Robotic automation in computer controlled polishing
Robotic automation in computer controlled polishing
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DOI：
10.2971/jeos.2016.16005
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发表时间：
2016-01-01
影响因子：
1.5
通讯作者：
Zhang, P.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Walker, D. D.;Yu, G.;Zhang, P.
我们首先介绍了一个案例研究--为欧洲超大型望远镜制造1.4米原型镜片，由国家超精密表面设施在格林德沃大学运营的光学设施中承担。扩大到系列化制造要求每四天交付一段1.4米的离轴非球面六角形管段，表面精度为10 nm RMS，而一次性部件通常需要一年或更长时间。这需要一种全新的方法来制造大型光学元件，这种方法将不可避免地传播到更广泛的工业光学中。我们报道了这些雄心勃勃的要求如何刺激了一项关于机器人和用于光学制造的计算机数字控制(‘NC’)抛光机之间的协同作用的调查。我们的目标不是评估哪一个更好。相反，它是为了第一次了解它们的互补性，导致我们将它们作为一个单元一起运行，集成在硬件和软件中。报告了三个关键领域。首先是机器人的新用途，使目前在数控抛光机上的手动操作自动化，以提高工作吞吐量，降低零件损坏的风险，并减少对高技能员工的依赖。其次是在数控抛光之前使用机器人对表面进行前处理，以减少总的加工时间。第三幅图将线索画在一起，描述了我们对自动化制造单元的愿景，在该单元中，操作员在单元而不是机器级别进行交互。与单独使用的平台或其他地方使用的最先进的平台相比，这有望带来端到端制造时间和成本的阶段性变化。
We first present a Case Study - the manufacture of 1.4 m prototype mirror-segments for the European Extremely Large Telescope, undertaken by the National Facility for Ultra Precision Surfaces, at the OpTIC facility operated by Glyndwr University. Scale-up to serial-manufacture demands delivery of a 1.4 m off-axis aspheric hexagonal segment with surface precision < 10 nm RMS every four days, compared with a typical year or more for an one-off part. This requires a radically-new approach to large optics fabrication, which will inevitably propagate into wider industrial optics. We report on how these ambitious requirements have stimulated an investigation into the synergy between robots and computer numerically controlled ('CNC') polishing machines for optical fabrication. The objective was not to assess which is superior. Rather, it was to understand for the first time their complementary properties, leading us to operate them together as a unit, integrated in hardware and software. Three key areas are reported. First is the novel use of robots to automate currently-manual operations on CNC polishing machines, to improve work-throughput, mitigate risk of damage to parts, and reduce dependence on highly-skilled staff. Second is the use of robots to pre-process surfaces prior to CNC polishing, to reduce total process time. The third draws the threads together, describing our vision of the automated manufacturing cell, where the operator interacts at cell rather than machine level. This promises to deliver a step-change in end-to-end manufacturing times and costs, compared with either platform used on its own or, indeed, the state-of-the-art used elsewhere.