Polishing robot and polishing method using the same
AssigneeShowa Precision Machinery Co., Ltd.
InventorsToshio Hashimoto, Minoru Nakafuji
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A direct-teaching playback type polishing robot comprising a first arm and a second arm, a polishing tool suspended from a free end of said second arm, horizontal high-lead ball screws having nuts connected to said arms, respectively, and a servo-motor and an encoder mounted at a free end of threaded shaft of each of said ball screws in such a manner that rotation of said servo-motor advancing the corresponding nut to swing the corresponding arm independently of the other arm.
Claims8
In a direct-teaching and playback-type polishing robot comprising a polishing tool, means for moving said polishing tool in direction identified by cartesian X, Y and Z coordinates relative to a surface of a workpiece to be polished, and means for actuating said moving means, the improvement wherein said tool-moving means comprises:
- a first arm pivotally mounted on a vertically standing cardinal shaft,
- a second arm pivotally mounted on a second shaft secured at a free end of said first arm, said second arm carrying said polishing tool at an end thereof and said second shaft being mounted in parallel to said cardinal shaft, and
- means for causing said first and second arms to swing independently about their respective shafts;
- means for mounting said tool-moving means for slidable movement in the direction of the Z coordinate relative to the stationary base of said robot and workpiece;
- and wherein said actuating means comprises:
- means for reading and storing data defining the outline of the surface of said workpiece to be polished in X and Y coordinates as taught by the operator when manipulating said polishing tool along said outline;
- means for establishing a program for scanning the surface of said workpiece enclosed by said outline with said polishing tool based on said stored data at a predetermined scanning speed and pitch in a predetermined direction with respect to the X and Y coordinates, said program including data concerning a predetermined contact pressure to be exerted against the workpiece by the polishing tool in the direction of the Z coordinate;
- computer-operated driving means for operating said tool-moving means in accordance with said program, and
- means for causing the movement of said tool-moving means in the direction of the Z coordinate relative to the workpiece by the sliding movement thereof relative to said stationary robot base in response to the undulation of said workpiece along each scanning path.
In a direct-teaching and playback-type polishing robot comprising a polishing tool, means for moving said polishing tool in directions identified by cartesian X, Y and Z coordinates relative to a surface of a workpiece to be polished, and means for actuating said moving means, the improvement wherein said tool-moving means comprises:
- a first arm pivotally mounted on a vertically standing cardinal shaft,
- a second arm pivotally mounted on a second shaft secured at a free end of said first arm, said second arm carrying said polishing tool at an end thereof and said second shaft being mounted in parallel to said cardinal shaft, and
- first and second horizontal high-lead ball screws having associated nuts connected by connecting means to said first and second arms, respectively, a servo-motor and a clutch operatively connected to an end of a threaded shaft extending from each of said high-lead ball screws in such a manner that rotation of said servo-motor advances the corresponding nut to swing the corresponding arm independently of the other arm,
- means for mounting said tool-moving means for slidable movement in the direction of the Z coordinate relative to both the stationary base of said robot and workpiece;
- and wherein said actuating means comprises:
- means for reading and storing data defining the outline of the surface of said workpiece to be polished in X and Y coordinates as taught by the operator when manipulating said polishing tool along said outline,
- means for establishing a program for scanning the surface of said workpiece enclosed by said outline with said polishing tool based on said stored data at a predetermined scanning speed and pitch in a predetermined direction with respect to the X and Y coordinates, said program including data concerning a predetermined contact pressure to be exerted against the workpiece by the polishing tool in the direction of the Z coordinate,
- computer-operated driving means for operating said tool-moving means in accordance with said program, and
- means for causing the movement of said tool-moving means in the direction of the Z coordinate relative to the workpiece by the sliding movement thereof relative to said stationary robot base in response to the undulation of said workpiece along each scanning path.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.