Development and Analysis of a Shape-Conformable Supporting Head for a Self-Reconfigurable Intelligent Swarm Fixture System

Roberto Avvenente, Aamir Khan, Xiong Li, Matteo Zoppi, Dimiter Zlatanov, Rezia Molfino PMAR Lab, DIMEC, University of Genoa, Via Opera Pia 15a, Genoa, 16145 Italy
Email: zoppi@dimec.unige.it

Abstract
The development of a self-reconfigurable intelligent fixture system has been the focus of the SwarmItFIX project funded by European Commission. The proposed system consists of several actuated fixtures (agents) collaborating to hold the workpiece in position without human interference. Each fixture is composed of a mobile base, a parallel mechanism and a self-adjustable head. This paper focuses on development and analysis of the agent head. Based on an analysis of the design requirements, various conformable strategies are proposed, evaluated and compared. A head subsystem using granular material with vacuum adhesion, using the concept of pseudo-phase change, is proposed and analyzed. Prototypes have been created and experiments have been carried out to check their general feasibility, and in particular their self-adaptation to surfaces with various geometries.

Introduction

Intelligent manufacturing is a new discipline of industrial automation which will play an increasingly important role. The intelligence level of a manufacturing system is limited by the intelligence of any of its components. As the automation of fixturing systems has often lagged behind that of other components, the development of flexible fixture systems (FFS) has been the focus of a lot of recent effort in research and development. Flexible fixtures can be classified into modular flexible fixture systems (MFFS) and single-structure flexible fixture systems (SFFS) [1]. These fixtures can be adapted to various workpieces. However, none of these fixtures offer simultaneously the advantages of short reconfiguration time, easy set-up, adaptability to large shape ranges, minimum complexity, and low cost with respect to performance. In fact, these tools often need off-line human interference to set up, and may require external measuring equipment to adjust their position and orientation. To fill this gap, the development of a novel autonomous flexible fixture system is the focus of the SwarmItFIX project funded within the European Commissions Seventh Framework Programme. Autonomous fixtures are ones that can be implemented and operated without direct human participation via automated servo control, artificial intelligence, and sensing. The proposed SwarmItFIX system combines flexibility, self-reconfigurability, automation, and swarm collaboration.

The projects primary target area of application is the machining of large metal sheets, especially in the manufacturing of parts for the aerospace industry, such as fuselage sections, aerofoils, and other panels. The proposed solution involves mobile autonomous fixturing agents, which reposition periodically in order to support the workpiece area near the moving machine tool. Significant increase in effectiveness and decrease in cost can come from on-line fully actuated reconfiguration, large adaptability to different shapes, as well as the capability to dynamically concentrate the support in the region where machining is actually performed, especially when this is done on-line, without moving the part from the fixture. In this paper, after a short description of the system concept, we focus on the development and analysis of one subsystem, the agents supporting head. The head has three major functions: adapting to the local workpiece geometry, ensuring stiffness compatible with the machining fixturing requirements, and providing a sufficient adhesion force. On the basis of an analysis of the design requirements, several solutions, using different mechanisms and smart phase-change materials, are proposed. The created prototypes and the performed experiments are described. Finally, the conclusions are summarized and future tasks are outlined.

The fixturing system and the role of the agent head

The proposed system consists of several actuated fixtures (agents) which collaborate to hold and position the workpiece without human interference (Figure 1). During the machining process, the fixtures move periodically to form a supporting configuration consistent with the process plan and the workpiece geometry. Each fixture agent is composed of a mobile base, a parallel mechanism (PM) and a self-adjustable head. The mobile base provides the locomotion of the agent and houses all the electronic parts for the control system. The PM with six degrees of freedom provides the local positioning of the supporting head with respect to the sheet. The head is in direct contact with the sheet panel and utilizes an intelligent material with phasechange properties to conform to the surface geometry which can vary substantially in different panels.

(5) Heat resistance. Operation should not be affected by the heat that can be generated during drilling and milling processes. (6) Cost efficiency. Additionally, the operation of the head should cause no harm or hazard to the workpiece or the environment.

Methods of shape conformability

Shape conformability can be realized using mechanical structures, special materials, or a combination of the two.

3.1

Conformability via special materials

Memory metal and phase-change materials (PCMs) are the most common solutions to achieve adaptability via special materials. A shape memory alloy (SMA) can return to its previous shape after deformation when heat is applied. Researchers at MIT have used SMA to develop a set of conformable clamps [2]. The clamps consist of 4x4 arrays of fingers, Figure 2. The pack of fingers is normally compressed by lateral forces and the friction between the fingers locks them. To reconfigure the system, the lateral forces are released and springs beneath the fingers push them out. External forces are applied to move the fingers to new desired positions. Lateral forces are reapplied to lock the system.

Figure 1 Self-reconfigurable intelligent swarm fixtures

The agent head is a subsystem of key importance for the targeted application. The main function of the head is to support the thin-sheet workpiece. Therefore, the head needs to adapt and adhere to the geometry of the local surface of the workpiece. The specific design requirements of the conformable head for fixturing metal sheets are as follows: (1) Stiffness. During the agents support phase, the head must have sufficient yield stiffness to hold the large-scale sheet and resist the machining force. (2) Adhesion. To avoid sheet vibrations and other slight movements, the head must adhere to the sheet rigidly and maintain uninterrupted contact with it during the support phase. (3) Shape self-conformability. The head must be automatically adaptive to the workpiece shape. (4) Fast operation time. Since the agents need to selfreconfigure while keeping pace with the machine tool, the head placement on and removal from the workpiece, as well as the change of stiffness, must be done in very short time.

Figure 2 MIT conformable clamp made of SMA

Phase-change materials are able to change their state from liquid to solid, and back. They can be classified into authentic phase-change and pseudo-phase-change materials. The phase change can be induced by temperature, electricity, compressed air/vacuum, or a combination of those. Authentic phase-change materials can be: thermoplastic materials, fusible alloys, electrorheological (ER), and magneto-rheological (MR) fluids. Zalba et al. [3] list 45 types of commercial materials. Boyes and Sedlik [4] analyse some applications such as Rigidax and fusible alloy produced of the Cerro brand which are commercially available [5]. The typical application setup is the fluidized bed: the workpiece is immersed into the liquid-state fixture; the fixture undergoes phase change into solid state to hold the workpiece; after the machining is finished, the

material changes back to its liquid state allowing the removal of the workpiece. Though this technology is commercially viable, the use of such materials has limitations. Thus, the high temperature (needed to induce phase change) may cause deformation of the workpiece. Moreover, the phase-change velocity may be too variable, making it difficult to comply with operation scheduling time requirements. There are also environmental concerns and risks from residual thermal stress. The ER fluid is controlled by electrical fields and usually consists of a suspension of fine dielectric particles in a liquid of low dielectric constant [6, 7]. When there is no electrical field, the liquid suspension is stable with low viscosity. When the electrical field is applied, and the field strength exceeds a certain critical value, the viscosity will increase and the ER fluid will solidify with a body centred tetragonal (BCT) structure [8]. At present, the normal and highest yield stress of ER fluid can typically reach to 10 kPa and 60 kPa respectively. Grippo et al. developed a prototype using ER fluids, Figure 3 [9].

spheres. The container has a porous base through which air passes at a controlled rate. In this case, the spheres behave like fluid into which the workpiece is partially immersed. When the air supply is switched off, the spheres fall down onto the base due to gravity, and are compacted to form a solid mass, thus securing the workpiece.
workpiece

spheres

porous base air supply

Figure 4 Fluidized-bed vice

This approach can accommodate workpieces with various geometries at low-cost. However, the holding force and torque are also relatively low. The container cannot be moved until the vacuum compaction process is complete.

3.2

Conformability via mechanical structures

Figure 3 Fixture using electrorheological fluid

Magnetorheological (MR) fluids consist of a suspension of ferromagnetic or paramagnetic particles of micrometer size in a non-magnetic carrier fluid. They are used in a similar manner to ER fluids. Fixture systems using this principle are presented in [10, 11]. Phase change is realized with the application of high voltage (2-4 kV/mm) for the ER fluids or a high strength magnetic field for the MR fluids [12]. The use of the ER and MR fluids for fixturing applications can help ensure fast operation time and avoid the harmful thermal effects of heat-induced phase change. Pseudo-phase-change materials do not truly change their aggregate state, but rather modify some of their properties and behaviour under certain conditions. The process of pseudo-phase change is usually generated by air. The phase-change material typically consists of loose small particles in an enclosed soft-walled container. When air is present, the bag with granular material behaves as if filled with liquid. When vacuum is applied, the particles are tightly packed and the container becomes solid. A typical example is shown in Figure 4 [13]. The fluidizedbed vice consists of a container with numerous small

Conformable devices can be built using only mechanical structures with no special materials. The most common approach involves the use of springs and/or pin-array systems with small contact area. As described in reference [7], a conformable clamping system comprised of twosection clamps was developed for turbine blades. Pneumatic plungers in the lower half of each clamp conform to the shape of the blades. A similar solution, described in [8], adopts lockable spring-loaded plungers for multipoint contact with the workpiece to ensure its conformability to the workpiece geometry.

Figure 5 Spring system

Another design using this spring mechanism is shown in Figure 5 [14]; the design in Figure 6 [15] incorporates springs and pins. Another design [16] uses an array of

pins to adjust to the form of the sheet. The work reported in [13, 14] also uses pin-array systems to realize shape adaptation.

draws the air out of the inter-particular space. As a result, the granular material becomes hard and is able to support the workpiece rigidly in the desired position. After the end of the support phase for the agent, the vacuum is released and the granular material becomes loose again. The agent can now move the head to the next desired placement and begin another support phase.

4.2

Structural design and analysis

Based on the Concept 2, three kinds of structures have been designed. Herein, they are referred to as cup-shape, ring-shape, and perforated-sandbag designs.

4.2.1
Figure 6 Spring and pin system

Cup-shape design

Agent head development

The design of the supporting head of the smart fixture can be based on two different conceptual approaches. One employs magnetorheological fluid, while the other is based on incompressible grains (e.g. sand).

4.1
4.1.1

Conceptual design
Concept 1: Magnetorheological Fluid

As shown in Figure 7, in this design the sand is packaged in the central pit of the cup and supported by the perforated sand support. The sand is contained in a thin fabric net acting as a container and a filter. The small bag containing the sand is then covered by a rubber membrane, which allows the generation of vacuum inside the sand bag and provides high friction between the head and the workpiece. A rubber pipe links the vacuum generator with the empty space at the bottom of the cup. This volume is connected both to the sand container, through the multiple holes of the perforated sand support, and to the space between the sand bag and the sealing lip, by twelve other holes. Air is thus simultaneously removed from two separate volumes.

Magnetorheological fluids are stable suspensions of magnetically polarisable micron-sized particles suspended in a low-volatility carrier fluid, usually a synthetic hydrocarbon. The change in properties of the magnetorheological fluid can be used, in turn, to stop and to permit the movement of pistons that materially support the workpiece, while adhesion to the workpiece is achieved by vacuum. However, the magnitude of the force in these systems is limited and the stability might be a problem when holding a workpiece subject to large machining forces. The yield stiffness and pre-yield elastic modulus are the key factors for the feasibility of the application of MR fluids. Therefore, the feasibility of this concept must be tested with special attention to the rigidity and stiffness of the supporting head.

Figure 7 Cup-shape design

4.1.2

Concept 2: Granular Material

In this concept, suction of air from the inter-particular space is used to compact granular material into a hard state. The material is loose initially, allowing the head to adapt to the workpiece. The agent then places the head in the correct working position, and the granular material takes the shape of the surface of the metal sheet to be machined. After correct positioning is achieved, a vacuum generator

First, from the sand container, through the perforated sand support disk, causing it to compact and become hard under the load of the atmospheric pressure acting on the exposed part of the membrane. Second, from the space between the rubber membrane and the sealing lip, it creates the vacuum responsible for the adhesion force holding the workpiece pressed hard against the membrane containing the sand.

The vertical support is provided by the compacted sand, while the rigid support in the lateral direction comes from the friction generated between the work piece and the rubber membrane (containing the compacted and hence hardened sand) as inside vacuum pulls the workpiece hard against the supporting head.

4.2.3

Perforated sandbag design

4.2.2

Ring-shape design

In this design of the head (Figures 8 and 9), sand is contained in the shape of a ring instead of the cylindrical volume of the last design. Vacuum is created through a bottom hole, while radial horizontal openings allow the air to be removed from the sand. A cylindrical membrane covers the sand. A sealing membrane is provided on top, as shown in the sectional view, to permit vacuum generation. When this ring-shaped sealing ring comes in contact with the workpiece an enclosed space is created between the sheet and the head. When suction is applied, air is removed from this enclose space as well as from the sand through the holes. This compacts the sand and at the same time creates a suction force in the space which presses the sheet against the head. The advantage of this design over the previous one is that the contact area is at the periphery of the head, allowing better support and torsional resistance with the same head size. A drawback is the difficulty in creating a tight seal between the sealing ring and the membrane.

In the perforated sandbag design (Figure 10), the sand is contained in a thin net-fabric bag with a perforated silicon cover connected to the main structure of the prototype. A very thin sealing lip is used which is attached to the housing of the head with a suitable gluing material. The lip follows the side profile of the sand bag and adheres to it because of the generated vacuum. Atmospheric pressure applied to the sealing lip from the sides provides stiffness to the sand bag and prevents the crushing of the sand when the vertical force at the workpiece becomes large or when the vibrations are excessive. The vacuum pipe is connected to the lower part of the head, while the upper part contains the sandbag above a perforated surface. Multiple holes in the head base assist the uniform compacting of the sand. The sand may be mixed with some rigid plastic or glass spherical balls of small size. Their larger size relative to the sands grains ensures that when the air is drawn out, there always remain enough cavities to ensure that there is no choking. Thus, the sand in the whole bag (including the parts far from the suction holes and close to the workpiece surface) can compact properly. The chocking could occur if the sand close to the suction holes compacts too quickly leaving no path for the air bubbles to escape from the rest of the sand bag. In this design, the air sucked out by the vacuum generator comes only from the sandbag which also provides the adhesion to the workpiece because of the holes in the silicon cover. The external lip is only needed to ensure the sealing. There is a very small space between the external lip and the perforated sandbag, and since the lip is very thin, it can adapt to the sand and the sheet shape very easily. When the head comes in contact with a curved surface, the sandbag deforms to adapt to the shape. Then, the vacuum generator is switched on causing simultaneously the adhesion to increase and the sandbag to become stiff.

Figure 8 Ring-shape design

Figure 10 Structure of perforated sandbag

Figure 9 Top view of the ring-shape structure

5
5.1

Experiments and discussion

Tests of Concept 1

To test the material behaviour of the first concept, a head with the magnetorheological fluid MRHCCS4-A, developed by Liquid Research (UK) [17], is used. This fluid is characterised by a low off-state viscosity and a very fast response time when subjected to the action of a magnetic field. During preliminary tests the material was found to be very suitable in non-magnetized state, with the ability to move and conform to the shape of the surface quickly and accurately. However, when a magnetic field, generated by an NdFeB magnet, was applied the increase in stiffness was not sufficient to allow the use of the material to support a workpiece as conceived. Nevertheless, the observed increase in viscosity of the MR fluid, passing from a non-magnetized to a magnetized state, was considerable. This suggested that the use of MR fluids is not to be discarded completely, but that it was necessary to find a different way to fully exploit the properties of the fluid. Currently, a new concept for the head, using a magnetorheological fluid is under development. This new research direction became apparent only due to the results obtained from these preliminary tests.

Additionally, by attaching the pulling system with the load cell to a small hole at the side of the workpiece, it is possible to test the lateral stiffness of the system composed of the sheet and the head. Based on the different designs, prototypes (Figure 12) have been made to conduct tests to validate the concept and provide information for further improvements.

Figure 11 Setup of the test system

5.2
5.2.1

Tests of Concept 2
Experiments

The aim of the tests, carried over the heads constructed in accordance with Concept 2, was to evaluate whether the suction force provided by the different designs was enough to ensure a stable and sufficiently stiff adherence of the workpiece to the head. The test bench was setup as illustrated in Figure 11. A scaffolding structure was erected to support the workpiece at four points. The tested prototype of the head was mounted on the end-effector flange of a Kuka serial robot KR16. Vacuum was provided by a Venturi pipe positioned on the robot and connected to the head by a rubber duct. The workpiece is resting on the scaffolding. A pulling system with a load cell is attached to the top of the workpiece via two suction cups. The type of the load cell is U2B. The head positioned under the workpiece by the Kuka Robot is moved perpendicular to the surface to achieve contact; then the vacuum generator is switched on. This causes the sand contained in the prototype to become stiff and adhesion to be achieved. It is now tested if the compacting of the sand yields enough rigidity to maintain the positional accuracy needed for milling and drilling operations. After the workpiece is fixed to the head the robot lifts the sheet. The pulling system begins to apply the load until the sheet is torn away from the head.

Figure 12Prototypes of the head mounted on the robot

The decision to mount the SwarmItFIX head prototypes on a Kuka Robot was taken in order to allow testing the

head behaviour with different approach angles and different orientations of the curved surface of the workpiece.

5.2.2

Experimental results and discussion

After a series of tests and analyses, the Structure 1 of Concept 2, the cup-shape design, was found to be feasible and to offer good overall performance satisfying the design requirements.

To achieve the experimental objectives various tests were conducted. One is shown in Figure 13. Different granular materials were tested, such as: small plastic, metallic, and glass spheres; sand of different granulometries; and mixtures of different size grains and materials. For sand, of all tested granulometries (from 0.1 to 1.5 mm), the mixture of grains of 0.1 mm and 0.4 mm was selected. Using a mixture of grains of different sizes facilitates the air suction and also the mobility of the grains. The mixture chosen is composed of very small grains in order to have a more homogeneous interface with the workpiece and to increase the number of points of contact. Different rubber membranes were tested, such as natural rubber (Para 36 TD) and nitrile rubber, in a range of thickness from 0.1 to 1 mm. The membrane chosen after testing with the physical prototype was a 0.12 mm thick nitrile rubber sheet, capable to ensure a good resistance and a high coefficient of friction with good workability.

Conclusions and future work

This paper presents the development of a supporting agent head for the new intelligent swarm fixture system proposed within the SwarmItFIX project. Tests have shown that the cup-shape design head using a mixture of sand grains between 0.1 and 0.4 mm, a membrane in nitrile rubber 0.12 mm thick, and sealing lip in silicon rubber with a low shore like SH A 4 or SH A 22, is able to meet the design requirements. When vacuum is created in the sandbag, the sand becomes very stiff and is able to support high loads without deformation. Improvements are underway of the head shape and the distribution of vacuum. In particular, a triangular shape for the part of the head in contact with the workpiece is developed to allow the closer placement of two heads to provide better continuous support near the moving machine tool. The concept employing magnetorheological fluids needs to be developed following a different approach. At present, we are developing new head designs in which MR fluid is made to flow into small-diameter pipes, and others in which porous materials are soaked in the fluid. New extensive experiments are programmed with the built prototypes, as well as those currently under development. The new tests will be in realistic conditions, and will involve performing drilling and milling operations with equipment currently used in the manufacturing of the parts.

Acknowledgments

The research is developed within the SwarmItFIX project funded under the Seventh Framework Program of the European Commission (Collaborative Project 214678).

Literature

Figure 13 Lateral stiffness test

Different kinds of sealing lips were also tested in a large range of hardness, thickness, and shape, such as: silicon rubber SH A 4, SH A 22, SH A 50; styrene-butadiene rubber; natural rubber. Best results were achieved with silicon rubber SH A 4 and SH A 22 because they are very soft and able to adhere perfectly to the surface and to the sandbag.

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