End Effector Design for Robotic Grinding

Abstract

Abstract This paper describes the optimal tool suspension system for grinding with robots. The optimal design is determined through process analysis, simulation and experimentation. It is shown that strong coupling between the motion of the grinding wheel in the normal and tangential directions causes undesirably large vibrations and generally results in large low frequency waves and chatter marks on the workpice surface. On the other hand, reducing the coupling significantly improves the overall grinding performance. Low coupling, and consequently the best overall grinding performance, can be achieved in grinding with robots when the stiffness in the direction normal to the desired workpiece surface is much larger than the stiffness in the direction tangent to this surface. For this optimal suspension design, the vibratory behavior during grinding is less erratic, the occuranc of low frequency waves on the workpiece surface is significantly reduced, and both accuracy and surface finish are improved