The Mirka equipment
What goes on your robot
Mirka has over 80 years in surface finishing. Which tools, abrasives and extras you need depends on your parts, so we work it out with you.
Images courtesy of Mirka.
An ABB GoFa or PoWa cobot, or an ABB industrial robot, with Mirka's AIROS electric sanders, dust extraction and automatic disc changing. Set up for your parts by Mexx Engineering, in your sanding booth or one we build.
Almost everything that's made gets sanded. It's skilled work, and it's hard on the people who do it all day.
Sanding makes the most dust of any job in a timber workshop, and the person holding the sander is closest to it. Australia's new workplace exposure limits start on 1 December 2026. The softwood dust limit drops from 5 to 2 mg/m³.Sources: Forest & Wood Products Australia; Safe Work Australia.
Hours on a hand-held sander means vibration, noise and long reaches over big parts. It's hard on hands, shoulders and backs, day after day.
Skilled trades are hard to find. In 2025, nearly half of trade roles in Australia were in shortage.Source: Jobs and Skills Australia, 2025 Occupation Shortage List.
The robot does the long, dusty passes. Your people run it, choose the program, check the finish and do the detail work. Same team, more skills, further from the dust.
They all sand the same way. The difference is the size of your parts and where the robot works.
For benches, smaller booths and lighter parts.
More payload and reach, for bigger parts.
For big parts and high volumes.
Most workshops already sand in a booth. The robot goes in it. Don't have one? Mexx can do that part as well.
The robot sits in your sanding booth on a base made for your floor, with Mirka's extractor alongside. Your booth's airflow keeps doing its job.
Need a booth? We can design and build it.In big factories with downdraft or air-cleaning systems, the robot goes to the part on a plinth, like our MexxBot Solo welding cobot. Mirka's extraction at the pad adds to what you already have.
For large parts made on the factory floorMirka has over 80 years in surface finishing. Which tools, abrasives and extras you need depends on your parts, so we work it out with you.
Small pads for edges and detail. Large pads for flat panels. Polishers for the final shine.
| Tool | What it does | Pad | Dust port |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIROS 150S | Random orbital sander | 32 mm | No |
| AIROS 130S | Orbital sander | 32 mm | No |
| AIROS 350S | Random orbital sander | 77 mm | Yes |
| AIROS 550S | Random orbital sander | 125 mm | Yes |
| AIROS 650S | Random orbital sander | 150 mm | Yes |
| AIROS 353S | Orbital sander | 81 × 133 mm | Yes |
| AIROS 312P | Random orbital polisher | 77 mm | No |
| AIROS 300P | Rotary polisher | 77 mm | No |
From Mirka's robotic solutions brochure. Tools without a dust port rely on your booth's extraction.
You see and approve the setup before we build anything.
Your parts, the material, the finish you need and where you sand now.
GoFa, PoWa or industrial robot. The Mirka sander, abrasives and extraction, and whether you need the disc changer.
A firm quote, and the layout for you to approve before we build.
We build, program and test it in our Arundel workshop before it leaves.
Installed in your booth or on your floor, and your team trained to run it.
A few details help us come back with the right questions. We'll tell you straight if a robot suits the job.
Flat and gently curved surfaces suit a robot best, and that's where most of the sanding hours go. Tight corners and fine detail are often still finished by hand. Tell us about your parts and we'll tell you straight.
They're the best people to run it. They know what a good finish looks like. They load the parts, choose the program, check the finish and do the detail work, with far less time in the dust.
GoFa and PoWa are cobots, built to work near people, and area scanners slow or stop the robot when someone comes close. Industrial robots work inside a booth or guarded area. Every site gets a risk assessment.
No. We set up and test your first programs. On an ABB cobot you can teach a new path by guiding the arm by hand, and ABB's Wizard blocks let your team make changes without writing code. We're a phone call away if you get stuck.
Yes. Mirka's AIROS 312P and 300P are made for robotic polishing, and the optional ToolChanger lets one robot sand and then polish.
Mirka's own: Abranet net discs for dust extraction through the whole disc, and other Mirka abrasives to suit your material and finish. With the AutoChanger, discs load from a cartridge.
It depends on the robot, the Mirka tools and the work needed for your parts, so we quote each job. Talk to us and we'll give you a firm price.
Government manufacturing grants may help fund automation. Check the grant's rules before you order: some don't allow anything to be ordered or paid before the grant agreement is signed. We can give you a quote in the form the grant asks for.
Mexx Engineering has been an ABB Authorized Value Provider for over 18 years, working in industrial robotics integration, EPCM and factory automation from Arundel on the Gold Coast. The robot is ABB and the sanding tools are Mirka. The engineering, integration, commissioning, training and ongoing Australian support are ours.
Tell us what you sand. We'll tell you straight if a robot suits the job.
Talk to Mexx