16 September 2019
The aim: achieving a production tolerance of just 0.1 millimetres all over the robot workspace starting with the very first component. The overall objective of the joint research project is to facilitate cost-effective production processes.
The production facilities of tomorrow will need to be efficient and versatile if they hope to meet increasingly stringent requirements and the specific needs of each customer – all while mastering the pressure of rising costs. High-precision machine tools that impart a certain geometrical shape to workpieces remain the solution of choice.
Conventional industrial robots have simply been unable, due to their insufficient precision, to supplant such machine tools. Using robots for milling operations remains particularly challenging. Primarily due to the gear units, low robot stiffness deflects the tool – reducing its appeal for use. Researchers working on Fraunhofer’s “Flexmatik 4.1” joint research project are developing an industrial robot designed for the high-precision milling of lightweight materials. The project partners are the Fraunhofer Institutes for Production Systems and Design Technology (IPK), for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials (IFAM), and for Structural Durability and System Reliability (LBF). The researchers must overhaul the kinematics if the robot is to prove successful.
Sascha Reinkober, department head at Fraunhofer IPK, explains: “We’re engineering a multi-axis kinematic chain that is specially designed for continuous path processes.” The robot proceeds from point A to point B of the component being machined by traversing a linear unit, a type of rail. “The system simulations we conducted during the design phase indicate that we can achieve a precision objective of plus/minus 0.1 millimetres. This will be possible starting from the very first component, despite the process forces acting on it. Manufacturers can therefore customise production, even for a batch size of just one unit,” says Jan Hansmann, project leader at Fraunhofer LBF.
The new designed robot offers key benefits compared to machine tools: the cost of acquisition decreases by as much as a factor of 10 and the energy consumption by as much as a factor of 15. Thanks to its linear unit, the Flexmatik exhibits a workspace on par with large portal milling machines – and better accessibility. Compared to a portal milling machine, the Flexmatik does not require a special heavy foundation. This keeps construction costs lower and grants users flexibility in setting it up.
https://www.emo-hannover.de
New kinematics for precise milling
Manufacturers must offer high-quality products at low prices in order to remain competitive. Three Fraunhofer Institutes are therefore working on the next generation of industrial robots by developing a new kinematics for milling lightweight materials, metals, and steels.
 Photo: Fraunhofer IFAMMachining robot Flexmatik |
The production facilities of tomorrow will need to be efficient and versatile if they hope to meet increasingly stringent requirements and the specific needs of each customer – all while mastering the pressure of rising costs. High-precision machine tools that impart a certain geometrical shape to workpieces remain the solution of choice.
Conventional industrial robots have simply been unable, due to their insufficient precision, to supplant such machine tools. Using robots for milling operations remains particularly challenging. Primarily due to the gear units, low robot stiffness deflects the tool – reducing its appeal for use. Researchers working on Fraunhofer’s “Flexmatik 4.1” joint research project are developing an industrial robot designed for the high-precision milling of lightweight materials. The project partners are the Fraunhofer Institutes for Production Systems and Design Technology (IPK), for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials (IFAM), and for Structural Durability and System Reliability (LBF). The researchers must overhaul the kinematics if the robot is to prove successful.
Sascha Reinkober, department head at Fraunhofer IPK, explains: “We’re engineering a multi-axis kinematic chain that is specially designed for continuous path processes.” The robot proceeds from point A to point B of the component being machined by traversing a linear unit, a type of rail. “The system simulations we conducted during the design phase indicate that we can achieve a precision objective of plus/minus 0.1 millimetres. This will be possible starting from the very first component, despite the process forces acting on it. Manufacturers can therefore customise production, even for a batch size of just one unit,” says Jan Hansmann, project leader at Fraunhofer LBF.
The new designed robot offers key benefits compared to machine tools: the cost of acquisition decreases by as much as a factor of 10 and the energy consumption by as much as a factor of 15. Thanks to its linear unit, the Flexmatik exhibits a workspace on par with large portal milling machines – and better accessibility. Compared to a portal milling machine, the Flexmatik does not require a special heavy foundation. This keeps construction costs lower and grants users flexibility in setting it up.
https://www.emo-hannover.de
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