Path optimization for uniform removal pre-polishing of optical glass with industrial robots

Abstract

In the field of precision optical manufacturing, the manufacturing method using industrial robots as the carrier has highlighted its advantages of being more economical and efficient than existing methods. The application of different end-effectors has expanded the scenarios and processing limits of optical polishing. However, concise and simplified polishing technologies remain challenging. To improve the versatility of industrial robots in different processes and reduce the number of polishing iterations, pre-polishing with uniform removal is introduced and optimized, providing an excellent basic surface for polishing and finishing. Combined with the performance of an industrial robot, we adopt a swing composite path, to which the motion parameters are adjusted and optimized to minimize the fluctuation of the overall overlap rate (within 5%). The optimal path is based on the uniform B-spline curve characterization, which improves the consistency of the dwelling time and reduces the complexity of pre-polishing, laying a theoretical foundation for efficient and high-quality optical manufacturing.