GRI.D DANNY
GRIFFIN
GUIDANCE
Investigating the art
of
writing instructions
About
Force-Feedback Polishing
Zahner Labs, Research & Development Internship
Research Supervisor: James Coleman
How can mechanized actions replicate human touch?
Certain specialties within the metalworking industry are so harsh and unsuitable to human labor standards that even unions are looking to automated alternatives. The promise of robotic fabrication in these instances is that by relieving the burden on humans, a facility can maintain jobs by winning and fulfilling bids that would have otherwise been lost.The World of Mirror Finishes
Polishing is one of the most notorious operations in the metalworking industry. Achieving a mirror finish is especially time intensive. For the workers, this job leads to long-term respiratory issues and nerve damage.
Projects like Cloud Gate have popularized the mirror finish, increasing demand for such labor. As bidding for these projects becomes more competitive, fabricators are increasingly likely to take shortcuts at the expense of worker longevity and health.
The Tools of the Trade
Discussing with expert sheetmetal workers, pneumatic orbital sanders and buffing wheels were the preferred tools to reach a hand-polished mirror finish. To automate the task, we fabricate robotic end-effectors to house the same tools.
Force Feedback for Expanded Tolerance
Adding an aditional linear axis to the robot’s end effector provides an additional inch of tolerance. Discrepencies between physical and digital models can be accounted for by corrections in the linear axis without the need to re-program toolpaths.
Feedback Loop
Validating continuous contact by measuring force applied to the linear axis.
Mirror Finishing Passes with Buffing Wheel
Freeform Pattern Cutting in Mirror Surface
Detail: Robotically Cut Mirror Surface
Reflected Patterns from Mirror Drawing