System and Method for Controlling the Contact Pressure Between an Articulated Robotic Arm and a Secondary Object

A method of working an object by moving said object against a working surface, said system comprising:

• providing a machine having said working surface that can be contacted by said object at a point of contact;
• providing an articulating arm that is capable of engaging said object and moving said object against said working surface at said point of contact;
• mounting said articulating arm on a linear slide table that can only travel along a linear motion line;
• attaching at least one linear actuator to said linear slide table, wherein said at least one linear actuator elongates and contracts along a midline, and where said midline is parallel to, and aligned with, said linear motion line, and wherein said point of contact on said working surface of said machine is coplanar with said midline and said linear motion line;
• controlling said articulating arm and said at least one linear actuator to cause said object to contact said working surface of said machine following a movement pattern and a contact pressure pattern.