PC robot controls drive sheet metal processing

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States), the world‐known basic and applied research facility operated by the US Department of Energy, was tasked with reducing the cost to produce titanium aluminide sheet metal used to cover the outside of military aircraft and spacecraft. The ability to reduce costs is dependent upon advances in both materials and processes. This paper discusses the important breakthroughs ORNL has achieved in both materials and processes, especially the innovation in PC controls that provides an unprecedented level of versatility and flexibility that is user‐friendly, cost‐effective, and continuously upgradeable. This work is returning tangible results beyond the initial goal of achieving substantial cost savings.