Lockheed Martin taps Machina’s robots for mission-critical missile parts
Lockheed Martin has awarded a qualification contract to Machina Labs, a pioneer in advanced manufacturing and robotics, to support the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) program. This marks the first time a component built using Machina’s robotic “RoboForming” technology has advanced to qualification for a U.S. defense missile system.
Addressing production constraints in defense manufacturing
The defense industrial base is under pressure to scale faster than legacy manufacturing allows, according to Edward Mehr, co-founder and CEO of Machina. “Missile programs are not constrained by design. They are constrained by production,” Mehr said. “Machina’s factory is built to address that constraint, forming and assembling complex metal structures directly from digital design with dramatically shorter lead times.”
Mehr discussed the company’s growth and evolution on a recent episode of The Robot Report podcast, noting that Machina is uniquely configured to support defense clients.
RoboForming technology earns industry recognition
Machina’s system forms precision parts using industrial robots that pound metal into precise shapes. The company was a 2023 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award winner for its novel approach. The robots can 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. Through coordinated interactions, the robots form parts similarly to a blacksmith. The latest version of the workcells includes the capability to drill holes, laser cut, or engrave parts.
Unlike a stamp-and-die production line, which is expensive to create and set up, a Machina workcell can produce high-quality parts in lot sizes as small as one unit. The workcell is suitable for low-volume production or for parts with short lead times, the company said.
New facility dedicated to defense clients
Machina does not sell its metal-forming workcells but serves as a contract manufacturer, fulfilling clients’ production needs. The company is opening a new facility, Machina Factory 3, to exclusively serve the needs of Lockheed Martin and other defense contractors.
The contract will be supported through Machina Factory 3, the company’s first large-scale intelligent factory currently under development. The 200,000-square-foot facility is designed to house up to 50 RoboCraftsman cells and support high-rate production of mission-critical metal structures for defense programs, including JASSM.
By integrating forming, machining, welding, and assembly under one roof, Machina said its new facility will compress production timelines from months to days.
“Lockheed Martin Ventures invested in Machina for its powerful combination of speed, flexibility, and scalability, and our teams have worked closely to transition key capabilities to production,” said Chris Moran, vice president and general manager at Lockheed Martin Ventures. “Machina’s work advances capacity, reduces risk, and helps ensure we can deliver mission-critical capabilities at scale. We congratulate Machina on this milestone as a supplier, which further strengthens an innovative and resilient American defense industrial base.”
The source for this article is https://www.therobotreport.com/lockheed-martin-taps-machinas-robots-for-mission-critical-missile-parts/.