A performance evaluation methodology for robotic machine tools used in large volume manufacturing

The manufacture of large components in various industries can create health, safety and economic challenges as a result of machining operations. A potential solution is the replacement of conventional large machine tools with low-cost and portable robotic machine tools, although these lack accuracy and precision in comparison. Effort is therefore required to develop robotic machining technology to a state where it can be implemented in high tolerance applications using a variety of materials. A barrier to implementation is that there is not a standardised procedure available to robustly assess current robotic machining performance, which makes it challenging to assess the impact of technological developments. This paper develops a methodology to determine robotic machining performance based upon reviews of standards available that currently specify such guidelines for robotics and machine tool technologies used independently. It is found that useful elements from each theme can be combined and applied to robotic machine tool performance evaluation. These are presented here with the aim of forming a conceptual foundation on which the technology can be developed for large volume manufacturing.

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