Automation of Polishing Work by an Industrial Robot. 5th Report. 6-axis Control Polishing with Ultrasonic Vibrational Tool.

Abstract

Polishing work after machining or grinding is necessary to obtain workpieces with good surface appearance. However, little progress has been made in the automation of polishing since it requires much skill and experience on the part of workers. In this study, a personal CAD/CAM system P-CAPS employing the solid model is introduced to cope with the complexity of workpieces. The system calculates the tool vector at each point on the workpiece surface by means of CSG data of the solid model, and generates a polishing tool path, taking account of the collision between the workpiece and the tool. As a polishing tool, an ultrasonic vibrational tool with a ceramic tip is used to polish the side surface of both groove and deep slot, and overhanging curved surface. The polishing tool is mounted on the arm of the robot having 6 degrees of freedom in order to give the tool variable attitude. The robot control data converted from the polishing path are transmitted directly to the robot. From experimental results, the system is found to be effective in polishing narrow portions of workpieces.