DEVELOPMENT OF AN AUTOMATED SURFACE FINISHING SYSTEM (ASFS) WITH IN-PROCESS SURFACE-TOPOGRAPHY INSPECTION

This paper describes an automated surface finishing system (ASFS) with in-process surface topography inspection. The acquired surface topogr aphy feedback is used to calculate the surface error and to generate t he finishing paths for each level of surface finishing of molds and di es. A prototype ASFS was constructed with a CNC machining center, and a laser scanning probe was used in the ASFS to acquire the surface top ography data. Surface finishing of a cylindrical-shaped mold cavity wa s used to verify the effectiveness of the prototype ASFS. Results show ed that the surface error was improved toward the specified dimensiona l tolerance and surface finish.