Studies on robotic deburring of machined components using a SCARA robot

In this paper, the complex aspect of deburring of machined components while using a Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm (SCARA) robot is analyzed. There are two practices followed in robotic deburring, viz., the work piece is held by the robot´s gripper while the deburring tool is external to the robot and the second mode, the deburring tool is held by the gripper with the work piece is held in a fixture external to the robot. The second mode is the focus of the present paper. In deburring operations, the forces exerted are very small in the case of small and medium sized components machined earlier by fine cuts with a small depth of cut, and therefore the deburring forces are neglected in the present analysis. A SCARA robot fabricated in-house has been utilized for the video graphic analysis. The recorded video is analyzed using any of the many video players to trace the path taken by the robot´s quill. This data is utilized as inputs for the mathematical analysis and animation studies. Kinematic equations of a SCARA robot are derived using Denavit-Hartenberg notation. Mathematical equations for kinematic parameters and torques are derived. Kinematic parameters include joint angles, joint velocities, and joint accelerations. Mathematical analysis has been carried out using MATLAB software. The same SCARA robot is modelled and simulated for the path taken during deburring using CAD software and the analysis is carried for kinematic parameters .Comparisons are made for results obtained by the above mentioned three methods and graphs are drawn for joint angles, joint velocities, joint accelerations. Important conclusions are drawn for the robotic deburring operations using SCARA robots.