Swiss automation specialist Güdel will use Automate 2026 in Chicago to make the case that the biggest obstacle to robotic grinding is not the robot, but its reach. At Booth 1806 in McCormick Place, the company plans to show a heavy-duty finishing cell that adds two degrees of freedom to a single industrial robot, letting it grind large, awkward parts that would otherwise demand several fixed machines.
Why robotic grinding has been hard to scale
Grinding and surface finishing of fabricated parts is a classic dull, dirty, and dangerous job that suits automation. But large weldments usually force integrators to deploy multiple robots and complex part-repositioning rigs, which adds cost, lengthens cycle times, and introduces new sources of variation. "Expanding the robot's workspace isn't just a helpful addition; it's the factor that finally makes automation feasible for large, difficult-to-reach parts," said Brenda Courim, director of sales and marketing at Güdel US.
TMV and TMF expand the work envelope
Güdel's answer pairs its TrackMotion Vertical (TMV) lift with its TrackMotion Floor (TMF) track. Together they keep the robot in a favorable posture while extending both its vertical and horizontal travel. The company argues this delivers three advantages on the shop floor: reduced capital investment, because one robot can service an entire large envelope; enhanced process stability, because the robot avoids joint extremes during long, high-force cycles; and maximum uptime in harsh, abrasive zones, because the track hardware is shielded from grinding debris.
FANUC and Titan Robotics power the demo
The show cell features a FANUC R-1000 robot fitted with a grinding end-of-arm tool, mounted on a TMV system that is itself integrated into a TMF floor track. Systems integrator Titan Robotics developed the application to grind large weldments for an off-road equipment maker. "By combining FANUC's robot performance with Güdel's vertical and floor-mounted motion, customers gain the reach, stability, and process consistency needed to automate large, demanding grinding applications," said Lou Finazzo, vice president of sales at FANUC America.
The launch lands amid a wave of physical-AI and automation news at Automate 2026, including Kawasaki's RL030N platform, Omron's new mobile robots, and Festo's GripperAI cobot tooling.
Reporting based on coverage from The Robot Report.