A reconfigurable power tool is disclosed, including a tool frame, a motor attached to the tool frame, and a rotatable drive shaft attached to, and driven by, the motor. A tool attachment is configured to be removably attached to the drive shaft and is powered by rotation of the drive shaft. The drive shaft and the tool each include a coupler having a channel and rib surface. The tool attachment is removable attached to the drive shaft by slidably interlocking the channel and rib surface of the drive shaft coupler with the channel and rib surface of the tool attachment coupler in a direction substantially perpendicular to an axis of rotation of the drive shaft. A robotic device utilizing a similar tool attachment system is also disclosed.

A grinding package fitted on robotic arm includes a main body, a pneumatic motor, a bridging part and a grinding tool. The main body is formed with a first space, a second space, a communicating hole communicating the first space to the second space, a connecting wall within the first space, an intake channel, an exhaust channel, openings of the first space and the second space respectively located on each of two parallel sides of the main body, the connecting wall having a ventilation hole. The pneumatic motor includes a motor body within the first space, and a transmission shaft connected to the motor body while extended from the second space through the communicating hole. The bridging part is combined with the main body and the robotic arm, the bridging part closing off the first space, the grinding tool facing the second space and being joined to the transmission shaft.

The present invention provides an automaton (1) for treating a surface for treatment, the automaton comprising treatment means (10), e.g. an arm, having a movable end (12) configured to treat a surface, and an interface configured to indicate to the automaton the surface that is to be treated. The interface includes a screen (21) configured to display a representation of at least a portion of the surroundings in which the surface for treatment is to be found, and the interface is configured to enable a person to select the surface for treatment on the representation displayed on the screen (21).

One exemplary embodiment relates to a device for the robot-assisted machining of surfaces. According to one example, the device has a carrier structure, a motor, a linear actuator, and a machining head. The machining head is coupled to the carrier structure by means of the linear actuator and has a drive shaft for directly or indirectly driving a rotatable tool. The device also has a flexible shaft, which couples a motor shaft of the motor to the drive shaft of the machining head.

A robot system according to the present disclosure includes a robot installed in a work area, a manipulator configured to be gripped by an operator and manipulate the robot, a sensor disposed at a manipulation area and configured to wirelessly detect positional information and posture information on the manipulator, and a control device which calculates a locus of the manipulator based on the positional information and the posture information on the manipulator detected by the sensor, and operates the robot on real time.

A grinding setting selection system for a robotic grinding system is presented. The system includes an abrasive rotational speed retriever that retrieves a current rotational speed of a grinder in the robotic grinding system. The system also includes an end effector load retriever that receives a current end effector load of an end effector in the robotic grinding system. The system also includes a material removal predictor that, based on the retrieved rotational speed and the end effector road, predicts a material removal rate. The system also includes a setting adjuster that, based on the predicted removal rate, provides a setting adjustment for the robotic grinding system. The setting adjustment alters a mechanical setting of the robotic grinding system. The system also includes a setting communicator that communicates the setting adjustment to the robotic grinding system.

An apparatus for the robot-assisted machining of surfaces is described. In accordance with one embodiment, the device comprises the following: a support which can be mounted on a manipulator, a machining device with a tool (e.g. a grinding disc) and a linear actuator for adjusting the relative position of a tool in relation to the support. The apparatus further has a maintenance unit comprising a swiveling bracket. The bracket is swivel-mounted on the support such that, by swiveling the bracket, the maintenance unit can be positioned at least partially before the tool.

The present invention discloses an automatic high-shear low-pressure force-controlled grinding device for a complicated curved surface and a machining method thereof, which belong to the field of complicated curved surface grinding technologies of difficult-to-machine materials. The device comprises a base, columns, an industrial robot, an electrical spindle, a force-controlled floating work holder, a workpiece chuck, a grinder plate, a six-dimensional force sensor, a rotary table, a triaxial precision displacement table, a safeguard hood, a safety door, and a pedestal. The grinder plate comprises a grinder plate substrate, a press plate, a lining plate, and an abrasive layer. Each module is effectively communicated, and a control system collects and processes signals as well as transmits commands to achieve automatic force-controlled grinding of the complicated curved surface. The abrasive layer of the grinder plate generates the shear thickening effect; so, the material can be removed in a high-shear low-pressure grinding manner.

A compliance mechanism for holding a robotic finishing tool implements passive force control and compliance using one or more double-acting pneumatic pistons. A desired application force is set and maintained by controlling pneumatic pressure in chambers both fore and aft of the one or more double-acting pneumatic pistons. The pressures in the fore and aft chambers are dynamically controlled, e.g., in response to changes in spatial orientation of the robot arm and tool, to maintain a desired compliance force applied by the robotic finishing tool to a workpiece. An external regulator maintains the fore and aft chamber pressures, for a given spatial orientation, throughout the holder's range of compliance motion. The compliance mechanism includes a plurality of piston bores; the number of active pistons may be adjusted for a given operation, e.g., in response to the finishing tool weight.

A method and associated system provides automated abrasive paint repair using automated abrasive paint repair devices that selectively sand, buff, and polish a substrate in response to received instructions generated by a controller. The controller receives coordinates of each identified defect in the substrate along with parameters describing characteristics of each defect, selects a sanding process, a buffing process, and/or a polishing process based on empirically derived rules established by skilled/expert human operators and the received parameters. The controller outputs instructions to cause the automated abrasive paint repair devices to execute the selected sanding process, buffing process, and/or polishing process using the received parameters. The empirically derived rules and parameters may be stored in a lookup table and/or updated by a machine learning module.