A Robot Floating Grinding and Rust Removal Approach Based on Composite Force-Position Fuzzy Control

The removal of rust from large equipment such as trains and ship hulls poses a significant challenge. Traditional methods, such as chemical cleaning, flame rust removal, and laser rust removal, suffer from drawbacks such as high energy consumption, operational complexity, and poor mobility. Sandblasting and high-pressure water jet rust removal face issues such as high consumable costs and environmental pollution. Existing robotic grinding systems often rely on precise measurement of the workpiece surface geometry to perform deburring and polishing tasks; however, they lack the sufficient adaptability and robustness required for rust removal operations. To address these limitations, this study proposes a floating grinding actuator scheme based on compound force-position fuzzy control. By implementing simplified path-point planning, continuous grinding and rust removal can be achieved without requiring the pre-measurement of workpiece geometry data. This solution integrates force and laser displacement sensors to provide real-time compensation for path deviations and ensures adaptability to complex surfaces. A fuzzy derivative-leading PID algorithm was employed to control the grinding force, enabling adaptive force regulation and enhancing the control precision. Rust removal test results demonstrate that under varying advancing speeds, fuzzy derivative-leading PID control can significantly reduce fluctuations in both the grinding force and average error compared to traditional PID control. At a speed of 40 mm/s, excellent control performance was maintained, achieving a rust removal rate of 99.73%. This solution provides an efficient, environmentally friendly, and high-precision automated approach to rust removal using large-scale equipment.