Pneumatic driven device for integration into robotic finishing applications

Abstract

The use of robots in industrial applications has been widespread from handling tasks to processes. The finishing processes include operations such as deburring, grinding and polishing. Within these processes, there is a need to control the contact force between the workpiece and the robot. The force control can be implemented in a passive or active form, either in the robot arm or with an external device. This paper presents the development of a device to be used in robotic finishing applications. It provides a semi-active system that limits and maintains the contact force and is used in conjunction with the robot controller. The device uses a pneumatic driven linear axis fitted with a position sensor. The architecture of the developed system and experimental results regarding the performance of the built prototype are presented. The implementation of different control strategies to adjust the robot path velocity are proposed and discussed. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013.