Development of a Control System for a Vibratory Lapping-Polishing Machine

Vibratory equipment is widely used in various fields of mechanical, industrial, and manufacturing engineering. Particularly, such machines can be effectively implemented while carrying out finishing technological operations, e.g., glazing, polishing, and lapping of different machine parts. The present paper is focused on developing the control system for the novel design of a vibratory lapping-polishing machine driven by six solenoids. The main purpose consists in providing the circular trajectory of the working member and ensuring the machining uniformity at each point of the surface being treated. In such a case, it is proposed to actuate the solenoids with the specified time shift depending on the forced frequency needed to be provided. The duration of the signal actuating the solenoid is equal to one-sixth of the total duration of a cycle (period) of the working body oscillation. The corresponding control approach is developed and simulated in the Tinkercad application, while the control system is designed based on the Arduino hardware and software. In addition, the laboratory prototype of the vibratory lapping-polishing machine and the corresponding control system are implemented in practice. The performed laboratory studies and experimental tests substantiate the possibilities of generating the circular oscillations of the working member of the vibration-driven lapping-polishing machine. The obtained results may be useful for engineers and technologists dealing with control systems of various vibratory technological equipment based on electromagnetic and solenoid-type drives.