Automation
Built for the hours you are not there
A machining center earns nothing between 18:00 and 06:00 unless something keeps feeding it. The Unicorn 5-200 Modular pairs with a FANUC LR Mate robot cell that loads, unloads, and re-clamps parts through the night.3
How a night run works
The robot reaches the work area through a dedicated 410 × 308 mm automation door, so the operator door stays free for people. Clamping is machine-controlled: an optional hydraulic vise opens and closes from G-code with 0-160 mm standard clamping for rectangular stock, and an optional AMF zero-point system in the C axis (6204IHA-10) locates fixtures repeatably for exchange. Custom jaws cover other shapes and sizes, and automated clamping options handle round and irregular workpieces. With 78+1 tools in the magazine, sister tools stand in when a tool wears, and the Renishaw NC4+ Blue F145 tool setter (optional) catches breakage between cycles.
No fences on the floor
The cell is designed to meet CE Machinery Directive requirements without physical safety barriers: rated safety functions, sensing, and a risk-assessed layout instead of a cage.3 That matters in a small shop for a plain reason: a fenced cell can claim more floor than the machine it serves. The CE conformity assessment runs August to October 2026, and we publish the outcome either way.3
What we will publish after FAT
Automation claims in this industry are usually adjectives. Ours will be measurements: spindle hours per week before and after robot tending, output per square meter, and the methodology behind both, published after the first factory acceptance test (scheduled mid-August 2026). Until then, this page stays free of utilization numbers on purpose.
Status, honestly
The first cell is in development alongside the first machine. The machine-side interfaces (automation door, G-code clamping, zero-point location) are designed in, and the FANUC LR Mate integration is active engineering work. If you are planning a 2027 installation, this is the right time to talk configurations.
FAQ
- Does the robot cell require a safety fence?
- It is designed not to: rated safety functions, sensing, and a risk-assessed layout target CE machinery compliance without physical barriers.3 The conformity assessment completes in October 2026.
- Can the cell be added later?
- It is designed to be: every machine ships with the automation door and control interfaces built in, and the cell docks to a module already on your floor.
- What parts can it load?
- Rectangular stock in the 0-160 mm standard clamping range, and round or irregular workpieces with the corresponding automated clamping options and custom jaws.
- What robot is it?
- A FANUC LR Mate, integrated and programmed by SIMUL.
Pricing a lights-out cell?
Tell us your parts and target volumes. You get a cell configuration, a price, and the current lead time from the engineers doing the integration.
3 Design target. CE conformity assessment runs August to October 2026; the machine is not yet CE certified.