A systematic optimization approach for the calibration of parallel kinematics machine tools by a laser tracker

Parallel kinematics machine has attracted attention as machine tools because of the outstanding features of high dynamics and high stiffness. Although various calibration methods for parallel kinematics machine have been studied, the influence of inaccurate motion of joints is rarely considered in these studies. This paper presents a high-accuracy and high-effective approach for calibration of parallel kinematics machine. In the approach, a differential error model, an optimized model and a statistical method are combined, and the errors of parallel kinematics machine due to inaccurate motion of joints can be reduced by this approach. Specifically, the workspace is symmetrically divided into four subspaces, and a measurement method is suggested by a laser tracker to require the actual pose of the platform in these subspaces. An optimized model is proposed to solve the kinematic parameters in symmetrical subspaces, and then arithmetical mean method is proposed to calculate the final kinematic parameter. In order to achieve the global optimum quickly and precisely, the initial value of the optimal parameter is directly solved based on the differential error model. The proposed approach has been realized on the developed 5-DOF hexapod machine tool, and the experiment result proves that the presented method is very effective and accurate for the calibration of the hexapod machine tool.     

Kinematic calibration of a 3-P(Pa)S parallel-type spindle head considering the thermal error

Calibration is considered to be the most effective way to improve the accuracy of parallel kinematic machine tools (PKMTs). However, ordinary calibrations only considered the time-invariant errors (manufacturing error), neglecting some time-variant errors, a significant one of which is thermal error. Therefore, in this paper, the influence of thermal error was considered in the calibration of a 3-P(Pa)S parallel-type spindle head. First, a new kinematic model of the spindle head was proposed, which is closer to the real physical model, so the thermal error of the spindle head can be considered in the model. Second, the structural parameters of the spindle head were expressed as the sum of the ideal parameters, the manufacturing errors, and the thermal errors. Third, the pose (position and orientation) of the end effector and the temperature of the spindle head were measured. The positions of the temperature sensors were selected using the global temperature sensitivity index (GTSI), which is derived from the global sensitivity index (GSI). Thus, by setting a standard temperature, the thermal error of the structural parameter can be obtained. Fourth, the influence of the thermal error was inputted into the identification equation for calibration, so the results are the structural parameters at the standard temperature (20 °C). To solve the ill-conditioning problem, a Regularization method was used in the identification. Finally, the calibration was verified on a 3-P(Pa)S-XY machine tool. The RTCP test, performed immediately after the measurement, shows that the maximum position error after the calibration is 0.019 mm at the tilt angle of 30° and 0.037 mm at 20°. In addition, the RTCP test after a temperature change shows that the calibration considering the thermal error can improve the average position accuracy from 0.025 mm to 0.015 mm. The calibration method in this paper is expected to be applicable for other machine tools.     

Proposal of disturbance-compensating and energy-saving control method of air turbine spindle and evaluation of its energy consumption

This paper introduces a disturbance-compensating and energy-saving control method of an air turbine spindle equipped with a rotation control system designed for use in ultra-precision milling. As one of the key components, our proposed pneumatic regulating device, called a high-precision quick-response pneumatic pressure regulator (HPQR), is used to control the air supply pressure of the air turbine spindle precisely and quickly. The rotation feedback control system including the HPQR and a disturbance force observer, which avoids changes of rotation speed due to disturbance forces applied to the air turbine spindle, is explained. In addition, a pneumatic energy assessment method using a device called an “air power meter” is explained. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated through the experimental results.     

Accuracy improvement of a 3D passive laser tracker for the calibration of industrial robots

The laser tracker has been used as the mainstream instrument for the position accuracy calibration of industrial robots for quite a long time. However, due to the complexity of the built-in dual-axis active servo tracking system, its cost is high and the target reflector has to adjust its pose frequently, so it cannot be popularized in the production and application sites of industrial robots. Based on this drawback, a 3D passive laser tracker (3DPLT) with high precision, simple structure, easy operation and low cost is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the overall structure of the system is designed, and its position error model based on the principle of spherical coordinate measurement and vector transfer method is established. Then, the error parameters are identified by experiments to formulate the error compensation model. Finally, the multi-pose and large-range spatial error compensation verification experiments of the system are carried out on a commercial coordinate measuring machine. The results show that the spatial volumetric errors of the 3DPLT can achieve within 40 μm after compensation with a good repeatability of ±4 μm. A comparison contouring test with a commercial ballbar is also carried out to validate its applicability of robot calibration.     

High-velocity walk-through programming for industrial applications

Traditionally, industrial robots are programmed by highly specialized workers that either directly write code in platform-specific languages, or use dedicated hardware (teach-pendant) to move the robot through the desired via-points. Unsurprisingly, the inherently complex and time-consuming nature of this task is one of the factors that are still preventing industrial manipulators from being massively adopted by companies that require a high degree of flexibility in order to cope with limited production volumes and rapidly changing product requirements. In this context, the introduction of sensor-based walk-through programming approaches represents the ideal solution as far as the need to reduce programming complexity and time is concerned. Nevertheless, the main shortcomings of these solutions typically consist in limited reachable velocities during the programming phase due to safety constraints and in relying on open robot controllers. To this regard, this paper proposes a control architecture for walk-through programming of industrial manipulators specifically designed in order to (i) reach high velocities while guaranteeing the operator’s safety; (ii) allow straightforward integration with a generic closed robotic controller. The proposed solution is extensively validated on an industrial manipulator.     

An investigation of energy loss mechanisms in water-jet assisted underwater laser cutting process using an analytical model

The water-jet assisted underwater laser cutting processes has relatively low overall efficiency compared to gas assisted laser cutting process due to high convective loss in water-jet from the hot melt layer and scattering loss of laser radiation by the water vapour formed at the laser–workpiece–water interaction region. However, the individual contribution of different losses and their dependency on process parameters are not fully investigated. Therefore, a lumped parameter analytical model for this cutting process has been formulated considering various laser–material–water interaction phenomena, different loss mechanisms and shear force provided by the water-jet, and has been used to predict various output parameters including the maximum cutting speed, cut front temperature, cut kerf and the loss of laser power through different mechanisms as functions of laser power and water-jet speed. The predictions of cutting speed, kerf-width and cut front temperature were validated with the experimental results. The modeling revealed that the scattering in water vapour is the dominant loss mechanism, causing ~40–50% of laser power loss. This also predicted that the percentage losses are lower for higher laser powers and lower water-jet speeds. In order to minimize the deleterious effect of vapour, dynamics of its formation due to laser heating and its removal by water-jet was experimentally studied. And, the cutting was done with modulated power laser beam of different pulse on- and off-times to determine the pulse on-time sufficiently short to disallow growth of vapour layer, still cutting be effected and the off-time enough long for water-jet to remove the vapour layer from the interaction zone before next pulse arrives. Compared to CW laser beam the modulated laser beam of same average power yielded higher process efficiency.     

Assembly language design and development for reconfigurable flexible assembly line

To improve the efficiency and controllability of our previous proposed cross-category product assembly line, we design an assembly language (A-code) to express a product's assembly process. We further develop an IDE to describe assembly processes as statements, which are organized according to predefined syntax as an A-code file. The interpreter translates statements into executable low-level commands. In addition, a four-layer architecture of the A-code assembly system (ACAS) is proposed to implement this language, thus an A-code files can be run on the assembly line physically. The proposed ACAS can reconfigure each unit for specific products, and control their assembly processes. The expressivity of this language is validated in two assembly cases, a simple shuttle valve and a complex relief valve. The functionality and feasibility of this system are tested by assembling 50 relief valves. The results demonstrate our ACAS can perform complex assembly tasks in a more efficient way.     

Improving hole exit quality in rotary ultrasonic machining of ceramic matrix composites using a compound step-taper drill

Mechanical-machining-induced tearing defects at hole exits restrict the application of C/SiC composites. Rotary ultrasonic machining (RUM) is suitable for hole manufacture in brittle composites, providing reduced tearing size as compared with conventional grinding. Even so, substantial tearing defects at the hole exit remain with RUM. In this study, a novel compound step-taper diamond core drill for RUM of C/SiC was developed to further improve the hole exit quality. Contrastive machining tests were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the new type drill. Experimental results show that the compound drill can help reduce the tearing size by 30% on average. Results of variance analysis indicate that there is little dependency of tearing size on processing variables with the compound drill, whereas the common drill shows substantial dependence. Detailed observation of the thrust force reveals that the tearing size reduction using the compound drill is due to the reprocessing effects of its taper face. In the reprocessing process of the taper face, the thrust force gradually decreases at the hole exit. Increasing the ultrasonic amplitude can help further improve the hole exit quality when using our compound drill.     

A numerical model of the EDM process considering the effect of multiple discharges

The electrical discharge machining (EDM) process is, by far, the most popular amongst the non-conventional machining processes. The technology is optimum for accurate machining of complex geometries in hard materials, as those required in the tooling industry. However, although a large number of EDM machines are sold every year, scientific knowledge of the process is still limited. The complex nature of the process involves simultaneous interaction of thermal, mechanical, chemical and electrical phenomena, which makes process modelling very difficult. In this paper a new contribution to the simulation and modelling of the EDM process is presented. Temperature fields within the workpiece generated by the superposition of multiple discharges, as it happens during an actual EDM operation, are numerically calculated using a finite difference schema. The characteristics of the discharge for a given operation, namely energy transferred onto the workpiece, diameter of the discharge channel and material removal efficiency can be estimated using inverse identification from the results of the numerical model. The model has been validated through industrial EDM tests, showing that it can efficiently predict material removal rate and surface roughness with errors below 6%.