Robotic face milling path correction and vibration reduction

In this paper the developed method for off-line compensation of tool deflections and vibration reduction when milling aluminum with an industrial robot is presented. The efficiency of this approach is verified with high precision measurements of deflections using a laser tracker. The compensation method is based on the static milling process model which can predict the mean value components of the tool forces and the passive damping system mounted on the spindle to reduce vibrations. With a process model such as the one presented in this paper and estimates of the robot's joint stiffness values, the tool path can be adjusted to counteract deflections of the tool during milling operations. The presented method increases accuracy when using an industrial robot for milling in relatively hard materials.