Automated Robot Tool Adjustment to Improve Coating Accuracy

Robot programs for thermal spray are constructed around a tool center point (TCP) representing the plume center at the standoff distance. However, factors such as the powder injection configuration or hardware wear can result in the actual center of the molten material in the plume deviating from the TCP. Consequently, the deposited coating may not occur at the intended locations, requiring either iterative adjustments of the robot program points or expanding the program pattern to ensure the desired area is fully coated. To mitigate the waste associated with either of these approaches, Progressive Surface automated aligning the robot TCP to the center of the molten material based upon data collected simultaneously from two Accuraspray 4.0 plume sensors. Thus, in a matter of seconds, the robot TCP can be adjusted immediately before deposition to place coating material accurately at the positions taught during the initial robot programming.