Above: EasyGrinder operates without the extensive programming typically required for robotic systems.
September, 2025- It’s a familiar scene in North American metalworking facilities: a deburring machine operates for perhaps half a shift per week while, nearby, workers manually grind parts with angle grinders. Even in facilities where deburring machines run multiple shifts, manual grinding operations persist.
Often, this means workers remove slag and grind parts before putting them into a deburring machine. Manual grinding departments can range from just a couple of people to more than 40 full-time employees. Finding, training and retaining workers to perform this critical but mundane task is a challenge. For manufacturers it raises an important question: why does such labor-intensive work persist in an industry focused on automation and efficiency?
The EasyGrinder is an autonomous robotic system built on Teqram’s vision-guided technology and equipped to deploy AI in specified areas.
The primary reason for deburring is to make sure parts fit well and look good. Coating processes can require removal of slag and dross as well as breaking edges or additional edge treatments. Welding applications necessitate not only slag removal but can also demand elimination of the oxide layer on the cut edge, beveling or removal of heat affected zones. Quality expectations also continue to rise with demand for precision deburring and edge processing.
Teqram’s EasyEye is a platform for 3D vision and robot control.
LIMITATIONS
While conventional deburring equipment is best suited for simple, flat parts that weigh less than 40 lbs., it has several limitations. Warped or bowed parts cause inconsistent results, destruction of the abrasives, parts jamming in the machine and, in worst-case scenarios, equipment damage. For parts thicker than 1 in., variation in part thickness becomes an issue for the same reason and frequently leads to an unsatisfactory deburring outcome.
Newly designed parts increasingly feature inner cutouts, holes, slots, notches, curves, and acute angles that make it harder to apply pressure evenly on edges. Compounding this problem is the fact that complex parts have a higher cut length per part which means higher heat input during cutting. Higher heat input means it is less likely the part will stay flat.
There are several key operations that can’t be performed on a conventional deburring machine. They include removing start-stop points on oxy-fuel-cut parts, creating consistent edge radii of 2mm or larger, removing the melt-edge formed during oxy-fuel cutting and performing chamfering, beveling or stamping operations. Heavy components weighing more than 40 lbs. often require crane handling, making the throughput advantage of deburring machines less significant.
OVERCOMING OBSTACLES
Teqram developed the EasyGrinder to solve three issues simultaneously: overcome the limitations of through-feed machines; integrate part handling to save the cost of a crane and time lost during handling and reduce the manual labor required.
The patented EasyGrinder is an autonomous robotic system built on Teqram’s vision guided technology and deploys AI in specific areas. The operator places pallets with parts into the robot cell, selects which grinding operations to apply and starts the system. Vision sensors and AI detect the parts and their relevant features. The robot places each part onto a flipping table called the EasyFlipper.
This flipping table has a magnetic clamping device to fixate the parts during chiseling and grinding. For double-sided processing, the EasyFlipper can flip the parts so the robot can process the bottom. A quick-change system for grippers and grinding tools allows for automatic tool changes, and many different operations. After all operations have been executed, the robot picks up the part and places it onto a pallet for finished parts. The standard cell can handle four fully loaded pallets allowing for unmanned, autonomous production.
EasyGrinder operates without the extensive programming typically required for robotic systems. For most applications, it can start a new batch of parts with only 30 seconds of user input by the operator.
A standard EasyGrinder robotic cell can handle four fully loaded pallets for autonomous production.
ECONOMIC EQUATION
The cost drivers for deburring operations include labor, abrasives, electricity and maintenance. The EasyGrinder delivers improvements across three areas. By automating part handling and grinding, it reduces labor requirements by approximately 90 percent per shift in comparison to a manual worker.
Operators mainly manage logistics, bringing parts to and from the cell. Since the EasyGrinder can work autonomously, the labor cost saving can be significant. A rule of thumb for parts heavier than 40 lbs. is that one EasyGrinder operating in three shifts has the same throughput as three to four manual workers. While a medium to large through-feed deburring machine might have a connected load of 30kW to 60kW, the EasyGrinder operates with as little as 2kW on average, representing substantial energy savings.
The EasyGrinder applies optimal pressure, feed rates and spin rates, using the complete surface of abrasive disks. Additionally, large burrs and slag are chiseled away before grinding, extending abrasive life. Hourly abrasive cost for the EasyGrinder ranges from 20 cents to 70 cents, depending on processing intensity, compared to $10 per hour, or more, for conventional deburring machines.
FLEXIBILITY
EasyGrinder model configurations can support part weights of 440 lbs. to 4,400 lbs. and thicknesses ranging from 0.4 in. up to 20 in. Within its size range it can cover about 80 percent of the parts that humans process. So a company with six full-time grinding technicians might automate the work of four with an EasyGrinder, freeing up workers for more specialized tasks.
The technological foundation enabling this flexibility includes Teqram’s AI- powered Vision System: Parts are scanned by a 3D vision sensor and processed by algorithms to extract relevant features and dynamically generate tool-specific operations.
The EasyGrinder features an automatic quick tool-change system with up to 16 tool stations, offering a wide range of grinding and finishing operations.
The model uses pneumatic chisels with sensors and adaptive software that adjust strategies based on resistance encountered, effectively removing even tough slag. It controls angle of approach, pressure, RPM and feed rate for precise breaking, beveling or edge rounding.
Teqram’s system can incorporate marking or stamping stations, integrating multiple production steps into a single cell. A shot blasting machine can be integrated into the line to combine parts cleaning with shot blasting.
The ability to update the EasyGrinder with software extends its life and functionality.
As the metalworking industry continues to evolve, demand for higher precision, more complex geometries and higher flexibility coupled with labor scarcity requires solutions that can adapt to market fluctuations.
Teqram, teqram.com.
