Track Planning and Pressure Control of Robotic Gasbag Polishing Technique with Improved Polishing Tool

In order to obtain well-proportioned surface quality and high polishing efficiency of free-form mould, a robotic gasbag polishing technique using an improved spinning-inflated-gasbag polishing tool is proposed in this paper. The improved polishing tool consists of three detachable modules, which are the drive, soft rubber gasbag and magnetorheology. The six degrees of freedom industrial robot with a low-cost pressure control system is used for holding the improved polishing tool and controlling the polishing process such as the path, position, orientation, pressure and rheological behavior, so as to form an automated polishing system. The flow chart of polishing track planning and the low-cost solution of pressure control of the gasbag for better pose control and pressure adjustment are presented and the key technologies are analyzed in detail. The polishing experiments of free-form mould and observation of images after polishing indicate that robotic gasbag polishing technique can achieve well-proportioned surface quality and surface roughness of Ra 5 nm. Key-Words: Robotic gasbag polishing; Free-form; Module design; Track planning; Pressure control; Surface quality.