Manufacturers are constantly looking for ways to improve efficiency and reduce repetitive tasks through robotics, but for those just beginning their automation journey, the first deployment can feel overwhelming. While the initial integration is often the most complex, long-term success comes from designing systems that can grow and adapt over time.
During his Automate session titled Maximizing Productivity Through Flexible Machine Tending Solution, Matt Panosh, Stationary Workholding Group Manager, SCHUNK guided participants through essential considerations for automating machine tending, from basic robotic handling to automated clamping on machine tables.
With 20 years of manufacturing expertise, including 16 years dedicated to SCHUNK, Panosh is a seasoned leader in optimizing workholding processes and providing high-precision solutions to the CNC manufacturing industry nationwide. His comprehensive technical knowledge of CNC machines, spanning from spindle to machine table, enables him to serve a diverse range of sectors including automotive, aerospace, space exploration, technology, and medical.
According to Panosh, machine tending is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Most manufacturers will ultimately deploy several different machine tending strategies to support the range of product variation, part complexity, and batch sizes they produce. The biggest mistake I see is trying to force every application into the same automation approach.
In this interview, he shares practical strategies to optimize investment in automation, focusing on increasing throughput, reducing manual labor, and creating scalable solutions.
Tech Briefs: Your session at Automate this week emphasized scalability — how should engineers design a machine tending system today that can realistically adapt to future production changes, especially in environments like automotive and aerospace?
Matt Panosh: Build flexibility into the foundation. Whenever possible, start with standard, off-the-shelf workholding solutions that can adapt to multiple part families and production scenarios rather than dedicated fixtures designed for a single component. Modular workholding and quick-change systems reduce setup time, simplify future projects, and allow the automation cell to evolve as production needs change. The goal is to create a flexible platform that can accommodate new parts with minimal investment, providing a stable foundation that can be continuously improved for cycle time and overall throughput.
Tech Briefs: Workholding plays a critical role in automation success. How are innovations in clamping and fixturing influencing flexibility and throughput in modern robotic machine tending applications?
Panosh: Build the right partnerships and choose the right workholding. Reliable, flexible, scalable, and accurate workholding is the foundation of every successful automation cell. The robot can only be as consistent as the system locating and clamping the part. Choose workholding that supports multiple part families, allows for quick changeovers, and can adapt as production requirements evolve. Modular, standardized solutions reduce setup time, improve repeatability, and make it easier to expand automation without redesigning the entire process. A strong partnership between the manufacturer, automation integrator, and workholding specialist ensures the solution is designed not only for today's application but also for tomorrow's production needs.
Tech Briefs: What are the key challenges in synchronizing robot motion with CNC machine movements, especially when using spindle and table motion in lean automation setups?
Panosh: The biggest challenge is thinking of the robot and CNC as one integrated manufacturing system instead of two independent machines. Every movement — spindle orientation, table position, door operation, clamp actuation, and robot path — must be predictable and repeatable. The goal is to eliminate uncertainty and create a process that can run reliably with minimal intervention. Equally important is robot placement and overall cell layout. Decisions made early in the design phase can have a significant impact on future scalability. For example, mounting a robot on top of a machine may save valuable floor space, but it can also limit the robot's reach and future ability to tend additional machines. Proper planning may allow the same robot to support multiple machines or future automation expansions with minimal investment. I always encourage manufacturers to simplify the process whenever possible. A slightly longer but highly repeatable sequence is often preferable to a faster process with more complexity and risk. In automation, consistency and uptime typically deliver more value than absolute speed.
Tech Briefs: What considerations should engineers keep in mind when pairing robots or cobots with workholding systems to ensure consistent part positioning, repeatability, and process stability?
Panosh: When pairing robots or cobots with workholding systems, engineers need to think beyond the immediate application and plan for future growth. At the most basic level, robot payload, moments, and future scalability should be carefully evaluated. Choosing a smaller robot may reduce the initial investment, but it can quickly become a limitation once tool changers, grippers, larger workpieces, pallet systems, or additional workholding are added. It's much easier to plan for expansion than to replace an undersized robot later. The workholding should establish the accuracy — not the robot. Positive locating features, repeatable clamping, and part-present verification create a process that delivers consistent results from the first cycle to the thousandth. Finally, don't overlook the workpiece itself. If you're loading material blanks, they should be square, clean, and free of burrs and chips. Automation will consistently repeat a bad process just as effectively as a good one, so reliable part presentation and workholding are essential for long-term process stability.
Automate Booth #1241
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