Cooperating Robots for Machining

INOMECH Ltd. is implementing the project "Cooperating Robots for Machining Easily Machinable Materials" (CZ.01.1.02/0.0/0.0/17_106/0012472),This project is financially supported by the European Union under the Operational Programme Enterprise and Innovation for Competitiveness (OPPIK).

This high-tech and highly innovative project is focused on gaining new insights in the field of aluminum plate machining through a robotic workstation (pilot operation). The project design goes beyond currently known and available solutions on the global market, concentrating on the technical and structural design of the robotic workstation and the exploration of possibilities for the cooperation of two robots.

About Project

The main output of the project is a tested robotic workstation with two cooperating robots for the manipulation and machining of panel components, including complete technical documentation.
The workstation should have the following features:

• Machining of panel materials with main dimensions up to 1.5 x 2.5 meters, made from easily machinable duralumin alloys
• Considered machining operations include: slot milling, pocket milling, contouring, chamfering, drilling, and threading
• Automatic tool changing

The development of the robotic workstation includes, among other things:

• Research and specification of new concepts for the cooperation of two interconnected cooperating robots
• Selection of the most suitable solution concept
• Design of the technical and structural solution of the workstation based on the chosen concept
• Testing and final documentation of the semi-operational setup at the end of research and development

The workstation utilizes two old KUKA KR-150 robotic arms, which have been refurbished. These robots are further equipped with custom-developed components by INOMECH, including rails, a spindle head, a worktable, a control system, a tool magazine, and other accessories.

Design and Development

During the development of the workstation, a wide range of technologies was used to find the optimal kinematic configuration of the robots, achieving maximum rigidity while meeting the functional requirements of the workstation. This range of technologies includes analytical and FEM optimization calculations, FEM stiffness analyses of individual components, 3D scanning of the robot arms, motion simulations of the connected robots, and more.

Machining Examples

Video