An aluminum sand casting needs a range of operations to remove the remnant gates and parting line flash. Here the Touch Robot demonstrates its multiple tool handling capabilities: soft compliance and workpiece sensing to cut gates and heavy flash with an abrasive saw, stiff trajectory control of a carbide cutter to machine precise profiles, and compliant, coordinated motion to grind complex surfaces with a portable belt grinder.
In order to reach all the edges and surfaces of the part, the work is done in two steps with the part flipped half-way through. To demonstrate the Touch Robot’s measurement capability, a precise fixture was not used to hold the part. Instead, it is clamped in a vise, with the robot measuring its position and orientation before beginning work.
