Development of an automatic mold polishing system

In this study, an automatic mold polishing system (AMPS) has been successfully developed. The AMPS integrates with mold geometry process kernel, path planner, process planner, and force control robot into a system. The polishing path is generated and drawn on the three-dimensional mold surface for verification. The AMPS can also automatic process the task planning according to the polishing requirements of the mold. The task list includes all the procedures and optimal polishing parameters. The polishing tasks were then executed by a force controllable robot. The experiment shows that the resultant of surface roughness satisfies the expectation in the process planning. Note to Practitioners -In the manufacturing of molds, the most time-consuming process is on the final stage the polishing process. The polishing processes in the mold industry are almost conducted manually. The worker needs exceptional skill that can only be trained by experienced master. For mass production of molds, automatic polishing of the mold is a necessary. From the long-term research effort, we have constructed an automatic mold polishing system (AMPS). The AMPS includes a dedicated 5-axes robot to execute the polishing task; a force control mechanism to hold the tool and apply constant pressure on the mold surface; and a software system that can read the geometry of the mold surface and automatically generate the detail polishing process and the polishing path for the robot. The AMPS now can handle polishing process for planar surfaces with obstacle inside and surfaces of revolution. Research effort is now concentrated on dealing with the free-from surfaces. Besides, reading the Initial Graphics Exchange System (IGES) format from various computer-aided design systems is another important issue for the system to be more useful. In all, the AMPS is just begin to accumulate any further researches and developments that may sustain various requirements of polishing applications.