Industrial
Machina has been awarded a qualification contract from Lockheed Martin to support the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) program, marking the first time a component built using the company’s robotic RoboForming technology has advanced to qualification for a U.S. defense missile system.
“The defense industrial base is under pressure to scale faster than legacy manufacturing allows,” said Edward Mehr, co-founder and CEO of Machina. “Missile programs are not constrained by design. They are constrained by production. Machina’s factory is built to address that constraint, forming and assembling complex metal structures directly from digital design with dramatically shorter lead times.”
“Missile programs are not constrained by design. They are constrained by production. Machina’s factory is built to address that constraint, forming and assembling complex metal structures directly from digital design with dramatically shorter lead times.”
Machina was a 2023 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award winner for its novel use of industrial robots to pound metal into precise shapes. The robots form complex parts from exotic materials such as titanium. Machina’s workcells consist of two industrial robots arranged on opposite sides of a vertical sheet of raw material, forming parts through coordinated interactions, much like a blacksmith. The latest version of the workcells includes the capability to drill holes into parts.
“We are excited about this opportunity to support a vital weapon system for the United States and its allies,” said John Borrego, president of Machina Bellator. “This selection underscores the importance of advanced, agile manufacturing in strengthening defense readiness and delivering capability at speed.”
Source: The Robot Report