Control and path planning method for simultaneous manufacturing with robot and milling machine

For automation of machining centers such as milling machines a common approach is to integrate robots for tasks like (un)loading workpieces. However, the controllers of machine tool and robot are usually not integrated. This limits the possibilities for a close cooperation between machine and robot significantly. This paper describes a milling machine that has been integrated with a robot both mechanically and on the controller level. To allow for robot and milling spindle to machine on the same workpiece at the same time, the control concept is extended and a concept for a path planning method is developed. The path planning module is evaluated for the process combinations of milling and robot based deburring. The paths of robot and machine are first planned sequentially and then fed into the planning module. The planning module splits up the paths and performs collision simulations to find possible combinations of process steps that can be executed simultaneously. The result is a collision matrix that allows selecting collision free path combinations for simultaneous operations.