Robotic Machining: Material Removal Rate Control with a Flexible Manipulator

Practical material removal rate (MRR) control strategies for industrial robot are presented in this paper. Based on a force control platform, both force signal and spindle power information could be used for MRR measurement. Three different control methods, PI control, adaptive control and fuzzy control, are implemented to satisfy various process requirements. Performance and experimental results are presented and compared. With controlled material removal rate (CMRR), the productivity of robotic machining process could be increased dramatically.