WO2017054130A1

WO2017054130A1 - Method and system for machining

Info

Publication number: WO2017054130A1
Application number: PCT/CN2015/091072
Authority: WO
Inventors: Shaojie Cheng; Diamond Daimeng DONG; Lei Mao
Original assignee: Abb Schweiz Ag
Priority date: 2015-09-29
Filing date: 2015-09-29
Publication date: 2017-04-06
Also published as: CN107848046A; US20180281138A1; EP3356070A4; US10759015B2; EP3356070A1; JP2018531159A; JP6943862B2

Abstract

A method and a system for machining a work piece by a machining tool (501) are provided. The method comprises relatively moving the machining tool (501) against the work piece to apply machining feeds therebetween. The contact points at the work piece are arranged on the area of the work piece to be machined, and the contact points (10, 20, 30, 40, 50) at the machining tool (501) form a curve on the machining tool surface. The system includes a manipulator (500), a machining tool (501) and a controller (502) being adapted for controlling the manipulator (500) to operate the machining tool (501) according to the method as above. With this solution, the system can generate wave paths of a machining tool (501), so as to extend the life of the tool and ensure the processing quality.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MACHINING

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method and systemfor machining， and more particularly， to a method for deburring or grinding a work piece with a tooland a robot system using the same.

Background Art

Atool path is the path that a tool may traverse to perform an operation on an object. For example， a tool path may be the path that a deburring tool moves along a work piece edge and in contact with the contour of the work piece to be deburred. A tool path may comprise a series of points. Each point may correspond to a position within a reference coordinate system of the tool.

According to most robotic applications such as deburring or grinding， machining tools are required to contact directly with the work pieces to be processed. As shown in figure 1， normallya single contact point or a circle of fixed contact pointsof a tool are programmed to move through a predetermined tool path ( “normal tool path” ) during the machining process. Since the tool always contacts the work pieces by one or several fixed contact points， it gets abrasive and wornquickly and the life of the tool will also be shortened.

Summary of Invention

Therefore， it would be desirable to have a method and system that takes into account the issues discussed above， and defines a flexible contact area instead of a fixed contact point or part of the tool for machining.

One of the objectives of the present invention is to propose asolution for generating wave tool paths of a machiningtool， so as to extend the life of the tool and ensure the processing quality.

According to one aspect of the present invention， there is provided a method formachining a work piece by a machining tool. The method comprises relatively moving the machining tool against the work piece to apply machining feeds therebetween. The contact points at the work piece are arranged onthe area of the work piece to be machined， andthe contact points at the machining tool form a curve on the machining tool surface. The relative motion involves translational motion and/or rotational motion. Since the machining is accomplished by engaging a series of contact points arranged in a curve form on the surface of the tool rather than concentrating on one contact point or part， the effect of abrasion can be distributed among a multiple of contact points and each of the contact points will be worn less. Thus， the life cycle of the tool can be prolonged.

According to one embodiment of the present invention， the machining feedsare adapted to give uniform surface finishing of the work piece.

According to one embodiment of the present invention， the method further comprises rotating the machining tool along its axis. This makes it possible to extend the contact points on the machining tool surface to wrap the axis， thus the contact area can be enlarged.

According to one embodiment of the present invention， at least two contact points on the curve are overlapped. This curve is a continuous curve wrapped the axis of the machining tool and itcan be intersectional.

According to one embodiment of the present invention， the contact points at the machining tool are substantially even distributed on the machining tool surface. The effect of abrasion can be distributed among a multiple of contact points and each of the contact points will be worn less. Thus， the life cycle of the tool can be prolonged.

According to one embodiment of the present invention， the curve is a periodical wave. Due to the periodicity of the wave， this renders it more easily for offline programming to place anintersectional wave with similar wave form side by side on the machining tool surface so as to form a uniform contact area on the machining tool surface.

According to one embodiment of the present invention， the periodical wave is sine-shaped or cosine-shaped.

According to one embodiment of the present invention， the machining feeds are regulated by adjusting radial offset of the machining tool with respect to the contact point. Therefore， the work piece can be machined without overcutting or leaving the work piece.

According to one embodiment of the present invention， the radial offset of the machining tool is adjusted to the radius of the machining tool with respect to the contact point.

According to another aspect of the present invention， there is provided a robot system， which includes a manipulator， a machiningtool and a controller. The controller is being adapted for controlling the manipulator to operate the machining tool according to the method as above.

The present disclosure is advantageous that it provides the method and systemforwave tool paths generation with easy settings， cost effectiveness and high processing quality.

Brief Description of Drawings

The subject matter of the invention will be explained in more detail in the following text with reference to preferred exemplary embodiments which are illustrated in the drawings， in which：

Figure 1 illustratesa schematic diagram of a normal tool path of a machining tool； and

Figure 2 illustrates schematic diagram of a wave tool path of a machining tool generated by manual programmingaccording to an embodiment of present invention； and

Figure 3illustratesa schematic diagram of a wave tool path of a machining tool generated by offline programmingaccording to an embodiment of present invention； and

Figure 4A， 4B， 4C and 4Drespectivelyillustrate an expanded view of a machining tool surface according to an embodiment of present invention.

Figure 5 illustrates a robot system performing the machining process according to an embodiment of present invention.

Preferred Embodiments of the Invention

Reference will now be made in detail to several embodiments of the present invention， example of which are illustrated in the accompanying figures. It is noted that wherever practicable similar or like reference numbers may be used in the figures， and may indicates similar or like functionality. The figures depict embodiments of the present invention for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the present invention described therein.

During the machining process，the machining toolrelatively moves against the work piece to apply machining feeds therebetween. Namely the machining tool moves in translation and/or rotation while the work piece keeps still， or the work piece moves in translation and/or rotation while the machining tool keeps still， or both the machining tooland the work piece move in translation and/or rotationsimultaneously. For example， the tool is shaped like a circular truncated cone. A primary motion is provided by rotating the tool around its axis and the rotating tool removes the material from the contact points at the work piece to generate a desired shape， such as a polished surface or edge of the work piece. The feed motion is achieved by relative motion of the tool and the work piece in a direction of a wave form， which leaves an abrasion on a surface of the circular truncated cone of the tool. As an alternative， the tool may have a plane end face and can be moved in a sequence of steps along the surface or edge of the work piece to be machined， wherein different parts of its plane end face are fed to thegrinding area of the work piece. Therefore， contact points of the abrasion on the tool see a curve， as well. When the machining tool directly contacts the work piece to be machined， the contact points at the work piece are arranged on the area of the work piece to be machined. Since the machining is accomplished by engaging a series of contact points arranged in a curve form on the surface of the tool rather than concentrating on one contact point or part， the effect of abrasion can be distributed among a multiple of contact points and each of the contact points will be worn less. Thus， the life cycle of the tool can be prolonged.

Figure 2 illustrates schematic diagram of a motion track of a machining tool. The tool is circular truncated cone shaped. The

contact points

10， 20， 30， 40， 50 at the machining tool are not limited to a single contact point or a circle of fixed contact points， they form alarger contact area of the tool for machining， which enablesmore partson the toolbe involved in robotic machining process. The contact points on the surface of the tool fluctuate along a direction perpendicular to the axis of the tool， thus the process of machining not only applies to the points on a sectional circle of the tool or a single point on the tool， but also contact points beyond those on the tool surface. A wider contact area of the usage range of the tool renders the machining work load can be distributed among more contact points， thus reducing the average abrasion effect thereof. Furthermore， the

contact points

10， 20， 30， 40， 50 at the machining tool are substantially even distributed on the machining tool surface， so that the tool can be wornevenly.

As shown in figure 2， the

contact points

10， 20， 30， 40， 50at the machining tool also form a wave form on the machining tool surface， which makes the tool path no longer a straight line but a curve similar to a wave ( “wave tool path” ) . The wave on the abrasion of the machining tool surfacecan be a substantiallyperiodical wave， e. g. sine-shaped or cosine-shaped， which ensures that the tool is worn evenly.

Human operatorsmay define a contact area of a tool by manual programming. However， manual programming has proved to be much more time-consuming and labor-intensive than desired which leads to inconsistent processing quality. Moreover， inaccurate manual programming may generate improper tool path. Therefore， an offline programming method and system that could achieve the same effect with better processing quality are required.

Figure 3 illustratesa schematic diagram of a wave tool path of a machining tool generated by offline programming. The machining toolrelatively moves from left to right along the machining line as shown in (a) . The path of the machining tool forms a sine-shaped periodical wave tool pathas shown in (b) . When the wave tool path solution applies， the tool moves in a wave tool path to ensure the contact area of the tool be involved in robotic machining process as broad as possible. At the same time， the tool keeps contacting with the work pieceto apply machining feeds no matter which part of the area of the tool is used for machining at that moment.

The wavetool path ofa machining toolis generated by offline programmingbygenerating and synchronizingthe following three movements： normal tool path， axial offset and radial offset.

The normal toolpath (hereinafter referred to as “first movement” ) definesthe area of the work piece to be machined. The normal tool path is determined by contact height， which is the height from the tool tip to the default contact point that used as a single contact point or a circle of fixed contact points of the tool for machining.

The axial offset (hereinafter referred to as “second movement” ) is the offset from the contact height along the tool axis direction. The axialoffset is determined by wave depth， which is the absolute usable rangeof the tool with default contact point as the center. In other words， the wave depth defines a scope of the contact area of the tool， namely the abrasion of the tool.

The radialoffset (hereinafter referred to as “third movement “) is the offset movement perpendicular to the tool axis direction to ensure the tool always contacts the work piece to be machined without overcutting or leaving the work piece. The radial offset is adjusted to the radius of the machining tool with respect to the contact point.

As shown in figure 3， when contact points 11， 31， 51 contact the work piece to be machined， the contact height is the height from the tool tip to the default contact point and the axial offset is zero. When the contact points 21， 41 are in use， the contact height reaches its maximum and minimum valuerespectively and the axial offset reaches its maximum absolute value in either positive or negative direction within the wave depth. The first movement and the second movement are synchronized， which means every time the first movement reaches a specific path length determined by the shape of the work piece to be machined， the second movement finishes reciprocating motion (s) along the tool axis direction within the wave depth， so as to extend the life of the tool. When the second movement finishes exactly one reciprocating motion， the first movement reaches one cycle length along the path length， the machining tool generates one cycle of wave tool path andthe contact points at the machining tool form aperiodical wave on the machining tool surface.

Figure 4A， 4B， 4C and 4Drespectively illustrate an expanded view of a machining tool surface. As shown in figure 4A， within a cycle length， the tool rotates 480degrees along its axis andthe contact points at the tool form asine-shapedperiodical wave abrasion， wrapping the axis of the tool. In particular， when the tool rotates (1440n-1080) degrees (n＝1， 2， 3......) ， the contact points at the tool form {3 (n-1) +3/4} sine wave； when the tool rotates (1440n-720) degrees (n＝1， 2， 3......) ， the contact points at the tool form {3 (n-1) +3/2} sine wave； when the tool rotates (1440n-360) degrees (n＝1， 2， 3......) ， the contact points at the tool form {3 (n-1) +9/4} sine wave； when the tool rotates 1440n degrees (n＝1， 2， 3......) ， the contact points at the tool form {3 (n-1) +3} sine wave. Figures 4B， 4C and 4D respectively show abrasion of the tool under various scenarios， the tool rotation by 1440 degrees， 2880 degrees and 5760 degreesrespectivelyalong its axis within a cycle length and at least two contact pointson the curve are overlapped. In this way， the contact points at the tool are substantially even distributed on the tool surface， so that the tool can be womevenly. However， it should be noted that the tool may rotate less than 360 degrees， for example， the tool rotates only 240 degrees within a cycle length.

During the machining process， it is necessary to define a machining offset so that the tool may contact the work piece to be machined to remove appropriate amount of the material from the work piece without overcutting or leaving the work piece， especially when the tool tip is not cylinder. To solve this， the wave tool path solution further comprises a third movement working together with the first movement and the second movement. The third movement may applymachining feedsthat adapted to give uniform surface finishing of the work piece. The machining feedsare regulated by adjusting radial offset of the machining tool with respect to the contact point. With the involvement of the third movement， the robot system may generatea self-adaption wave tool path and ensure the processing quality.

The wave tool paths are generated by computer programsbased on various parameters. These parameters may include the shape of the selected tool， the contact height， the wave depth， the cycle length， and/or other types of factors that help programmers to set up the robot system quickly and accurately.

Figure 5 illustrates a robot system performing the machining process according to an embodiment of present invention. As shown in figure 5， the robot system 5 includes a manipulator 500， a machining tool 501 anda controller 502. The manipulator 500 is arranged to hold the machining tool 501 . The controller 502 can be offline programmed to control the manipulator 500 to operate the machining tool 501 according to the method as described above.

Though the present invention has been described on the basis of some preferredembodiments， those skilled in the art should appreciate that those embodiments should by noway limit the scope of the present invention. Without departing from the spirit and conceptof the present invention， any variations and modifications to the embodiments should bewithin the apprehension of those with ordinary knowledge and skills in the art， and thereforefall in the scope of the present invention which is defined by the accompanied claims.

Claims

A method for machining a work piece by a machiningtool， comprising：

relatively moving the machining tool against the work piece to apply machining feedstherebetween；

wherein：

the contact points at the work piece are arranged on the area of the work piece to be machined； and

the contact points at the machining tool form a curve on the machining tool surface.
The method according to claim 1， wherein：

themachining feedsare adapted to give uniform surface finishing of the work piece.
The method according to claim 1 or 2， further comprising：

rotating the machining tool along its axis.
The method according to claim 3， wherein：

at least two contact points on the curve are overlapped.
The method according to claims 4， wherein：

the contact points at the machining tool are substantially even distributed on themachining tool surface.
The method according to any of claims 3-5， wherein：

thecurve is a periodical wave.
The method according to claim 6， wherein：

the periodical wave is sine-shaped or cosine-shaped.
The method according to any of claims 1 to 7， wherein：

themachining feedsare regulated by adjusting radial offset of the machining tool with respect to the contact point.
The method according to claim 8， wherein：

the radial offset of the machining tool is adjusted to the radius of the machining tool with respect to the contact point.
A robot system for machining a work piece， including：

a manipulator；

amachiningtool； and

a controller， being adapted for controlling the manipulator to operate the machining tool according to the method set forth in any of the preceding claims.