Modular fastening system and tool–holder working unit for incremental forming

Incremental forming can be usually unfolded either on CNC milling machine–tools or serial industrial robots. The approach proposed in this paper tackles the problem of designing a modular fastening system, which can be adapted for both above mentioned technological equipment. The fastening system of the sheet–metal workpiece is composed of a fixing plate and a retaining plate. The fixing and retaining plates will be made up of different individual elements, which can be easily repositioned to obtain different sizes of the part. Moreover, the fastening system has to be able to be positioned either horizontally (to be fitted on CNC milling machines) or vertically (to be fitted on industrial robots. The paper also presents the design of a tool–holder working unit which will be fitted on KUKA KR 210 industrial robot. The working unit will be mounted as end–effector of the robot and will bear the punch, driving it on the processing toolpaths

Analysis of forming forces at SPIF using Taguchi method

Incremental sheet metal forming process has seen one of the highest increases in diversity in the last years. Single point incremental forming (SPIF) has become more attractive due to multiple benefits it possesses over other conventional cold forming processes such as deep-drawing. However, the process has yet to arise in the large-scale industrial implementation because of its drawbacks such as high production time and low accuracy, which lead to prototype production. A very important aspect for this manufacturing process is the analysis of the form-ing forces in terms of process energy especially when using industrial robots. The aim of this paper is to investigate the influence of material and vertical step over the forming forces. Thus, aluminum and steel sheets with a thickness of 0,8mm were incrementally deformed as a truncated cone with an angle of 60°, at a depth of 30mm. Experiments were performed using a KUKA KR 210-2 robot which allows to measure the forces using a piezoresistive sensor. After performing the analysis of the forming forces using the Taguchi method, it can be observed that the material has the highest influence

Incremental Forming of Titanium Ti6Al4V Alloy for Cranioplasty Plates—Decision-Making Process and Technological Approaches

Ti6Al4V titanium alloy is considered a biocompatible material, suitable to be used for manufacturing medical devices, particularly cranioplasty plates. Several methods for processing titanium alloys are reported in the literature, each one presenting both advantages and drawbacks. A decision-making method based upon AHP (analytic hierarchy process) was used in this paper for choosing the most recommended manufacturing process among some alternatives. The result of AHP indicated that single-point incremental forming (SPIF) at room temperature could be considered the best approach when manufacturing medical devices. However, Ti6Al4V titanium alloy is known as a low-plasticity material when subjected to plastic deformation at room temperature, so special measures had to be taken. The experimental results of processing parts from Ti6Al4V titanium alloy by means of SPIF and technological aspects are considered

Integrating Trajectory Planning with Kinematic Analysis and Joint Torques Estimation for an Industrial Robot Used in Incremental Forming Operations

Robot manufacturing involves continuous path control, which is now available for both robotic controllers and CAM software packages. However, CAM solutions are focused on generating the code for the robotic structure to follow the toolpath, without taking into consideration the dynamics and energy consumption. In this study, robot incremental forming was considered as the manufacturing process, and a simulation model, based upon Matlab-Simulink Simscape Multibody technology, was developed. The proposed model was fed with the trajectory information generated by the CAM program, and using an inverse kinematics function, it was able to generate the commands to drive the robotic structure on the technological toolpaths. The model was also used to study the dynamic behavior of the robot; external experimental data from a 3D force sensor were fed to the model to include the influence of the technological forces which appeared during the incremental forming process. Thus, using the proposed model in conjunction with the external CAM software, the influence of the workpiece position upon the joint torques could be estimated, opening the way for future optimization. The shortcomings of the model, mainly involving inaccurate information with regard to the physical properties of the robotic structure, were addressed by subtracting the dry-run joint torques from those obtained from the technological process

Mobile Robots—AHP-Based Actuation Solution Selection and Comparison between Mecanum Wheel Drive and Differential Drive with Regard to Dynamic Loads

Mobile robots are increasingly used in industrial applications. There are many constructive solutions for mobile robots using various variants of actuation and control. The proposed work presents a low-cost variant of a mobile robot equipped with Mecanum wheels, which uses brushed DC motors, controlled by the PWM method as the actuation solution. In the first part, a multicriteria analysis based on the AHP method was performed for the selection of the actuation solution. Then, using the software tools Simscape Multibody, Matlab, and Simulink, models were developed that allowed the simulation of the operation of the proposed robot, based both on its kinematics and dynamics. Using these models, both the Mecanum wheel drive version and the differential drive version were studied by means of simulation. The simulations mainly aimed at identifying the way the currents vary through the wheel drive motors, in order to find methods to reduce them. The values obtained by the simulation were later compared with those obtained experimentally, and the corresponding conclusions with regard to the accuracy of the models were drawn

Mobile Robots—AHP-Based Actuation Solution Selection and Comparison between Mecanum Wheel Drive and Differential Drive with Regard to Dynamic Loads

Mobile robots are increasingly used in industrial applications. There are many constructive solutions for mobile robots using various variants of actuation and control. The proposed work presents a low-cost variant of a mobile robot equipped with Mecanum wheels, which uses brushed DC motors, controlled by the PWM method as the actuation solution. In the first part, a multicriteria analysis based on the AHP method was performed for the selection of the actuation solution. Then, using the software tools Simscape Multibody, Matlab, and Simulink, models were developed that allowed the simulation of the operation of the proposed robot, based both on its kinematics and dynamics. Using these models, both the Mecanum wheel drive version and the differential drive version were studied by means of simulation. The simulations mainly aimed at identifying the way the currents vary through the wheel drive motors, in order to find methods to reduce them. The values obtained by the simulation were later compared with those obtained experimentally, and the corresponding conclusions with regard to the accuracy of the models were drawn