Development of an integrated robotic polishing system

This thesis presents research carried out as part of a project undertaken in fulfilment of the requirements of Loughborough University for the award of Philosophical Doctorate. The main focus of this research is to investigate and develop an appropriate level of automation to the existing manual finishing operations of small metallic components to achieve required surface quality and to remove superficial defects. In the manufacturing industries, polishing processes play a vital role in the development of high precision products, to give a desired surface finish, remove defects, break sharp edges, extend the working life cycle, and meet mechanical specification. The polishing operation is generally done at the final stage of the manufacturing process and can represent up to a third of the production time. Despite the growth automated technology in industry, polishing processes are still mainly carried out manually, due to the complexity and constraints of the process. Manual polishing involves a highly qualified worker polishing the workpiece by hand. These processes are very labour intensive, highly skill dependent, costly, error-prone, environmentally hazardous due to abrasive dust, and - in some cases - inefficient with long process times. In addition, the quality of the finishing is dependent on the training, experience, fatigue, physical ability, and expertise of the operator. Therefore, industries are seeking alternative solutions to be implemented within their current processes. These solutions are mainly aimed at replacing the human operator to improve the health and safety of their workforce and improve their competitiveness. Some automated solutions have already been proposed to assist or replace manual polishing processes. These solutions provide limited capabilities for specific processes or components, and a lack of flexibility and dexterity. One of the reasons for their lack of success is identified as neglecting the study and implementing the manual operations. This research initially hypothesised that for an effective development, an automated polishing system should be designed based on the manual polishing operations. Therefore, a successful implementation of an automated polishing system requires a thorough understanding of the polishing process and their operational parameters. This study began by collaborating with an industrial polishing company. The research was focused on polishing complex small components, similar to the parts typically used in the aerospace industry. The high level business processes of the polishing company were capture through several visits to the site. The low level operational parameters and the understanding of the manual operations were also captured through development of a devices that was used by the expert operators. A number of sensors were embedded to the device to facilitate recording the manual operations. For instance, the device captured the force applied by the operator (avg. 10 N) and the cycle time (e.g. 1 pass every 5 sec.). The capture data was then interpreted to manual techniques and polishing approaches that were used in developing a proof-of-concept Integrated Robotic Polishing System (IRPS). The IRPS was tested successfully through several laboratory based experiments by expert operators. The experiment results proved the capability of the proposed system in polishing a variety of part profiles, without pre-existing geometrical information about the parts. One of the main contributions made by this research is to propose a novel approach for automated polishing operations. The development of an integrated robotic polishing system, based on the research findings, uses a set of smart sensors and a force-position-by-increment control algorithm, and transpose the way that skilled workers carry out polishing processes

Micro-manufacturing : research, technology outcomes and development issues

Besides continuing effort in developing MEMS-based manufacturing techniques, latest effort in Micro-manufacturing is also in Non-MEMS-based manufacturing. Research and technological development (RTD) in this field is encouraged by the increased demand on micro-components as well as promised development in the scaling down of the traditional macro-manufacturing processes for micro-length-scale manufacturing. This paper highlights some EU funded research activities in micro/nano-manufacturing, and gives examples of the latest development in micro-manufacturing methods/techniques, process chains, hybrid-processes, manufacturing equipment and supporting technologies/device, etc., which is followed by a summary of the achievements of the EU MASMICRO project. Finally, concluding remarks are given, which raise several issues concerning further development in micro-manufacturing

Design Transactions

Design Transactions presents the outcome of new research to emerge from ‘Innochain’, a consortium of six leading European architectural and engineering-focused institutions and their industry partners. The book presents new advances in digital design tooling that challenge established building cultures and systems. It offers new sustainable and materially smart design solutions with a strong focus on changing the way the industry thinks, designs, and builds our physical environment. Divided into sections exploring communication, simulation and materialisation, Design Transactions explores digital and physical prototyping and testing that challenges the traditional linear construction methods of incremental refinement. This novel research investigates ‘the digital chain’ between phases as an opportunity for extended interdisciplinary design collaboration. The highly illustrated book features work from 15 early-stage researchers alongside chapters from world-leading industry collaborators and academics

Design Transactions: Rethinking Information for a New Material Age

Design Transactions presents the outcome of new research to emerge from ‘Innochain’, a consortium of six leading European architectural and engineering-focused institutions and their industry partners. The book presents new advances in digital design tooling that challenge established building cultures and systems. It offers new sustainable and materially smart design solutions with a strong focus on changing the way the industry thinks, designs, and builds our physical environment. Divided into sections exploring communication, simulation and materialisation, Design Transactions explores digital and physical prototyping and testing that challenges the traditional linear construction methods of incremental refinement. This novel research investigates ‘the digital chain’ between phases as an opportunity for extended interdisciplinary design collaboration. The highly illustrated book features work from 15 early-stage researchers alongside chapters from world-leading industry collaborators and academics

Hammer: an Android based application for end-user industrial robot programming

This paper presents a novel tablet based end-user interface for industrial robot programming (called Hammer). This application makes easier to program tasks for industrial robots like polishing, milling or grinding. It is based on the Scratch programming language, but specifically design and created for Android OS. It is a visual programming concept that allows non-skilled programmer operators to create programs. The application also allows to monitor the tasks while it is being executed by overlapping real time information through augmented reality. The application includes a teach pendant screen that can be customized according to the operator needs at every moment