Patent Description:
Such a system is e.g. known from document <CIT>, which discloses an abrading operation monitoring system comprising a particle tracking system that receives, from a particle position retriever, a position of an abrasive particle on an abrasive article surface and an abrasive operation parameter retriever that retrieves, using a communication component, a current set of operation parameters for an abrading machine.

The general problem faced in metal abrading operations is the surface quality when an abrading operation is finished. It is important for many end products to be substantially free of scratches.

The invention according to claim <NUM> provides an improved abrading operation monitoring system that includes a particle tracking system that receives, from a particle position retriever, a position of an abrasive particle on an abrasive article surface. The system also includes an abrasive operation parameter retriever that retrieves, using a communication component, a current set of operation parameters for an abrading machine. The system also includes an abrasive volume calculator that calculates an abrading volume for a worksurface contacted by the abrasive article surface based on a path of the tracked abrasive particle and the current set of operation parameters. The system also includes an abrasive parameters adjuster that provides a new set of operation parameters for the abrading system based on the calculated abrading volume. The abrading system implements the new set of operation parameters.

Claim <NUM> provides a method of adjusting operation parameters for a robotic abrading system, whereas further embodiments of the invention are subject to the appended dependent claims.

In the drawings, like reference numerals indicate like elements. While the above-identified drawings, which may not be drawn to scale, set forth various embodiments of the present disclosure, other embodiments are also contemplated, as noted in the Detailed Description.

The present disclosure provides an automated system and methods of using a robotic abrading system on an end-of-arm system with mounted tools for processing (e.g., scuffing, sanding, polishing, etc.) an object surface or interior. The processing tools along with the fluid removal tool can be mounted on an end effector at the end of a motive robot arm, such that they capable of moving between various areas on or within a workpiece. A process tool may include a functional component configured to contact and prepare the object surface; one or more sensors configured to detect working state information of the end-effector tool, a dispenser for fluid while the functional component contacts and prepares the object surface; and / or a control circuit to receive signals from the sensors and process the signals to generate state information of the tool.

<FIG> is a schematic of a robotic abrasive system in which embodiments of the present invention are useful. System <NUM> generally includes two units, a visual inspection system <NUM> and an abrading system <NUM>, which each may include subunits. Both systems may be controlled by a motion controller <NUM>, <NUM>, respectively, which may receive instructions from one or more application controllers <NUM>. The application controller may receive input, or provide output, to a user interface <NUM>. Abrading unit <NUM> includes a force control unit <NUM> that can be aligned with an end-effector <NUM>. As illustrated in <FIG>, a force control <NUM> may be coupled to end effector <NUM>, each of which is coupled to a tool <NUM>. Tools <NUM> may be arranged, in one embodiment, as further described such as those described in <CIT> and <CIT>. However, other arrangements are also expressly contemplated. Visual inspection unit <NUM> may detect an area on a worksurface <NUM>, which may then be abraded by abrading unit <NUM>.

<FIG> is a schematic of an abrasive article with a plurality of shaped abrasive particles. For example, in many cases, coupled to the end of a tool <NUM> is an abrading tool, such as coated abrasive article <NUM>. As illustrated in <FIG>, abrasive article <NUM> includes a plurality of shaped abrasive particles <NUM> on a backing <NUM>. In some embodiments, particles <NUM> are a first type of abrasive particle, and a second type of abrasive particles are also present. For example, particles <NUM> may be shaped abrasive particles, and crushed abrasive particles may also be present in between particles <NUM> on backing <NUM>.

Each of particles <NUM>, in some embodiments, have a microreplicated shape. For example, in some embodiments, each of abrasive particles <NUM> are shaped like a tetrahedron, an equilateral triangle, or another suitable shape. Each of abrasive particles <NUM>, in some embodiments, has one or more abrading tips that are oriented to point away from backing <NUM>.

During an abrading operation, the abrading efficacy of abrasive article <NUM> can vary moment to moment, based on the number and sharpness of individual particles <NUM> in contact with a worksurface, the roughness of the worksurface itself, and the parameters for the robotic system (e.g. speed, movement type, force applied, etc.). Currently, it is possible to know and adjust, in-situ, parameters of a robotic system, but it is not easy to know a current abrading efficiency of abrasive article <NUM>, or a roughness of a worksurface. Were these two values known, it would be easier to select parameters for a robotic system.

Evaluating current abrading efficiency of article <NUM> can be done, in embodiments herein, by determining placement and wear level of an individual abrasive particle <NUM>. This can be extrapolated to the greater number of particles <NUM>. It is possible to simulate the cut performance as the abrasive article wears down. Typically, cut performance tends to decrease over time. It can be simulated if it the cut performance tendency is known for each material and abrasive, and the wear level needs to be periodically scanned to ensure that the simulation stays accurate over time. It may need to be paired with a cleaning system that can remove enough debris from the surface for the wear to be clearly captured through imaging systems.

<FIG> illustrate abrasive particle arrangements for an abrasive article. <FIG> illustrates a close up view of a TRIZACT™ abrasive disc, frequently used in the automotive paint finishing industry, as well as for other automotive part finishing. TRIZACT™ particles <NUM> are tetrahedron-shaped and packed into a particle pattern <NUM> on an abrasive backing. Before use, the particles are covered with a coating <NUM>, such as a size or supersize coat used to increase adhesion to a backing or provide functional benefits during an abrading operation. Abrasive particle <NUM> has an identifiable particle tip <NUM> with an amount of wear that can be estimated based on a roundness seen in the image of <FIG>.

Systems and methods herein may provide increased benefit and accuracy for closely packed particles, such as particles <NUM> in a microreplicated pattern <NUM>, because the position of one particle <NUM> dictates that position of other particles on a backing. However, systems and methods herein may still be useful for abrasive articles such as article <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>.

<FIG> illustrates an abrasive article <NUM> with abrasive particles <NUM>. Abrasive particles <NUM> are generally deposited in a pattern <NUM> of rows and spacing, with secondary particles <NUM> in between the shaped abrasive particles <NUM>. While not all abrasive particles <NUM> fall exactly into the pattern <NUM>, an image of the abrading surface of abrasive particle <NUM>, such as that shown in <FIG> can give an average number of abrasive particles, and an estimate of wear based on a roundness of tips illustrated in an imaged portion of abrasive article <NUM>, such as the image of <FIG>.

<FIG> illustrates a schematic of an abrasive article during an abrasive operation. A number of operational parameters can be adjusted during an operation to increase a cut rate or a cut performance of an abrasive article <NUM>. Abrasive article <NUM> may be an abrasive disc, pad or belt in embodiments herein. However, when coupled to a motive robot arm, abrasive article contacts a worksurface and moves across the worksurface at a set or dynamic speed. Abrasive article <NUM> includes a plurality of abrasive particles <NUM>, <NUM> on a backing <NUM>.

A force may be applied to abrasive article <NUM>, for example by a force controller, urging abrasive particles <NUM>, <NUM> into contact with a worksurface. Depending on a distance from where the force is applied, e.g. the center of an abrasive disc, the force applied on an individual particle may differ, for example, such that particle <NUM>, at a distance <NUM> from an abrasive disc center, experiences an applied force <NUM>; while an abrasive particle <NUM>, at a distance <NUM> from an abrasive disc center, experiences an applied force <NUM>. The differences in applied forces <NUM>, <NUM> may cause abrasive particles to wear unevenly across the surface of an abrasive disc. However, in some embodiments the size of an abrasive disc <NUM> is small enough that the differences are negligible and can be discounted.

As described herein, once an abrasive particle location on an abrasive article is identified, another important step is to map out a path of the abrasive particle as it contacts a worksurface. Therefore, a known particle movement <NUM> (e.g. from vibratory motion) and article movement <NUM> (e.g. rotation or movement of abrasive article) may need to be known as well. These parameters may be retrievable from a robotic abrading system, in some embodiments.

<FIG> illustrates a method of selecting parameters for a robotic abrading system in accordance with embodiments herein. An improved set of parameters can be calculated, using method <NUM>, from a current set of parameters. Additionally, method <NUM> also outputs a surface roughness expected based on detected abrasive particle characteristics (position, sharpness, etc.).

In block <NUM>, current input parameters are received for an abrasive operation. The parameters may be received directly from a robotic abrading system, or may be received from a controller associated with the robotic abrading system, or may be received from another source. Current input parameters may include abrasive particle positions <NUM>, which may be detected by a sensor such as a light-based sensor, laser-based sensor, optical sensor, or another suitable sensor, and / or may be retrieved based on a known abrasive article type, particle density, etc. Oscillation parameters <NUM> of an abrasive article and, consequently, of individual abrasive particles, may also be retrieved. Oscillation parameters <NUM> may include both an oscillation frequency and amplitude. Relative movement parameters <NUM> of the abrasive article and the workpiece may be retrieved. For example, the abrasive article may be moved in a linear motion, rotary motion, orbital motion, or random orbital motion, and the workpiece surface may also be in motion during the abrasive operation. Information about an abrasive article quality <NUM> may also be retrieved, such as an amount of tip degradation (e.g. a current sharpness) and / or a feed rate of the abrasive article. Other parameters <NUM>, such as an applied force to an abrasive article, may also be retrieved.

In block <NUM>, an abrasive particle path is calculated. The polishing path of each abrasive particle is calculated based on the known position of an abrasive particle on an abrasive article surface, the known oscillatory movement of the abrasive article, and the relative movement of the abrasive article with respect to the workpiece. In some embodiments, an average expected position of abrasive particles is used, for example when shaped abrasive particles are dispersed in an imperfect pattern on the surface. However, in other embodiments, substantially the exact position of each particle is known based on a known position of one abrasive particle because of the matrixed positioning of the particles. Some exceptions due to shelling or imperfect particle embedding are possible.

Based on known parameters of how the robotic abrading machine moves the abrasive article, the movement of each abrasive particle can be extrapolated - the back and forth movement of oscillation on combination with the rotary movement creates a path.

In block <NUM>, abrasive passes per area are calculated. With a known path of each abrasive particle, it is possible to segment a surface of a workpiece such that a number of times each abrasive grain passes through a surface area can be calculated. For example, a number of times an abrasive particle passes through an area segment from left to right through a segmented area due to oscillation, and how often the particle passes through the area due to rotational movement.

In block <NUM>, an experimental polishing amount correction is retrieved. As described above with respect to <FIG>, in some instances an abrasive article only has an average particle density and average particle pattern. However, an experimental correction can be calculated for known products. Experimental polishing amount corrections are calculated by obtaining an amount of a polishing volume per unit distance with respect to relative velocity as illustrated in <FIG>, in which a cut amount of a carbon steel rod was measured each rotation, and a calibration curve was created accordingly. The cut amount was calculated by weight difference.

In block <NUM>, power function coefficients are obtained using the relative velocity experimental data of step <NUM>. In some embodiments, the power functions are obtainable, for example from a manufacturer of an abrasive article, and are retrievable, for example, in step <NUM>. cut data is compared to rotational speed and a curve is plotted according to the function: <MAT>.

Where w is a polishing amount per unit distance, and v is velocity.

In block <NUM>, a removal rate is calculated. The removal rate per segmented area of a worksurface is calculated using the experimentally obtained correction coefficients using Equation <NUM>, below.

In block <NUM>, a post-polishing roughness of the worksurface is calculated by obtaining a roughness curve from the calculation result of Equation <NUM>. From the polishing map obtained (the polishing amount per unit distance), the relative polishing depth of each point along a surface can be calculated. Then, a cross-section curve is obtained, e.g. the curve in <FIG>. At larger values on the cross-section curve, polishing is deeper. The roughness curve can be obtained by applying a high pass filter to the cross-section curve. A surface roughness is then calculated using the roughness curve.

In block <NUM>, the calculation steps of blocks <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> are iteratively re-calculated by varying one or more of the input parameters in order to determine an improved set of parameters.

In block <NUM>, once a preferred set of parameters is determined, the new parameter set is output. In some embodiments, with the output parameter set is a calculated surface roughness associated with the new parameter sets. The parameter sets may include parameters for any suitable abrasive system. <FIG> illustrates one such system for which parameters may be generated and output. System <NUM> includes a motor <NUM> that oscillates. A parameter set includes an oscillation frequency, which may vary from <NUM>-1400cpm and an oscillation amplitude, which may vary between <NUM>-<NUM>. The parameter set may also include a pressure of an air regulator <NUM>, air cylinders <NUM>, and a downward pressure <NUM>. The parameter set may also include an oscillating direction <NUM>. The parameter set may specify a backup pad <NUM>. The pressure set may also set a workpiece speed for a workpiece <NUM>. For example, a valve may be rotated between <NUM>-<NUM> rpm.

For molded abrasive structures, such as Trizact®, sold by <NUM> Company, the 3D pattern is well controlled during manufacturing, resulting in abrasive tips that have the same height and are uniformly aligned. It may even be possible to know the position of abrasive particles without imaging the abrasive structure.

In the case of abrasive structures with regularly or evenly spaced and aligned abrasive particles, such as Cubitron II®, sold by <NUM> Company, may have averaged abrasive particle density, the tip position is less precisely controlled. For such abrasive structures, imaging of the abrasive article surface is needed to have precise location information. However, regularly spaced abrasive particle structures may still be easier than traditional abrasive structures because the size and shape of precision shaped abrasive grain is uniformly controlled. Additionally, the density of tips is relatively smaller (due to the bigger tip size) leading to a lower calculation burden for soft/hardware.

Traditional abrasives have wider variation and fluctuation in abrasive particles, so camera imaging information is required, and calculation is more difficult due to the variety of shape/size/location and larger density of tips (requiring larger number of tips to calculate). However, a calculation curve can still be created and applied, given enough imaging information.

<FIG> illustrates a parameter set generator in accordance with embodiments herein. System <NUM> may be useful for initially setting up a robotic abrading system, such as system <NUM>, in some embodiments. In other embodiments, system <NUM> may be in between operations or currently operating when a request for a new parameter set is received by parameter set generator <NUM>.

Parameter set generator <NUM>, in addition to iteratively calculating an improved parameter set, outputs an abrasive cut rate and a surface roughness based on the inputs received from abrasive system <NUM> or other sources. Abrasive system <NUM> may provide information about a current set of parameter settings, which may be default settings, last operation settings, current operation settings, etc. For example, abrasive system <NUM> may have an oscillation frequency <NUM> and oscillation amplitude <NUM>. Abrasive system <NUM> has a current abrasive article coupled to it, the abrasive article having a number of abrasive particles on a backing or exposed through a resin. Each abrasive particle has an associated amount of wear <NUM>, and the abrasive particles are in a pattern <NUM>. The abrasive article may also move during in an abrasive operation, for example an abrasive belt may be fed through abrasive system <NUM> at a feed rate <NUM>, or an abrasive disc may move in a linear, rotary, orbital, or random orbital movement pattern. Abrasive system <NUM> may also include other parameters or components.

An abrasive article evaluator <NUM> may evaluate a current condition of an abrasive article. For example, abrasive article evaluator may initially detect abrasive particle positions in an abrasive particle, using particle position sensor <NUM>. Particle position sensor <NUM> may be any sensor capable of detecting positional information about abrasive particles. For example, an optical sensor, such as a camera, may capture information about an abrasive article, including the position of one or more abrasive particles, or a touch sensor or a LIDAR system. Additionally, an end effector, sander or force control unit may also be able to detect and provide particle positions and serve as particle position retriever <NUM>.

Abrasive article evaluator <NUM> may also retrieve wear information for the abrasive article, for example based on wear of the detected abrasive particles, using particle wear detector <NUM>. Abrasive article evaluator may have other functionality <NUM>. For example, in embodiments where abrasive particle pattern <NUM> is an imperfect pattern, other functionality <NUM> may determine average particle positions based on detected particle positions, and / or an average wear based on detected wear of a number of particles.

Abrasive cut calculator <NUM> receives positional information for one or more abrasive particles on an abrasive article using particle position retriever <NUM>. Positional information may be received from abrasive system <NUM>, for example as a known particle pattern recognized by abrasive system <NUM> or abrasive article evaluator <NUM>. In response, a CAD drawing of a TRIZACT® mold for example, may be retrieved. The known particle pattern may be retrieved from a database containing CAD drawings for known particle patterns. Positional information may also be received directly from a sensor responsible for capturing such positional information, such as position detector <NUM>. In one embodiment, particle position retriever <NUM> is device <NUM> (in particular, processor <NUM>, I/O <NUM> and/or memory <NUM>).

Based on retrieved particle positions, an abrasive article segmenter <NUM> may segment the abrasive article into a number of subportions, for example based on circumferential and radial directions. A particle path generator <NUM> may determine, based on the parameters received from abrasive system <NUM>, a path of each abrasive particle during an abrasive operation.

Different abrasive materials may behave differently than expected, and may need a correction factor from expected calculations. The correction factor may be expressed by the correction coefficients α and β of Equation <NUM>. Correction calculator <NUM> may calculate correction factors based on provided data for a given type of abrasive article. However, in other embodiments, the correction coefficients may be known from previous calculations, and a correction retriever <NUM> may retrieve them from a database (not shown in <FIG>). Using the correction factors, an abrasive cut generator <NUM> may generate an abrasive cut profile. The abrasive cut profile may be communicated using an abrasive cut communicator.

Parameter set generator <NUM> may also output a surface roughness, calculated by surface roughness calculator <NUM>. A roughness curve is generated, by roughness curve generator <NUM>, based on the abrasive cut profile generated by abrasive cut generator <NUM>. The surface roughness communicator may provide the surface roughness curve as an output of the calculation.

Abrasive cut calculator <NUM> and surface roughness calculator <NUM> are particularly useful for understanding performance of abrasive system <NUM> for a particular set of parameters. It may be helpful to have a cut and surface roughness profile to better understand how or why system <NUM> is performing. For example, a given abrasive article may be leaving unwanted scratches on a surface and understanding current performance behavior for current parameter sets may help to troubleshoot outcomes. If normal curve data is available for a real calculation curve, it can be determined experimentally what is different from the normal curve using abrasive cut calculator <NUM> and surface roughness calculator <NUM>.

However, parameter set generator <NUM>, based on the calculated abrasive cut and surface roughness, may also generate a new parameter set. If it is desired to increase a cut rate, parameters can be changed to increase the abrasive cut rate. Parameter set generator <NUM> may, using iterator <NUM>, alter potential parameters <NUM>-<NUM> until an abrasive cut rate is maximized, in one embodiment. Parameter set generator <NUM> may, using iterator <NUM>, alter potential parameters <NUM>-<NUM> until a desired surface roughness is achieved.

Parameter set generator <NUM> may also have other functionality <NUM>. For example, in addition to receiving parameters from abrasive system <NUM>, additional parameters may be considered for improved performance, such as parameters of a worksurface controller <NUM>, in embodiments where the worksurface is not stationary. A movement controller <NUM> may provide information about a movement pattern of a worksurface - e.g. linear, rotary, orbital, random orbital, or another movement pattern. A speed controller <NUM> may provide information about a speed at which a worksurface moves. Force controller <NUM> may provide information about a force at which a worksurface contacts an abrasive system. While force controller <NUM> is illustrated as part of worksurface controller <NUM>, it is also expressly contemplated that, in other embodiments, force controller <NUM> may be part of abrasive system <NUM>.

Parameters generated by parameter set generator <NUM> may be sent directly to abrasive system <NUM> and / or worksurface controller <NUM> by parameter output <NUM>. A new parameter set may be sent as a command to adjust a current abrasive operation in-situ <NUM>. The new parameter set may also be sent as instructions for a new abrasive operation <NUM>. The new parameter set may also be communicated in another manner <NUM>, for example sent as a report to a display or other reporting system.

It will also be noted that the elements of systems described herein, or portions of them, can be disposed on a wide variety of different devices. Some of those devices include servers, desktop computers, laptop computers, imbedded computer, industrial controllers, tablet computers, or other mobile devices, such as palm top computers, cell phones, smart phones, multimedia players, personal digital assistants, etc..

<FIG> illustrates an example computing systems that may be used in accordance with embodiments herein.

<FIG> is a simplified block diagram of one illustrative example of a handheld or mobile computing device that can be used as a user's or client's handheld device <NUM>, in which the present system (or parts of it) can be deployed. For instance, a mobile device can be deployed in the operator compartment of parameter set generator <NUM> for use in generating, processing, or displaying the data. <FIG> is another example of a handheld or mobile device.

<FIG> provides a general block diagram of the components of a client device <NUM> that can run some components shown and described herein. Client device <NUM> interacts with them, or runs some and interacts with some. In the device <NUM>, a communications link <NUM> is provided that allows the handheld device to communicate with other computing devices and under some embodiments provides a channel for receiving information automatically, such as by scanning. Examples of communications link <NUM> include allowing communication though one or more communication protocols, such as wireless services used to provide cellular access to a network, as well as protocols that provide local wireless connections to networks.

In other examples, applications can be received on a removable Secure Digital (SD) card that is connected to an interface <NUM>. Interface <NUM> and communication links <NUM> communicate with a processor <NUM> (which can also embody a processor) along a bus <NUM> that is also connected to memory <NUM> and input/output (I/O) components <NUM>, as well as clock <NUM> and location system <NUM>.

I/O components <NUM>, in one embodiment, are provided to facilitate input and output operations and the device <NUM> can include input components such as buttons, touch sensors, optical sensors, microphones, touch screens, proximity sensors, accelerometers, orientation sensors and output components such as a display device, a speaker, and or a printer port. Other I/O components <NUM> can be used as well.

It can also provide timing functions for processor <NUM>.

Illustratively, location system <NUM> includes a component that outputs a current geographical location of device <NUM>.

Memory <NUM> stores operating system <NUM>, network settings <NUM>, applications <NUM>, application configuration settings <NUM>, data store <NUM>, communication drivers <NUM>, and communication configuration settings <NUM>. Memory <NUM> can include all types of tangible volatile and non-volatile computer-readable memory devices. It can also include computer storage media (described below). Memory <NUM> stores computer readable instructions that, when executed by processor <NUM>, cause the processor to perform computer-implemented steps or functions according to the instructions. Processor <NUM> can be activated by other components to facilitate their functionality as well.

<FIG> is a block diagram of a computing environment that can be used in embodiments shown in previous Figures.

<FIG> is one example of a computing environment in which elements of systems and methods described herein, or parts of them (for example), can be deployed. With reference to <FIG>, an example system for implementing some embodiments includes a general-purpose computing device in the form of a computer <NUM>. Components of computer <NUM> may include, but are not limited to, a processing unit <NUM> (which can comprise a processor), a system memory <NUM>, and a system bus <NUM> that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit <NUM>. The system bus <NUM> may be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. Memory and programs described with respect to systems and methods described herein can be deployed in corresponding portions of <FIG>.

Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by computer <NUM> and includes both volatile/nonvolatile media and removable/non-removable media. It includes hardware storage media including both volatile/nonvolatile and removable/non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data.

The system memory <NUM> includes computer storage media in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) <NUM> and random-access memory (RAM) <NUM>. A basic input/output system <NUM> (BIOS) containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within computer <NUM>, such as during start-up, is typically stored in ROM <NUM>.

The computer <NUM> may also include other removable/non-removable and volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media. By way of example only, <FIG> illustrates a hard disk drive <NUM> that reads from or writes to non-removable, nonvolatile magnetic media, nonvolatile magnetic disk <NUM>, an optical disk drive <NUM>, and nonvolatile optical disk <NUM>.

Other input devices (not shown) may include a joystick, game pad, satellite receiver, scanner, or the like.

The computer <NUM> is operated in a networked environment using logical connections, such as a Local Area Network (LAN) or Wide Area Network (WAN) to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer <NUM>.

Engine valves are polished using a valve rotation movement and an abrasive oscillation movement, as illustrated in <FIG>. However, while the examples illustrate valve polishing, it is expressly contemplated that systems and methods described herein may be useful for other automotive components, such as engine parts such like crank shaft or mission parts.

TRIZACT® abrasive grain is used for this application. The important parameters in this process are the position of abrasive grain tips, oscillation frequency, oscillation amplitude, valve rotation velocity and abrasive feed rate. The machine, illustrated in <FIG>, was provided by Sanshine co. TRIZACT® abrasive particle position info was obtained from the mold shape for microreplication as a matrix data. It was downloaded from a cloud server. For this example, the pattern of the TRIZACT® abrasive particles was <NUM> pitch, with regularity as row/matrix. Both width and length were <NUM>.

Cut performance was evaluated based on the polishing path, and the numerical analysis software MATLAB was used for this analysis. The polishing path can be calculated from the machining process parameters. Abrasive tips in <NUM> mm2 were used for calculating the path. The material was an S45C with a thickness of <NUM>. The force setting was <NUM>, with a contact wheel having a hardness of <NUM>. The rotation speeds were <NUM> rpm, <NUM> rpm, <NUM> rpm, <NUM> rpm and <NUM> rpm. The polishing time was <NUM>, and the tests were repeated three times for each speed. The cut amount was calculated based on the weight difference before and after. Additionally, the abrasive used area changed with each speed, so the length of wear was checked and the constancy cut amount was calculated by length.

As shown in <FIG>, the number of polishing times in each divided area were calculated to obtain a polishing density map. However, polishing density is not sufficient for evaluating cut performance. This is because cut performance is considered to depend on velocity, and relative velocity is different for each area on the valve surface.

Therefore, the effect of velocity should be considered for cut performance. In order to investigate the effect of velocity, a basic experiment was conducted using a lathe as shown in <FIG> A cut amount of a carbon steel rod was measured for each rotation velocity. <FIG> shows the experimental result. From this result, it was found that the cut amount per unit distance decreased exponentially with respect to the velocity. It should be noted that the unit of the cut amount is not the unit of time but the unit of distance. And the reason for this exponential decrease is considered to be the effect of a lubricant. From this experimental result, the polishing density was modified to obtain the polishing amount map as shown in <FIG>.

A surface roughness is evaluated from the polishing amount map. A cross-section curve can be obtained by extracting the horizontal axis values of the polishing amount map. Then, a roughness curve is evaluated by conducting high-pass filter to the cross-section curve as shown in <FIG>. A value assuming surface roughness is evaluated from the roughness curve. This value becomes more accurate by dividing the evaluating area into smaller pieces and increasing resolution.

To find the best parameter set, oscillation frequency, oscillation amplitude and valve rotation speed were varied as shown in Table <NUM>.

<FIG> shows the polishing amount result for all patterns. One point in this figure indicates the average polishing amount obtained by one parameter set. The color shows the polishing amount level, with a higher polishing amount in the center, around <NUM>, and a lower polishing amount near the edges, going down to about <NUM>. As shown in Table <NUM>, the best parameter set was obtained from this result. It was found that it is necessary to set appropriate parameters in consideration of the velocity dependence of the cut amount, instead of using the maximum velocity as parameters.

To validate this evaluation method, a simple experiment using the engine valve as shown in <FIG> was conducted. Table <NUM> shows the experimental condition. Only the oscillation frequency was changed in this experiment. <FIG> and <FIG> shows roughness curve evaluated by the developed method using set <NUM> and set <NUM> parameters. <FIG> shows the value assuming a surface roughness evaluated from the roughness curves. As shown in <FIG>, the surface roughness evaluated by the set <NUM> condition had a lower surface roughness. <FIG> shows a result of surface roughness evaluated by the experiment. As shown in <FIG>, the engine valve polished by the set <NUM> condition had a finer surface roughness. From these results, it was found that the evaluation results of the developed method correlate with the experimental results. Therefore, it is concluded that the developed method is able to evaluate the value which is related to the surface roughness.

Claim 1:
An abrading operation monitoring system comprising:
a particle tracking system that receives, from a particle position retriever (<NUM>), a position of an abrasive particle (<NUM>) on an abrasive article surface,
an abrasive operation parameter retriever that retrieves, using a communication component, a current set of operation parameters for an abrading machine;
an abrasive volume calculator (<NUM>) that calculates an abrading volume for a worksurface contacted by the abrasive article surface based on a path of the tracked abrasive particle and the current set of operation parameters; and
an abrasive parameters adjuster that is configured to provide a new set of operation parameters for the abrading system based on the calculated abrading volume; and
wherein the abrading system is configured to implement the new set of operation parameters.