IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering | 2021
A Model-Based Trajectory Planning Method for Robotic Polishing of Complex Surfaces
Abstract
Off-line programming of the polishing tool trajectory for complex workpieces is challenging due to the nontrivial material removal model and the polishing accuracy requirement. Current tool trajectory planning methods are mainly developed for some simple surfaces but cannot handle the increasingly complicated industrial parts, such as the wheel hubs. This article first develops a numerical contact mechanics model for the point-sampled complex workpieces. The contact pressure distribution and the material removal depths on the workpiece point cloud can be predicted efficiently. A novel high-priority subregion searching algorithm is developed to track the most-worth-polishing workpiece points. By selecting the path pattern as direction-parallel, the path direction, tool dwell times, and the path spacings inside each extracted subregion are optimized to minimize the deviation from the desired material removal depths. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by performing disk polishing simulations on workpieces with different shapes. A robotic polishing experiment is also conducted on a wheel hub. Both simulation and experimental results show that reasonable tool trajectories can be generated on the workpiece, and the desired material removal depths can be achieved.