Experimental Characterization of Robot Arm Rigidity in Order to Be Used in Machining Operation
This work addresses the challenge of adapting industrial robots for precision machining tasks, which is incremental as it builds on prior attempts but focuses on specific experimental characterization.
The study experimentally characterized the rigidity of a poly-articulated robot arm equipped with a spindle for machining operations, finding that the robot's geometric configuration significantly influences overall stiffness and identifying suitable movement directions to reduce vibrations in milling.
Attempts to install a rotating tool at the end of a robot arm poly-articulated date back twenty years, but these robots were not designed for that. Indeed, two essential features are necessary for machining: high rigidity and precision in a given workspace. The experimental results presented are the dynamic identification of a poly-articulated robot equipped with an integrated spindle. This study aims to highlight the influence of the geometric configuration of the robot arm on the overall stiffness of the system. The spindle is taken into account as an additional weight on board but also as a dynamical excitation for the robot KUKA KR_240_2. Study of the robotic machining vibrations shows the suitable directions of movement in milling process