Robotic Polishing of Free-Form Surfaces With Controlled Force and Effective Path Planning

Abstract

Industrial robots are widely used in many industries for different jobs. With the specific goal to limit the expensive process of polishing due to unhealthy conditions, trained workers requirement and human mistakes, it is an attractive idea to automate the surface polishing by machines. The important job in robotic polishing process is path planning and force control. This research work is with the objective to systematize and optimize the path planning for free-form surfaces under the regulated force. Robotic polishing based on CAD models of the workpiece is presented in this paper. A new technique of path planning for symmetrical free-form surfaces is used. The proposed method is tested for the polishing of a glasses frame. Finally, the optimized path planning idea for the symmetrical free-form surfaces is compared with other path planning methods in terms of quality and productivity.