Recognized under application of the Decree of
January 30th 1947 / / page1/6

“Polishing with collaborative robots”

- a helping hand for the polishing expert

Projectmission:To develop and demonstrate the proof of concept of a generally applicable tool, to help the polishing expert when polishing basic shapes and surfaces of oneofakind objects, such as injection moulds.

Importance and challenges:

In manufacturing the so-called finishing processes forma critical and significant collection of processes often still performed manually. Finishing processes are considered critical because:

-Processes already executed on the parts in previous steps (EDM, turning, milling, etc.) give the parts a significant value and as a result, scrap due to faults in the finishing should be avoided at all cost.

-In the case of moulds, the finishing quality of the product is a critical factor in determining the quality of the end products and in determining the reliability of the mould process.

Finishing processes represent a significant step in the manufacturing process, both in terms of cost as well as throughput time, which is understandable when considering that these operations are often a fully manual process. Specifically in the mould making industry the mould quality is often tested in an iterative testing process on the injection mould machine to evaluate the final product and mould process.Studies show that in the automotive industrymanual polishing of moulds can represent up to 38% of the labour costs of the mould and 30% of the time that is needed to make the mould goes to manual finishing. Up to 30% of the cost of plastic products can be related to the making of the mould.([1])

Regardless of the finishing being grinding, lapping or polishing and whether it is on moulds or other products, the challenges to the automation of finishing processes for small series and single piece products are similar.The focus of this project will therefore not merely be on the injection mould making industry, but rather on the finishing of surfaces (with the polishing of injection moulds as the ultimate goal to achieve from a process-technology point of view).

Innovative approach:

Because of the importance of the finishing processes a lot of research has already been invested in efforts to automate the process. To polish products manufactured in large series there are specialized integrators that focus on delivering specific robotic grinding, lapping and polishing solutions. But there is still no commercially automated solution available that could cover most of the use cases in the tooling industry.Neither from scientific investigations nor from industrial developments a suitable approach can be derived to support the complex, multi-stage process to finish free-formed steel surfaces. Due to the application of abrasive tools unsuitable to automated processes of cavities or of over-engineered systems, the existing finishing cells in the market do not meet the needs from the tool and die making industry. Almost all finishing steps in this industry, as is the case in many other industries, still have to be conducted manually.([2])

While typical automation approaches generally try to automate the entire process, the relatively new technology of collaborative robotics can enable a more practical approach for the polishing expert. Instead of trying to eliminate the polishing operator, a user-friendly collaborative robot system can enhance the polishing expert's capacity and give him the opportunity to work side by side with a mechanical arm that can polish‘less-difficult’ surfaces (e.g. larger surfaces) while the polishing operator is at the same time working on smaller features or difficult surface transitions. This enables the human-operator to monitor the robotic process and adjust parameters, inspect and evaluate the polishing result, decide on when to change abrasive tools and perform the tool change and cleaning operations, teach the robotic system where to polish, in which direction and with what force. Besides the collaborative aspect of the robot system, this will require a user-friendly software solution that allows the polishing expert, who is generally not a robot expert, to teach his polishing intentions (paths, parameters, directions, forces, etc.) to the system in a very intuitive manner.

Cornet project:

To research and test feasibility, Sirris is defining a European Cornet project proposal, together with Fraunhofer IPT. The development of the required software blocks and the integration of all elements in an industrial relevant demonstrator from which the companies can learn and be inspired by is what this project aims at. Other deliverables of the project will be the creation of guidelines to accomplish similar solutions in a company-specific setting and a learning environment for companies that want to experiment and buildup experience with this semi-automated polishing process.

Theindustrial usergroupof the Cornet project will provide input for the specification of typical applications and suggest representative usecases. The usergroup will be given priorityin terms of knowledge acquisition and will be invited to experiment with relevant cases.

Manufacturing companies as well as technology providers (e.g. automation companies, integrators, suppliers of emerging technology, …) are invited to be part of the industrial usergroup.

Join the (Cornet([3])) Project “CoPolMould” and learn how to use collaborative robots for grinding, lapping or polishing

Early adopters can enhance theirpolishing experts'efficiency by providing them with the tools to increase throughput. The project will focus on aspects that are relevant for companies with manual finishing processes on small series and single piece manufacturing.

Structuring available knowledge :

-From robotic-polishing research

-Evaluate usability of integrated force feedback sensors, external sensors, control algorithms

developing required software blocks:

-To make parameters intuitively adjustable (rotational speed, translational speed, force applied, tool lead angle, …)

-To teach polishing zone, path strategy, avoid constant paths, etc.

Integrating all components intoan industrial relevant demonstrator:

-Compare and benchmark existing tool holder systems from robotic research

-Inventory and test approaches based on CAM milling paths and scientific research and evaluate on ease of use

Manual polishing and similar processes- the stakeholders:

-Academicsand research organizations:differentrobotic concepts have been developed. Mostly, their applicability (in particular for SMEs) is yet to be demonstrated.

-Technology suppliers: on the one hand, today’s technologysuppliers integrate polishing applications intobusiness cases, but generally as static solutions for large series. On the other hand, there are manufacturers and suppliers of grinding and polishing tools and aids for the manufacturing companies.

-End users: end users are found in a great variety of industrial sectors. There are specialised mould making companies, but there are also OEM manufacturers who have internal manufacturing of moulds or other highly finished products, there are polishing experts whose business model it is to provide polishing as a service to other manufacturing companies, ….

-Governments: increasing the efficiency of manual manufacturing processes is a constant endeavour for governments in high wage countries. High wages are a fact, the efficiency of the process can be worked on.

To involve and inform Flemish partners, the project will also focus on market exploration and networking.

Usergroup

Companies forming the usergroup will be closely involved in the execution of this initiative. Close collaboration between research organizations and industry provides benefits in terms of permanent (industrial) relevance checks and quick transfer of technology to the member companies within the usergroup.Members of the usergroup are on the front row and can apply the acquired knowledge in their companies first. Thisusergroup will meet two times per year to supervise the progress of the project, give feedback and assign new priorities and/or accents. The duration of the project will be two years. Subscription before 20 Septembergrants participation to the usergroup free of charge.

Joining the usergroup can offer the following benefits:

  • Access to all technologiesand knowledge withinthe projectby all the partners
  • Quick access to the project results: research, market exploration, …
  • Price reduction onnetwork events, workshops, national and internationalcompany visits, …
  • Possibility to support your R&D (within the frame and scope of the project) at a reduced fee(SME 200 €/day, Large Enterprises 300 €/dayinstead of 1000 €/day).

To subscribeto the usergroup, fill out the question form below and sign the LOI, then e-mailboth documents to one of the contact persons below. (before 20 September 2017). By doing so, you can enjoy the benefits of this project!

For further information feel free to contact:

Stijn Lambrechts
Tel. 0474 36 54 47
E-mail: / Jan Kempeneers
Tel. 0498 91 94 85
E-mail: / Peter Paulissen
Tel. 0496 12 86 85
E-mail:
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Company:______

Contact:______

Function:______

Tel.______

Mail______

Subject:company-specific interestin ‘CoPolMould – collaborative polishing’

______(company) is particularly interested (within “CoPolMould”)in the themes:

(please tick in the list below, multiple choicesare allowed):

Technology specific

Structured knowledge from robotic research on polishing processes
Development of intuitive software solution for teaching of collaborative polishing robot
Integrated industrial relevant solution for demonstration and learningpurposes

General

Technology exploration:opportunitiestechnologies for production machines and guidelines for the introduction of new automation technologies. .
Networking: set up contactswith national and internationalcompanies, institutes & research centres, …
Market exploration : survey of applications with regards to flexible automation and its specific requirements .
Others:particular themes & technologies, challenges(specify):______
/ Letter of Intent – User Committee

[company letter heading]

The undersigned declares to be aware of the content of the project proposal entitled

CoPolMould – Collaborative Polishing

which will be submitted in the framework of the Joint CORNET Call to the following funding agencies:

-Belgium-Flanders:VLAIO (participant: Sirris)

-Germany:AiF (participant: ForschungsgemeinschaftUltrapräzisiontechnike.V.)

The proposed project is of interest to the business of [name of company] for the following reasons (strike out if not applicable):

  • To have easily accessible knowledge and technical information in order to put in practice the polishing automation knowledge
  • To network with other European industrial partners
  • Specific goals of the approach:
  • Enhance the efficiency of polishing operators and obtain a more constant output
  • To create optimized polishing processes and obtain a more constant process quality
  • This should lead to higher efficiency, an increase of polishing capacity, additional decrease of delivery lead times, reduced planning workload and reduced production cost

After approval of the project application, the above-mentioned company is willing to be member of the user committee, to participate in the project and to make clear arrangements in the bylaws of the user committee. The above-mentioned company will delegate an active member to the user committee, which includes participation in two Users Committee meetings per project year.

The above-mentioned company acknowledges that they will not be a formal member of the project consortium, that the intellectual property rights belong to the project applicants, and that membership of the user committee does not include any priority rights to the intellectual property. The research in this collective research project is done by research institutions (non-profit organisations).

The above-mentioned company will provide information and feedback to the project consortium to enhance efficiency, focus and direction of the project.

[name and function/position of undersigned]

[date of signature]

[signature]

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[1](Souza, Machado, Beckert, & Diniz, 2014)

[2] Andre´ Driemeyer Wilbert, B. Behrens, C. Zymla, O. Dambon, F. Klocke; CIRP Journal of Manufacturing Science and Technology 11 (2015) 45–52: Robotic finishing process – An extrusion die case study

[3]CORNET: ‘Collective Research NETworking’ is an ERA-NET in the field of Collective Research