Mills CNC (www.millscnc.co.uk), the exclusive distributor of Doosan machine tools in the UK and Ireland, has created a new division to provide a focal point for — and drive sales of — its “industrial and collaborative automation business”.

The new division, called Mills CNC Automation, was created in late 2018 and is located at the company’s Technology Campus facility in Leamington.

At the beginning of this year, Mills CNC Automation became the agent for Doosan Robotics (part of the Doosan Group).
The agreement will see the new division supply the full range of Doosan Robotics’ collaborative robot (cobot) systems and solutions to UK and Irish manufacturers.

Tony Dale, Mills CNC’s technical director, said: “This is a new and exciting venture for us. The new division — Mills CNC Automation — will be responsible for driving and accelerating sales of our industrial robots and, with the agreement signed between ourselves and Doosan Robotics, collaborative robot systems.

“The decision to create a new and separate division provides a focal point for our automation business; it will work closely with our machine tool operation.”

Mills CNC Automation’s industrial robot solutions have been installed up and down the country for a large number of component manufacturers operating in the automotive, aerospace, materials-handling and medical sectors.

A new range of industrial robot solutions (called Mills CNC AutoTurn and Mills CNC AutoMill), which facilitate automated workpiece loading and unloading, has recently been introduced and has already generated significant sales and widespread interest.

The agreement with Doosan Robotics will see Mills CNC Automation supplying a range of cobots comprising four different models — M0609, M1509, M1013 and M0617 — with payload capacities ranging from 6 to 15kg.

The cobot arms feature a ±0.1mm repeatability and a TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) speed of 1m/sec.

Mr Dale added: “These cobots are easy to use and simple to install.

“When running in collaborative mode, their torque sensors detect the slightest ‘impact’ and they stop immediately, before any type of collision occurs, making them safe and obviating the need for them to be caged in or fenced off.”