Sugino Machine enters robot machining with turnkey system — and demand is already exceeding expectations

April 27, 2026

Summary

Sugino Machine, a Toyama-based manufacturer, presented its Robot Machining System for the first time at iREX 2025.

The company reported inquiry volumes higher than expected, covering applications such as automotive components, steel material processing, and aerospace workpieces.

What is the Sugino Machine Robot Machining System?

Cutting in progress with a large-diameter face milling cutter (Photo: Sugino Machine)

The Robot Machining System is a turnkey solution built around Sugino Machine’s end effector, the SELFEEDER DUO Robot Edition, combined with the equipment required for cutting operations. Specification, design, and assembly are handled in-house.

The system is designed for long and large workpieces used in automotive and aerospace applications. Compared with large machine tools such as gantry machining centers, it helps reduce installation space and cost. The system also incorporates chip and coolant management know-how developed through the company’s experience in machine tool manufacturing.

Why it matters

According to Sugino Machine, many production sites still rely on alternative methods for processing large workpieces, such as using NC routers designed for resin or sheet metal processing machines for steel, often due to space or cost constraints.

The Robot Machining System is designed to address such situations.

Key characteristics include:

– A wide machining area enabled by the robot’s flexibility

– Reduced installation space and capital cost

– Integrated chip and coolant handling in the system design

At iREX 2025

The Robot Machining System, making its public debut at iREX 2025 (Photo: Sugino Machine)

At iREX 2025, held in Tokyo last December, Sugino Machine demonstrated cutting operations on long workpieces at its booth.

The company reported that inquiries exceeded expectations, including applications such as pre-weld processing of large vehicle components, primary processing of steel materials, and machining of large aerospace workpieces.

Sugino Machine launched the SELFEEDER DUO Robot Edition in 2024 and initially supplied the unit to system integrators. The Robot Machining System was later developed to provide a complete solution for customers requiring integrated systems.

Background: Sugino Machine’s approach

The SELFEEDER DUO Robot Edition is positioned as a core technology in Sugino Machine’s robot machining efforts.

The unit integrates a spindle feed axis and a cross-slide unit, enabling drilling, tapping, and milling operations. Because cutting motions are completed within the unit, machining accuracy is less affected by the robot’s path accuracy and rigidity.

Sugino Machine aims to differentiate by offering solutions that address practical on-site challenges, such as chip and coolant handling.

Editor’s insight

Sugino Machine’s approach combines robot flexibility with machine tool know-how by offering both a machining unit and a complete system. The level of inquiries at iREX 2025 indicates growing interest in robot machining systems for large workpieces.