 kg payload, has a 970-mm reach, and is controlled by Tormach’s PathPilot/ROS.

More details on the arm are available in the video:

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