Intelligent robotic system for automated shot peening and peen forming

喷丸成形(或SPF)和喷丸(或SP)分别被广泛应用于航空航天和运输工程中，以分别由板材成形曲面形状(使用传统的冲压方法很难成形)和改善表面的机械性能。尽管它们的应用范围很广，但许多SPF和SP工艺目前大多是手动执行或由合格的操作员以开环方式执行。因此，过程的可达性、重复性、准确性和响应时间显然受到操作员的限制。机器人系统似乎为解决上述问题提供了一个有吸引力的替代品。然而，机器人在这类应用中的应用受到工艺不确定性的阻碍，这些不确定性限制了自动化解决方案的准确性、重复性和响应时间。例如，达到所需成形的多次试验在许多SPF工艺中是常见的。在这个项目中，解决了两个主要的不确定性来源，包括喷嘴的运动(位置和速度)和喷丸覆盖范围。 来自Ryerson大学、NRC-IAR-AMTC、Sonaca蒙特利尔、Vibra Finish和Quanser的团队组织了一个研究计划来解决上述问题。开发了一种基于视觉的控制方案，该方案使用带有视觉反馈的位置和姿态(姿势)闭环控制来实时适应表面姿态的不确定性，例如，当表面由于喷丸效应而连续变形时，或者当工件没有被适当地固定或相对于机器人校准时。最后，提出了新的实时覆盖测量和控制技术，以提高喷丸应用的覆盖质量。所开发的方法可以很容易地扩展到类似的应用，如喷丸、脱漆和磨料喷射加工。研究成果将缩短新部件的上市时间，降低生产成本和周期，并提供更好的最终产品。因此，这些结果可以通过提高制造业的核心技术能力和在全球经济中的竞争能力，对制造业产生战略影响，特别是在航空航天和汽车行业。

Shot peen forming (or SPF) and Shot peening (or SP) and are extensively applied in aerospace and transportation engineering to, respectively, form curved shapes from sheet metal (which would be difficult to form with traditional methods like stamping) and improve mechanical properties of the surfaces. Despite a wide range of their applications, many SPF and SP processes are currently executed mostly manually or in an open-loop fashion by qualified operators. The reach, repeatability, accuracy, and response time of the processes are then obviously limited by those of the operator. A robotic system seems to offer an attractive substitute addressing the aforementioned issues. However, the application of robots in such applications is hindered by the process uncertainties which limit the accuracy, repeatability, and response time of automated solutions. For instance, several trials to reach the desired forming are common to many SPF processes. Two main sources of uncertainty, tackled in this project, include the nozzle's motion (position and velocity) and peening coverage. Teams from Ryerson University, NRC-IAR-AMTC, Sonaca Montreal, Vibra Finish, and Quanser have organized a research program to address the aforementioned issues. A vision-based control solution is developed that uses closed-loop position and orientation (pose) control with visual feedback to adapt to the surface pose uncertainty in real-time, e.g., when the surface is continuously deforming due to peening effect or when the workpiece has not been properly fixtured or calibrated with respect to the robot. Finally, novel real-time coverage measurement and control techniques are proposed that could improve coverage quality for shot peening applications. The developed methods can readily be extended to similar applications such as shot blasting, depainting, and abrasive jet machining. The research outcome would lead to reduced time-to-market for the new parts, lower production costs and cycle time, and superior end products. The results could thus make a strategic impact on the manufacturing industry, especially in aerospace and automotive sectors, by raising their core technical competencies and ability to compete in the global economy.