Development of a unified flexible grinding process

Abstract

While robotic manipulators are extensively used in grinding industry, they are limited to applications, which generally features lower accuracy requirements, simpler geometries and lower rates of material removal. The main barrier in extending robot's utilization in grinding applications beyond the mentioned limitations is the process control stability due to lower system mechanical stiffness and higher mechanical compliance. ^ In this research, we have developed a comprehensive system (hardware, software, process model) that achieves a high degree of accuracy and material removal rate in parts with complex geometries. Our development presents a significant advance in the state-of-the-arts in robotic grinding. The novelty of this research is in the process design, control, calibration and stability rather than the mechanics of grinding. ^ In our experimentations, this comprehensive process has been applied to turbine blade grinding. The high quality of the surface finish as well as the total process time, demonstrate the effectiveness of the method as well as its potential for future widespread applications of the robotic grinding. ^