DEBURRING AND FINISHING OPERATIONS HAVE TYPICALLY BEEN MANUAL OPERATIONS UNLESS THE PARTS ARE VERY SIMPLE IN SHAPE. ROBOTICS ALLOWS THE AUTOMATION OF MANY OF THESE DEBURRING AND FINISHING OPERATIONS, REMOVING OPERATORS FROM BORING, DIRTY JOBS THAT MAY PUT THEM AT RISK DUE TO INJURIES CAUSED BY REPETITIVE MOTIONS. THE DEVELOPMENT OF FORCE CONTROL SYSTEMS HAS BEEN THE KEY TO ALLOWING ROBOTS TO PERFORM THESE DEBURRING AND FINISHING TASKS. ROBOTS ARE OFTEN FIVE TO 15 TIMES FASTER THAN THE EQUIVALENT MANUAL OPERATION, WHILE IMPROVING PART QUALITY. CURRENTLY, 65 ROBOT DEBURRING/ FINISHING SYSTEMS ARE EITHER RUNNING PRODUCTION, OR ARE BEING SET UP FOR PRODUCTION.