Calibration of robotic drilling systems with a moving rail

Industrial robots are widely used in aircraft assembly systems such as robotic drilling systems. It is necessary to expand a robot＇s working range with a moving rail. A method for improving the position accuracy of an automated assembly system with an industrial robot mounted on a moving rail is proposed. A multi-station method is used to control the robot in this study. The robot only works at stations which are certain positions defined on the moving rail. The calibration of the robot system is composed by the calibration of the robot and the calibration of the stations.The calibration of the robot is based on error similarity and inverse distance weighted interpolation.The calibration of the stations is based on a magnetic strip and a magnetic sensor. Validation tests were performed in this study, which showed that the accuracy of the robot system gained significant improvement using the proposed method. The absolute position errors were reduced by about 85%to less than 0.3 mm compared with the maximum nearly 2 mm before calibration.

Dynamic control for the feed system of a robotic drilling end-effector

Robotic drilling technology for aircraft flexible assembly is challenging and is under active investigation.In this work,a feed system for robotic drilling end-effector is modeled.Two control algorithms with different computational complexity are proposed and compared.Based on reduced-order state observer,a pole placement controller is proposed firstly,and then a model reference adaptive controller is designed.An experiment platform is established in Matlab xPC environment to validate the effect of the two controllers.The experiment results show that the model reference adaptive controller delivers a higher tracking accuracy after the adaptive transient procedure than the pole placement controller does.

A novel algorithm of normal attitude regulation for the designed end-effector of a flexible drilling robot

An end-effector for a flexible drilling robot is designed, and a novel four-point algorithm of normal attitude regulation for this end-effector is presented. Four non-coplanar points can define a unique sphere tangent to them in spatial geometry, and the center point of the sphere and the radius can be calculated. The shape of a workpiece surface in the machining area is approximately regarded as such a sphere. A vector from the machining point to the center point is thus approximately regarded as a normal vector to the workpiece surface. By this principle, the algorithm first measures four coordinates on the curve in the drilling region using four sensors and calculates the normal vector at the drilling point, then calculates the error between the normal vector and the axis of the spindle. According to this error, the algorithm further figures out the angles of two revolving axes on the end- effector and the displacements of three linear axes on the robot main body, thus it implements the function of adjusting the spindle to be perpendicular to the curve at the drilling point. Simulation results of two kinds of curved surfaces show that accuracy and efficiency can be realized using the proposed algorithm.

Hole surface strengthening mechanism and riveting fatigue life of CFRP/aluminum stacks in robotic rotary ultrasonic drilling

Carbon fiber reinforced plastic(CFRP)and aluminum stacks are widely used in aviation industry due to light weight and high performance.Millions of rivet holes need to be drilled on body materials,and more than 80%of fatigue cracks occur at the connection holes,so the damage and residual stress of hole surface have crucial effect on the riveting fatigue life of CFRP/aluminum stacks and the flight performance.Recently,robotic rotary ultrasonic drilling(RRUD)technology is a promising method to machine the stacks.However,the hole surface strengthening mechanism in RRUD and the service performance of the riveting joint are not verified.Thus,in this paper,the hole surface strengthening mechanism of RRUD for CFRP/aluminum stacks is investigated,a theoretical residual stress model is established,and the fatigue life experiment of riveted joints is conducted.Firstly,analysis on residual stress in RRUD is carried out with consideration of strengthening force and cutting temperature.Residual stress model is established based on the calculation of elastic stress,plastic stress and stress release.Validation experiment results show that ultrasonic vibration changes residual stress from tensile stress to compressive stress.At the same time,comparative damage analysis of CFRP hole exit and hole surface in robotic conventional drilling(RCD)and RRUD is presented.Finally,fatigue strength experiments of riveted joints are conducted for performance verification.Experimental results indicate that fatigue life of single-hole riveted joints is increased by 68%with ultrasonic vibration,and four-hole riveted joint arranged according to aerospace design standards is increased by more than 86%.

Auto-normalization algorithm for robotic precision drilling system in aircraft component assembly

A novel approach is proposed to detect the normal vector to product surface in real time for the robotic precision drilling system in aircraft component assembly, and the auto-normalization algorithm is presented based on the detection system. Firstly, the deviation between the normal vector and the spindle axis is measured by the four laser displacement sensors installed at the head of the multi-function end effector. Then, the robot target attitude is inversely solved according to the auto-normalization algorithm. Finally, adjust the robot to the target attitude via pitch and yaw rotations about the tool center point and the spindle axis is corrected in line with the normal vector simultaneously. To test and verify the auto-normalization algorithm, an experimental platform is established in which the laser tracker is introduced for accurate measurement. The results show that the deviations between the corrected spindle axis and the normal vector are all reduced to less than 0.5°, with the mean value 0.32°. It is demonstrated the detection method and the autonormalization algorithm are feasible and reliable.

Development of a monocular vision system for robotic drilling

Robotic drilling for aerospace structures demands a high positioning accuracy of the robot, which is usually achieved through error measurement and compensation. In this paper, we report the development of a practical monocular vision system for measurement of the relative error between the drill tool center point(TCP) and the reference hole. First, the principle of relative error measurement with the vision system is explained, followed by a detailed discussion on the hardware components, software components, and system integration. The elliptical contour extraction algorithm is presented for accurate and robust reference hole detection. System calibration is of key importance to the measurement accuracy of a vision system. A new method is proposed for the simultaneous calibration of camera internal parameters and hand-eye relationship with a dedicated calibration board. Extensive measurement experiments have been performed on a robotic drilling system. Experimental results show that the measurement accuracy of the developed vision system is higher than 0.15 mm, which meets the requirement of robotic drilling for aircraft structures.

Design and analysis of a two-dimensional vibration control mechanism based on vibro-impact damping

The robotic drilling always generates the axial vibration along the drill bit and the torsional vibration around the drill bit,which will adversely affect the drilling precision.A vibration control mechanism fixed between the end-effector and the robot is proposed,which can suppress the axial and torsional vibrations based on the principle of vibro-impact(VI)damping.The energy dissipation of the system by vibro-impact damping is analyzed.Then,the influence of the structure parameters on the vibration attenuation effect is studied,and a semi-active vibration control method of variable collision clearance is presented.The simulation results show that the control method has effective vibration control performance.

A pre-generated matrix-based method for real-time robotic drilling chatter monitoring

Currently, due to the detrimental effects on surface finish and machining system, chatter has been one crucial factor restricting robotic drilling operations, which improve both quality and efficiency of aviation manufacturing. Based on the matrix notch filter and fast wavelet packet decomposition, this paper presents a novel pre-generated matrix-based real-time chatter monitoring method for robotic drilling. Taking vibration characteristics of robotic drilling into account, the matrix notch filter is designed to eliminate the interference of spindle-related components on the measured vibration signal. Then, the fast wavelet packet decomposition is presented to decompose the filtered signal into several equidistant frequency bands, and the energy of each sub-band is obtained. Finally, the energy entropy which characterizes inhomogeneity of energy distribution is utilized as the feature to recognize chatter on-line, and the effectiveness of the presented algorithm is validated by extensive experimental data. The results show that the proposed algorithm can effectively detect chatter before it is fully developed. Moreover, since both filtering and decomposition of signal are implemented by the pre-generated matrices, calculation for an energy entropy of vibration signal with 512 samples takes only about 0.690 ms. Consequently, the proposed method achieves real-time chatter monitoring for robotic drilling, which is essential for subsequent chatter suppression.

New design of a compact aero-robotic drilling end effector: An experimental analysis

This paper presents the development of a normal adjustment cell (NAC) in aero-robotic drilling to improve the quality of vertical drilling, by using an intelligent double-eccentric disk normal adjustment mechanism (2-EDNA), a spherical plain bearing and a floating compress module with sensors. After the surface normal vector is calculated based on the laser sensors' feedback, the 2-EDNA concept is conceived specifically to address the deviation of the spindle from the surface normal at the drilling point. Following the angle calculation, depending on the actual initial position, two precise eccentric disks (PEDs) with an identical eccentric radius are used to rotate with the appropriate angles using two high-resolution DC servomotors. The two PEDs will carry the spindle to coincide with the surface normal, keeping the vertex of the drill bit still to avoid repeated adjustment and position compensation. A series of experiments was conducted on an aeronautical drilling robot platform with a precise NAC. The effect of normal adjustment on bore diameter, drilling force, burr size, drilling heat, and tool wear was analyzed. The results validate that using the NAC in robotic drilling results in greatly improved vertical drilling quality and is attainable in terms of intelligence and accuracy. (C) 2015 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier Ltd. on behalf of Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Inverse kinematics of a heavy duty manipulator with 6-DOF based on dual quaternion

An iterative method is introduced successfully to solve the inverse kinematics of a 6-DOF manipulator of a tunnel drilling rig based on dual quaternion, which is difficult to get the solution by Denavit-Hartenberg(D-H) based methods. By the intuitive expression of dual quaternion to the orientation of rigid body, the coordinate frames assigned to each joint are established all in the same orientation, which does not need to use the D-H procedure. The compact and simple form of kinematic equations, consisting of position equations and orientation equations, is also the consequence of dual quaternion calculations. The iterative process is basically of two steps which are related to solving the position equations and orientation equations correspondingly. First, assume an initial value of the iterative variable; then, the position equations can be solved because of the reduced number of unknown variables in the position equations and the orientation equations can be solved by applying the solution from the position equations, which obtains an updated value for the iterative variable; finally, repeat the procedure by using the updated iterative variable to the position equations till the prescribed accuracy is obtained. The method proposed has a clear geometric meaning, and the algorithm is simple and direct. Simulation for 100 poses of the end frame shows that the average running time of inverse kinematics calculation for each demanded pose of end-effector is 7.2 ms on an ordinary laptop, which is good enough for practical use. The iteration counts 2-4 cycles generally, which is a quick convergence. The method proposed here has been successfully used in the project of automating a hydraulic rig.

Design and comparative analysis of self-propelling drill bit applied to deep-sea stratum drilling robot

Robotic subsea stratum drilling robot is a method for new subsea stratigraphic geological investigation and resource exploration.Resistance at the front end is the main source of resistance to the robot’s motion in the strata.Since there is no continuous and strong downward drilling force as in conventional drilling rigs,robot movement relies heavily on the drill bit to reduce the drilling resistance.In this study we propose a self-propelling drill bit that can discharge soil debris to provide propulsive force and reduce the resistance.The key parameter of the drill bit design,the spiral blade lead angle,was determined by theoretical analysis of the drill bit’s soil discharging effect.To verify the structural advantages of the self-propelling drill bit in reducing resistance,a comparative analysis with a conventional conical drill bit was conducted.The drilling process of both bits was simulated using finite element simulation at various rotation speeds,the penetration force and torque data of both drill bits were obtained,and tests prepared accordingly in subsea soil were conducted.The simulations and tests verified that the penetration force of the self-propelling drill bit was lower than that of the conventional conical drill bit.The self-propelling drill bit can reduce the resistance effectively,and may play an important role in the stratum movement of drilling robots.

Positioning error compensation of an industrial robot using neural networks and experimental study

Due to the characteristics of high efficiency,wide working range,and high flexibility,industrial robots are being increasingly used in the industries of automotive,machining,electrical and electronic,rubber and plastics,aerospace,food,etc.Whereas the low positioning accuracy,resulted from the serial configuration of industrial robots,has limited their further developments and applications in the field of high requirements for machining accuracy,e.g.,aircraft assembly.In this paper,a neural-network-based approach is proposed to improve the robots’positioning accuracy.Firstly,the neural network,optimized by a genetic particle swarm algorithm,is constructed to model and predict the positioning errors of an industrial robot.Next,the predicted errors are utilized to realize the compensation of the target points at the robot’s workspace.Finally,a series of experiments of the KUKA KR 500–3 industrial robot with no-load and drilling scenarios are implemented to validate the proposed method.The experimental results show that the positioning errors of the robot are reduced from 1.529 mm to 0.344 mm and from 1.879 mm to 0.227 mm for the no-load and drilling conditions,respectively,which means that the position accuracy of the robot is increased by 77.6%and 87.9%for the two experimental conditions,respectively.