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RoboForming and RoboCraftsmanMachina Labs—
RoboForming and RoboCraftsman
Courtesy of Machina Labs · Press kit, editorial use (opens machinalabs.ai)

RoboForming and RoboCraftsman

by Machina LabsUS

DeployStage 4 of 5

Making parts for defense customers; building a 200,000 sq ft factory.

Updated 4 Feb 2026Checked 25 Sep0 updates this week

Milestones

Next · Build out the new factory (up to 50 cells)
  1. Second RoboCraftsman order from the US Air Force2025Complete.
  2. AFRL contract for AI-driven aircraft repair partsSep 2025Complete.
  3. Build out the new factory (up to 50 cells)NowCurrent milestone.

Most important updates

  • 4 Feb 2026
  • 17 Sep 2025
  • 3 Apr 2024
  • Oct 2023
  • 11 Sep 2023

Current obstacles

  • OutputMany cells are needed for real volume, so factory size and cell cost decide the economics.

Physics limits

  • Metal springs backAfter forming, the elastic part of the bend relaxes and the sheet moves back toward its old shape. Stronger alloys spring back more, so every part must be measured and re-formed to hit tolerance.
  • Steep walls get too thinIncremental forming stretches rather than draws the sheet: wall thickness falls roughly with the cosine of the wall angle. A 60° wall ends up about half the starting thickness, so very steep walls tear.
  • Forming point by point is slowThe tool presses one small spot at a time and traces the whole surface. A large part takes hours, versus seconds in a stamping press, so the method suits low volumes.

How it works

3 parts
Close-up of RoboForming: a rounded tool tip on a robot arm presses the metal sheet a little at a time, tracing paths until the shape emerges
Close-up of RoboForming: a rounded tool tip on a robot arm presses the metal sheet a little at a time, tracing paths until the shape emergesCourtesy of Machina Labs · Press kit, editorial use (opens machinalabs.ai)
Clamp

Sheet in a frame

A flat metal sheet is clamped in a frame between two robot arms.

Form

Stretch it step by step

Tool tips on each arm push and support the sheet from both sides, shaping it without a die.

Correct

Scan and fix

The part is scanned and software adjusts the next pass to cancel springback.

Spec sheet

SpecRoboForming and RoboCraftsman
Robot arms per cell2 x 7-axisR (reported)
Max part size~4 m long, ~1 m deepR (reported)
PrecisionSub-millimetreR (reported)
Planned factory200,000 sq ft, up to 50 cellsR (reported)

R reported by the company

Update log

5 updates

Wed 4 Feb

  • Major: PressFunding

Wed 17 Sep 2025

  • Minor: PressCommercial

Wed 3 Apr 2024

  • Major: BlogCommercial

Oct 2023

  • Minor: PressFunding

Mon 11 Sep 2023

  • Minor: PressHardware

About Machina Labs

The team behind RoboForming and RoboCraftsman

Machina Labs

Robot arms that shape sheet metal without dies

Machina Labs, founded in 2019 in Los Angeles, uses pairs of robot arms to shape sheet metal into large parts instead of stamping it with custom dies. It makes aerospace, defense and car parts, plus replacement parts for aircraft.

  • No dies needed: those take months and millions to make, so a new part can go from design file to metal in days.
  • The US Air Force has ordered its RoboCraftsman robot cells to make aircraft repair parts.
  • Its $124M raise (Feb 2026) funds a 200,000 sq ft factory for up to 50 robot cells.

machinalabs.ai (opens machinalabs.ai)Company profile →

Founded
20197 yrs
Headquarters
United States
Status
Private
Valuation
private
Raised
$156M2 rounds
Last round
Series C · $124M4 Feb 2026
Works in
ManufacturingRobotic forming & weldingRobotics
Coverage
1 program · 5 updateslatest 4 Feb 2026checked 25 Sep
Lead investors
Innovation Endeavors
Customers
US Air Force (opens machinalabs.ai)
Investors
Lockheed Martin Ventures (opens lockheedmartin.com)Woven Capital
People
Edward MehrCo-founder & CEOBabak RaeisiniaCo-founder
Primer