New robot to control polishing processes

Polishing work is hard and laborious work which requires physical stamina and concentration. Polishing is also an integral part of many companies' production, where almost all types of materials are polished to achieve the desired result.

But why not use a robot to relieve this burden and achieve more consistent results?

DTI and Pehama Productions have developed a polishing robot together. Using advanced sensor technology, the robot can use a polishing disc or hold a fixed object against the polishing machine, and this is something that arouses the interest of many Danish companies.

- Getting a robot to polish is not something we do just for fun. Many companies see great potential in automating polishing, because they use a lot of manual effort and resources to polish things, says robot expert Søren Peter Johansen, a Technology Manager at DTI.

- The benefits of using a robot polisher are that you get more consistent results, and relieve humans of a really tiresome job.

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Although polishing can look simple from the outside, the process must take into account many factors, and these factors are doubled by putting a robot into the equation.

The challenge is that a rotating workpiece must be pressed down hard against different surfaces of a solid object, so we must compensate for a lot of challenging forces and moments. The special feature of this solution is that the robot uses an advanced sensor - a force torque sensor - which can feel how the robot is placed in relation to the item to be polished.

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DTI is constantly working to develop new solutions and improve existing ones and can already see new possibilities for the newly developed polishing robot.

- We are experimenting with the robot, evaluating different types of materials and polishing tools - and we imagine that a relatively simple addition could enable the robot to note where the item is located, where its edge is. This means that you will be able to give different items to the robot, and it will work out for itself how to polish them, says Søren Peter Johansen of DTI.