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Modeling and force control of a pneumoelectric end-effector for robotic continuous contact operations

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Abstract

The force-controlled end-effectors for industrial robots usually face the problems of low output force, poor control accuracy, or slow dynamic response. This paper presents a pneumoelectric force-controlled end-effector (PFE) for industrial robots to perform continuous contact operations. The end-effector possesses the advantages of both the pneumatic drive having large force-mass ratio and the electric direct drive having high force control accuracy and fast dynamic response. Through dynamic modeling and analyses, a force coordination control method based on impedance control is proposed for the PFE. The pneumatic cylinder is actuated by a semi-closed loop, while the voice coil motor (VCM) is controlled through a closed loop to improve the output force, accuracy, and dynamics. Impedance controller is utilized to reduce the impact caused by the critical contact between the tool and workpiece. Simulation analyses show that the force-mass ratio has increased, while the friction influence and overshoot has been reduced. In addition, prototype experiments verify the effectiveness of force control method and demonstrate that the PFE is able to achieve good performances such as control accuracy, step response, and dynamic bandwidth. Compared with the traditional pneumatic end-effector, the force control hysteresis is almost reduced from 41.9 to 0% without apparent creeping phenomenon. The rise time of the step response also decreases from 435 to 6.5 ms, and the bandwidth reaches 47 Hz. The PFE with force coordination control shows great potential in robotic deburring, grinding, and polishing applications.

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The author confirms that the data and materials supporting the findings of this study are available within the paper.

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The code used to support the findings of this paper is available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Funding

The work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant number: 2018YFB1308900), the General Research Project of Education of Zhejiang Province of China (Grant number: Y202043544), the Ningbo Natural Science Foundation (Grant number: 2019A610114), the NSFC-Shenzhen Robotic Fundamental Research Center Project (Grant number: U1813223), and the Ningbo Key Project of Scientific and Technological Innovation 2025 (Grant numbers: 2018B10058).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Science & Technology, Ningbo University, Zhejiang Ningbo, 315300, China

    Guolong Zhang

  2. Key Laboratory of Robotics and Intelligent Manufacturing Equipment Technology of Zhejiang Province, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology & Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhejiang Ningbo, 315201, China

    Guolong Zhang, Guilin Yang, Chinyin Chen & Renfeng Zhu

  3. Faculty of Mechanical Engineering & Mechanics, Ningbo University, Zhejiang Ningbo, 315211, China

    Guolong Zhang, Yimin Deng & Kaisheng Yang

Authors
  1. Guolong Zhang
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  2. Guilin Yang
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  3. Yimin Deng
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  4. Chinyin Chen
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  5. Renfeng Zhu
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  6. Kaisheng Yang
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Design, modeling, and experiments were performed by Guolong Zhang, Guilin Yang, and Renfeng Zhu. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Guolongzhang and revised by Yimin Deng, Chinyin Chen and Kaisheng Yang. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Guilin Yang or Yimin Deng.

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Zhang, G., Yang, G., Deng, Y. et al. Modeling and force control of a pneumoelectric end-effector for robotic continuous contact operations. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 121, 1219–1234 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-022-09413-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-022-09413-8

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