Measurement and Modeling of Contact Forces during Robot-guided Drag Finishing

Robot-guided drag finishing is a free abrasive grinding operation that is used for polishing and deburring of workpieces with complex shaped geometries. The workpiece is attached to a robot and moved through a bulk of abrasive particles. The motion of abrasive particles during contact with the workpiece is the basis of the material removal mechanisms. To investigate the motion of abrasive particles during contact, a force measurement system was used to determine contact forces. The experimental setup was replicated in a numerical simulation based on the discrete element method (DEM). Based on the comparison of experimental and simulative results the qualitative validity of the DEM model was concluded. With the presented DEM model, the characteristic particle behavior during contact with the workpiece can be modeled which allows the prediction of resulting processing marks. Consequently, the DEM model can be used to design free abrasive grinding operations without using the time and cost intensive trial and error approach.