High-speed end milling of an articulated robot and its characteristics

This study describes the direct end milling method using an articulated robot in the machining of aluminum building materials. The most important characteristics of this method are using a small diameter of end mill (phi 3 mm) and a high-speed spindle to reduce the cutting force in order to reduce the effect of the low stiffness of the articulated robot. In this work, the behavior of this end milling operation was first studied by end milling experiments and structural analysis. It was established that this machining method can accommodate a higher feed rate than in the conventional machining method, because in end milling, the cutting force by of the articulated robot is decreased by 50-70% in comparison with a fluting machine. The cutting accuracy of articulated robot can also be compensated for by using the regulation of the deformation of the articulated robot in end milling. Consequently, a new multifunctional automatic machine tool, which take advantage of the flexibility of articulated robot, can be realized. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.