{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/6480da3db47496001150d17e/6ab2c4d968ec5641e22bd714?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Stopping Abrasive Wear in Robotic Finishing","description":"<p>Even highly precise robots—with repeatability as tight as ±0.03 mm—can gradually become scrap generators in automated deburring. A robot’s taught program may never change, but consumable abrasives begin losing diameter and grit sharpness from the first second of contact.</p><p>In high-value aerospace and medical manufacturing, where edge-break tolerances may be measured in microns, a position-controlled cobot can drift out of specification as the abrasive wears. The result: under-deburred parts, excessive material removal, and costly dimensional errors.</p><p>In this episode, we examine the <strong>drift problem</strong> in automated deburring and explain how moving from fixed position control to real-time force compensation helps finishing cells remain within tight tolerance windows throughout the usable life of an abrasive wheel.</p><h2>Key Topics Covered</h2><ul><li>Why static robot programming fails: Robot repeatability describes the arm’s ability to return to a coordinate within its own reference frame—not its ability to maintain a consistent relationship with a changing workpiece surface or a wearing tool.</li><li>The true cost of drift: Late-stage scrap on titanium turbine blades, orthopedic implants, and other high-value components can erase thousands of dollars in upstream machining, labor, inspection, and heat-treatment value.</li><li>Real-time force compensation: Replacing “move to coordinate X” with “maintain contact force Y” enables the robot to automatically advance as an abrasive wheel recedes, helping preserve consistent finishing results.</li><li>Hardware routes to force control: A comparison of built-in cobot joint sensing, such as Universal Robots e-Series force mode; wrist-mounted six-axis force/torque sensors, such as the OnRobot HEX; and force-controlled sanding systems, such as the Robotiq Sanding Kit.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Visit us at <a href=\"automationdistribution.com\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">automationdistribution.com</a></p><p>Contact us at 1-888-600-3080</p>","author_name":"Automation Distribution"}