Saunders Machine Works Makes Mars Curiosity Rover Wheels

Saunders Machine Works’ partnership with Beatty Robotics has made headlines! The Zanesville Times Recorder recently featured the Curiosity Rover Wheels as a Sunday headline story.

While Beatty Robotics, the builder of the Curiosity replica, owns a PCNC 1100, it partners with Saunders Machine Works as needed, particularly on challenging parts. Saunders used a PCNC 770 with a 4th axis, and a 15L Slant-PRO lathe to complete the rover wheels from billet aluminum.

The 10,000 RPM spindle of the PCNC 770 was well-suited for the small end mills required for the detailed and complex wheel features, and the 4th axis was key to completing the job in two setups, making use of both positional and true 4th axis toolpaths for the wrapped tread pattern.

Read the full Zanesville Times story

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