Methods and machine tools for grinding discs. The machine tool comprises two grinding units with respective grinding spindles on which grinding wheels are arranged and a disc unit that comprises a disc spindle on which the disc to be grinded is arranged. The rotation axes of the grinding spindles are perpendicular to the disc spindle rotation axis. The grinding wheels comprise respective grinding surfaces which are perpendicular to the rotation axis of the disc spindle. The grinding surfaces have a width that is equal or greater than the width of the main surfaces of the disc. The two grinding units are configured to simultaneously move relative to the disc unit in an axis that is parallel to the rotation axis of the disc spindle and in opposite directions such that, in use, the grinding surfaces simultaneously contact opposite surfaces of the disc to grind them down.

A disc changing system for a robotic defect repair system is presented. The system has a first abrasive disc and a second abrasive disc. The first and second abrasive discs are coupled to a liner. The system includes an abrasive disc placement device configured to automatically: remove the first abrasive disc from the liner, transport the first abrasive disc to a robotic tool of the robotic defect repair system, and place the first abrasive disc on a backup pad coupled to the robotic tool. The system also includes an abrasive disc remover configured to automatically remove the first abrasive disc after receiving a removal signal. The system also includes a controller configured to send an instruction to the disc placement device to remove, transport and place the first abrasive disc, instruct the robotic tool to conduct an abrasive operation. The controller is also configured to send the removal signal. The controller is a processor and the instructions are stored on a non-transitory com-puter-readable medium and executed by the processor.

An automatic machine and an automatic method for grinding the edges of glass sheets are disclosed. The machine is provided with a machine body with motorized support and conveyance rollers or belts, an input conveyor with motorized support and conveyance rollers or belts, an output conveyor with motorized support and conveyance rollers and belts. There are at least two elements for conveying the glass sheets, a lower one and an upper one, which actuate respectively the synchronous motions about a lower axis and an upper axis, which engage and convey the glass sheets, which are interfaced alternately, for example the odd sheets with the lower conveyance elements and the even sheets with the upper conveyance.

A modular apparatus (10) for machining flat sheets, in particular glass, plate glass, or mirror sheets or sheets made from stone materials or the like, comprising machining moduli consisting of a first store (16) suitable for receiving sheets to be machined (25) and a second store (18) suitable for receiving machined sheets (27), a first grinding machine (12), and a second grinding machine (14) suitable for performing grinding machinings along the peripheral edges of said sheets (25), one or more further moduli for machining said flat sheets, if any, of the corner cutting, drill, or washing machine types, possibly associated with said first and second grinding machines (12, 14), and interface means for transferring said flat sheets between said machining moduli.

The invention relates to a grinding machine, which is suitable for a robot-supported grinding process. According to one embodiment, the grinding machine has a housing, a motor arranged in the interior of the housing, a fan wheel arranged on a motor shaft of the motor in the interior of the housing, and a support plate coupled to the motor shaft for receiving a grinding disc. The support plate has openings for intake of grinding dust into the interior of the housing. The grinding machine furthermore has an outlet arranged in a wall of the housing for exhausting the grinding dust out of the interior of the housing and a non-rerun valve arranged in the wall of the housing. The non-return valve enables an to escape from the interior of the housing, but prevents intake of air into the interior of the housing.

A waterjet system in accordance with at least some embodiments includes a carriage, a motion assembly configured to move the carriage horizontally relative to a workpiece, and a cutting head carried by the carriage. The waterjet system can also include a kinematic chain through which the cutting head is operably connected to the carriage. The kinematic chain can include first, second, and third joints rotatably adjustable about different first, second, and third axes, respectively. The carriage and the first and second joints can be configured to move the cutting head along a path relative to the workpiece while the cutting head directs a jet toward the workpiece to form a product. The third joint can be configured to shift a kinematic singularity away from the path to reduce or eliminate delay and corresponding reduced cutting accuracy associated with approaching the kinematic singularity.

A machine featuring a treatment tool that grinds a surface to a desired profile, imparts a desired roughness to that surface, and removes contamination from the surface, the machine configured to control multiple independent input variables simultaneously, the controllable variables selected from the group consisting of (i) velocity, (ii) rotation, and (iii) dither of the treatment tool, and (iv) pressure of the treatment tool against the surface. The machine can move the treatment tool with six degrees of freedom.

A grinding machine includes a main part and an end case. A driving unit is connected to the end case and includes a first motor which has an output shaft with a groove. A grinding unit is connected to the end case, and cantilevered above the main part. The grinding unit includes a grinding wheel set which has a central axle with a slide. The slide is located in the groove of the output shaft of the first motor. A driving wheel is connected to the central axle. An adjustment device includes a second motor which drives an eccentric unit that has an eccentric axle, and the eccentric axle extends through a bearing which is located in a recess formed to the driving wheel. The driving wheel is driven by the eccentric unit to move the grinding wheel set of the grinding unit left and right.

Processe and system for preparing a vehicle surface (e.g., an aircraft fuselage) for painting include a preparation booth (100) which is sized and configured to house the vehicle (F). At least one robotic assembly (200a, 200b) is reciprocally movable within the preparation booth (100) relative to a longitudinal axis of the vehicle (F), and is provided with a robotic hand (230) having at least one abrasive disc (242a) attached to an attachment pad (242) of the robotic hand (230), and at least one nozzle (252a, 252b, 252c) for discharging a stream of rinse fluid. Operation of the at least one robotic assembly (230) will cause the at least one abrasive disc (242a) of the robot hand (230) to abrade the surface of the vehicle (F). The robotic hand (230) may thereafter be maneuvered so that the at least one nozzle (252a, 252b, 252c) is directed toward the abraded vehicle surface (F). A stream of rinse fluid may then be discharged through the at least one nozzle (252a, 252b, 252c) and towards the abraded surface of the vehicle (F) so as to rinse the abraded surface of particulate matter.

A control device includes: first circuitry that generates a command to cause a robot to autonomously grind a grinding target portion; second circuitry that generates a command to cause the robot to grind a grinding target portion according to manipulation information from an operation device; third circuitry that controls operation of the robot according to the command; storage that stores image data of a grinding target portion and operation data of the robot corresponding to the command; and forth circuitry that performs machine learning by using image data of a grinding target portion and the operation data for the grinding target portion, receives the image data as input data, and outputs an operation correspondence command corresponding to the operation data as output data. The first circuitry generates the command, based on the operation correspondence command.