Composite Sanding & Polishing with Mimic

The Challenge

Composite finishing is one of the most labor-intensive steps in carbon fibre production. Achieving a flawless surface requires skill, time, and consistency — but traditional manual sanding and polishing presented major issues:

• Delamination & Surface Damage – Inconsistent sanding pressure weakens material integrity.
• Inconsistent Quality – Results vary between operators, causing defects and rework.
• Health & Safety Risks – Fine dust and chemical exposure threaten long-term worker health.
• Slow & Expensive – Skilled labour is scarce, and manual finishing is time-consuming.
• Difficult to Automate – Traditional robot programming is too complex and inflexible.

The Solution: Mimic by Nordbo Robotics

To automate finishing of large carbon fibre parts, Nordbo Robotics delivered a complete Mimic-based robotic system tailored to the customer’s needs:

• Part Handling
  • Large turntable for automated part infeed.
  • Fixtures weighing several hundred kilograms, loaded with forklifts.
  • Each fixture equipped with a digital ID, allowing automatic recognition of products and seamless program selection.
• Programming & Teaching
  • 4 OptiTrack cameras provided high-precision tracking of operator demonstrations.
  • Operators could choose between multiple teaching joysticks to program sanding, polishing, and dispensing tasks.
  • Programs could also be created on parts outside the cell, enabling offline preparation.
• Tooling & Automation
  • A multi-tool end-effector equipped with:
    • Square sander
    • Circular orbital sander
    • Spray dispensing tool for abrasive liquid and water cleaning
  • Automatic abrasive change system with 8 change stations.
  • Eliminated need for manual tool changes.
• Process Performance
  • Part cycle times: 20–40 minutes, depending on part complexity.
  • Delivered with 8 validated part programs at installation.

The Results

With the Mimic-based solution, the customer achieved:

•  100% consistency in surface quality
•  50% reduction in rework and scrap
•  Safer, healthier work conditions
•  Rapid return on investment

The Nordbo Process

To ensure success, Nordbo Robotics followed its structured Complete System Design process:

1. Define Scope – Understand customer’s quality goals & workflow needs.
2. Design Solution – Simulate and validate finishing strategies with Mimic.
3. Deploy & Train – Install system and train operators for self-sufficiency.
4. Support & Scale – Ongoing updates and options for multi-line rollout.

Conclusion

By combining Mimic no-code programming with advanced part handling and multi-tool automation, the world’s largest carbon fibre producer transformed sanding and polishing from a labour-intensive bottleneck into a safe, scalable, and repeatable process.