Machina Labs’ manufacturing platform is reported to eliminate the need for dedicated tooling with each model variation.
LOS ANGELES—Agile manufacturing platform developer Machina Labs has developed manufacturing methods for automotive body panels and accessories that could enable automakers to bring customized vehicles to market at mass-production prices, the company said in a release.
Describing the methods as “a breakthrough in automotive manufacturing customization,” Machina Labs made the announcement at UP.Summit in Bentonville, Arkansas, where it also announced a pilot project of the technology with Toyota Motor North America. The pilot project will apply Machina’s RoboForming technology to customize production body panels, with the goal of bringing automotive-grade quality and throughput to low-volume manufacturing.
Machina’s capability directly addresses the automotive customization and accessories industry, which the company described as “a massive and growing market” that was “valued at $2.4 billion in 2024 for trucks alone.”
Conventional high-volume manufacturing often overlooks opportunities for customized production. But by introducing flexible, low-volume production capabilities within existing operations, Machina Labs is aiming to unlock new value streams at scale.
“Traditional production tools are often massive, comparable in size to a small car and weighing over 20 tons,” said Ed Mehr, co-founder and CEO of Machina Labs, in the release. “With our solution, the need for dedicated tooling per model variation is eliminated. That means lower project capital, less storage both in-plant and for past models, which today can last up to 15 years, and faster production changeovers.”
Machina Labs describes its AI-driven RoboCraftsman™ platform and RoboForming™ technology as a “proprietary form of incremental sheet forming.” Its technology integrates robotics and AI to offer what is not otherwise possible in today’s manufacturing processes: the capability to deliver highly customized panels from sheet metal for automotive and aerospace vehicles at high volume, high quality, and short lead time, the company said.
“We envision a future where customization is available for every Toyota driver,” said Zach Choate, general manager of production engineering and core engineering manufacturing at Toyota Motor North America, in the release. “The ability to deliver a bespoke product into the hands of our customers is the type of innovation we are excited about.”
According to Machina Labs, this shift impacts process flow within the factory. Current manufacturing models require separate storage, repackaging, and dedicated assembly lanes for custom parts. But Machina’s approach is reported to enable on-demand part production in low volumes from cells near the assembly line. This is said to allow for dynamic batching or broadcast-driven manufacturing, without disrupting existing flow.
“AI-powered manufacturing is transforming how products are designed and produced at scale,” said George Kellerman, founding managing director at Woven Capital, in the release. “Customers increasingly demand more personalized products while engineers need faster, more cost-effective paths from concept to production without the constraints of traditional supply chains. We’re excited to team up with Machina Labs, supercharge their development roadmap in automotive, and support their journey in accelerating innovations that advance the future of manufacturing.”
Also at UP.Summit, Machina Labs announced a strategic investment from Woven Capital, Toyota’s growth-stage venture investment arm.
Machina Labs, founded in Los Angeles in 2019, is working to build what it called “the next generation of intelligent, adaptive, and software-driven factories” that offer on-demand production in ways that eliminate traditional tooling constraints. The company’s RoboCraftsman™ platform is said to integrate “advanced robotics and AI-driven process controls to rapidly manufacture complex metal structures for aerospace, defense, and automotive applications.”