High-precision magnetorheological finishing based on robot by measuring and compensating trajectory error.

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Optical Manufacturing
• Precision Engineering

Background:

• Industrial robots offer advantages in optical manufacturing but suffer from low trajectory accuracy.
• Combining robots with magnetorheological finishing (MRF) requires high precision for optical component quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address trajectory errors in robot-MRF systems.
• To establish a method for achieving high-precision trajectories in robot-assisted optical manufacturing.

Main Methods:

• Developed a continuous high-precision spatial dynamic trajectory error measurement system.
• Implemented a step-by-step, multistage iterative trajectory error compensation method based on spatial similarity.

Main Results:

• The proposed compensation method accurately corrects robot-MRF trajectory errors, outperforming common calibration techniques.
• Z-axis trajectory accuracy improved from PV > 0.2 mm to PV < 0.1 mm.
• Optical finishing accuracy improved significantly for both plane mirrors (0.066λ to 0.016λ RMS) and spherical mirrors (0.184λ to 0.013λ RMS).

Conclusions:

• The compensated robot-MRF system demonstrates high-precision polishing capabilities.
• This advancement promotes the use of industrial robots in optical manufacturing and intelligent optical production.