Sensor-based precision robotic deburring for aerospace manufacturing

航天制造涉及大型复杂零件，变异性大，精度和可靠性要求高。自动化制造可以提高质量和效率，同时降低对人类的风险。去毛刺是一个非常复杂、耗时和昂贵的过程，目前在这个领域是手工完成的。手工去毛刺高度依赖人类技能，容易出错，与潜在有害灰尘的一致性较低。在板材加工中，机器人去毛刺的需求量很大，但由于复杂的规划、严格的公差和可变的加载，实现起来非常复杂。该项目将卡尔顿大学的机器人专业知识与安大略省为全球航空业提供航空结构的主要供应商Arnpre AerSpace Inc.(AAI)结合在一起，为薄板零件开发基于传感器的精密机器人去毛刺(SPRD)技术。为了达到所需的加工稳定性和精度，将研究各种基于多层传感器的控制器。将设计和集成一个开放架构的实验平台RoboDeb-E，作为SPRD技术的概念验证。该平台为先进的传感、控制和数据处理方法的研究提供了便利，使研究人员能够更好地了解材料去除过程以及过程参数之间的相互关系。这项研究包括一项系统的实验研究，以量化SPRD技术的性能，并将结果与AAI机械师通过手工去毛刺工艺生产的零件的质量进行比较。这项研究最后提出了一种工业版本的SPRD RoboDeb-I的详细规范，用于在AAI生产零部件。RoboDeb-I将通过安大略省英才中心(VIP-II计划)的资金通过一个即时后续项目进行开发。虽然可持续发展战略立即影响AAI的生产率，但它在其他部门或流程中具有巨大的应用潜力。由此产生的系统可以促进制造和自动化科学，为当地创造高科技机会和经济效益，并有助于维持加拿大航空航天制造业务及其作为主要飞机制造中心的声誉。

Aerospace manufacturing involves large and complex parts with high variability and stringent precision and reliability constraints. Automated manufacturing can improve quality and efficiency while reducing the risk to humans. Deburring is a very complex, time-consuming, and expensive process that is currently done manually in this sector. Hand deburring is highly reliant on human skills and is prone to errors and low consistency with potentially harmful dust. Robotic deburring in sheet metal working is in high demand, but very complex to implement due to the complex planning, tight tolerances, and variable loading involved. This project brings Carleton University's robotics expertise together with Arnprior Aerospace Inc (AAI), a major Ontario supplier of aerospace structures to aircraft industry worldwide, to develop a Sensor-based Precision Robotic Deburring (SPRD) technology for thin sheet metal parts. To achieve the required machining stability and precision, various multi-layer sensor-based controllers will be investigated. An open-architecture experimental platform, RoboDeb-E, will be designed and integrated as the proof-of-concept for the SPRD technology. This platform facilitates the research on advanced sensing, control, and data processing methods, and enables studies to gain a better understanding of the material removal process and inter-relation of the process parameters. This research includes a systematic experimental study to quantify the performance of SPRD technology and compare the results to the quality of parts produced via hand deburring process by AAI machinists. The research concludes with a detailed specification of an industrial version of SPRD, RoboDeb-I, to produce parts at AAI. RoboDeb-I will be developed through an immediate follow-on project through funds from Ontario Centres of Excellence (VIP-II program). While SPRD immediately impacts productivity at AAI, it has a great potential for application in other sectors or processes. The resulting system can boost manufacturing and automation science, generate local high-tech opportunities and economic benefits, and help maintaining aerospace manufacturing business in Canada and its reputation as a major aircraft manufacturing hub.