Robotic metal spinning-experiments with cascaded position-velocity control with an add-on vibration suppressor for enhanced trajectory tracking

In order to increase the adaptability of industrial robots to broader application areas, it is required to improve the fundamental control strategies with supplementary methods to a more sophisticated level. Machining processes are one of the areas that need more advanced and robust control approaches due to the steady force requirements and inevitable feedback between the task forces and dynamics of the system. With this research, it is aimed to introduce industrial robots, as a highly versatile automation tool, to the metal spinning process and expand its application areas. An industrial robot has been used to implement robotic metal spinning process and to conduct experiments. Preliminary experimental results for an enhanced trajectory tracking algorithms are presented in this paper to provide a foundation for the expansion of robotic applications. The results show that it is feasible to perform the metal spinning process by using an industrial robot with cascaded trajectory tracking algorithms. Further improvements can be observed with the proposed cascaded control technique together with an add-on vibration suppressor, in an attempt to enhance the process and attenuate the robot's joint oscillations.