The manufacturing industry is rapidly transitioning toward smart factories, accelerating the adoption of collaborative robots (cobots) to meet the demand for flexible automation. However, the low structural stiffness of cobots presents a fundamental l...
The manufacturing industry is rapidly transitioning toward smart factories, accelerating the adoption of collaborative robots (cobots) to meet the demand for flexible automation. However, the low structural stiffness of cobots presents a fundamental limitation for their direct application in precision machining processes such as milling, where significant cutting forces can cause deflection and chatter vibration, leading to poor dimensional accuracy and surface quality. This study proposes a hybrid manufacturing process combining Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) and milling, which structurally decouples the robot's role from the machining load to overcome this limitation. In the proposed system, a collaborative robot is responsible for workpiece positioning and transport, while a separate, high-stiffness spindle unit performs the actual machining. This hybrid process first implements the basic geometry via precision milling on an aluminum specimen, followed by a secondary, non-contact EDM process that improves the final surface quality and significantly reduces the formation of burrs. The machining quality of the hybrid robot system was systematically evaluated, focusing on surface roughness and geometric accuracy. A comparative analysis against a conventional process confirmed distinct improvements in flexibility, accuracy, and burr reduction. The results demonstrate that this approach is a practical alternative for compensating for the stiffness limitations of cobots, proving its feasibility for industrial applications in precision automated manufacturing.