Robotic Milling

Automating precision timber fabrication through robotic manufacturing

Project Overview

At Intelligent City, I developed and maintained robotic milling workflows used to fabricate customized mass timber building components. A key part of this work was developing a modular robotic programming framework in ABB RAPID that enabled repeatable fabrication of highly customized products.

Instead of creating one-off robot programs for each component, I developed reusable milling procedures where each machining operation was encapsulated as a modular function with configurable inputs. This allowed manufacturing teams to generate consistent robot programs while adapting to project-specific geometries and requirements.

The workflow connected design outputs with robotic manufacturing, translating digital models into reliable production processes while improving repeatability, maintainability, and efficiency.

The Challenge

The challenge was to support a product that maintained customization while achieving manufacturing repeatability.

Traditional robot programming approaches required creating individual programs for each variation, making scaling difficult. The goal was to develop a modular system that could accommodate changing geometries while maintaining consistent fabrication logic.

My Contribution

Modular ABB RAPID Programming Framework

Developed a reusable library of robotic milling procedures in ABB RAPID, where:

  • Each milling operation was encapsulated as an independent procedure

  • Procedures accepted variable inputs to accommodate different component requirements

  • Common machining logic could be reused across multiple products

  • Improvements to machining strategies could be implemented centrally

This transformed robotic programming from creating individual programs for each component into a more scalable and maintainable automation framework.

Digital Simulation & Production Validation

Used robotic simulation workflows to validate and optimize milling processes before production.

This included:

  • Simulating robot movements and machining sequences

  • Identifying potential collisions and reachability issues

  • Validating tool orientation and accessibility

  • Optimizing robot paths to improve cycle times

  • Iterating between simulation results and production requirements

Simulation allowed potential manufacturing issues to be identified earlier, reducing production risk and improving confidence before running programs on the physical robot.

Robotic Cell Commissioning & Factory Readiness

Supported the commissioning and factory readiness of the Robotic milling cell at Windsor, Ontario and Intelligent City’s manufacturing facility in Delta, British Columbia during the initial production deployment phase.

Responsibilities included:

  • Supporting robot cell setup, testing, and validation during initial deployment

  • Testing and refining robotic milling workflows in the physical production environment

  • Validating simulation results against real-world robot behavior and production requirements

  • Collaborating with manufacturing teams to troubleshoot operational issues and improve workflow reliability

  • Training robotic milling operators on system operation, workflow procedures, and troubleshooting processes

  • Supporting the transition from development workflows into repeatable manufacturing processes

This experience provided hands-on understanding of deploying automation systems in a production environment, ensuring that software, robotics, operators, and manufacturing processes worked together reliably on the factory floor.

Production Optimization & Support

Worked closely with manufacturing teams to:

  • Optimize machining strategies and cycle times

  • Troubleshoot robotic or fabrication issues during production

  • Refine robotic workflows based on shop-floor feedback

  • Maintain and improve automation systems supporting daily production

Technologies

  • ABB Robot Studio - RAPID

  • GitHub