Feasibility Study of Robot Technology for Vehicle Carbody Surface Paint Maintenance in Urban Rail Transit

Abstract

Objective In the maintenance process of urban rail transit vehicles, the cleaning, grinding and polishing of the vehicle carbody surface paint often require a long time when done manually. Moreover, manual polishing operations can lead to uneven distribution of polishing force, resulting in paint damage and reduced maintenance quality. The use of robotic polishing can shorten the operation time and is technically mature, stable in performance, and capable of meeting the majority of production needs. Therefore, it is necessary to study the feasibility of robot technology for surface paint maintenance on urban rail transit vehicle carbody. Method Based on the structural parameters of the vehicle side wall, robot configurations are adapted to replace manual polishing operations. Force sensors are installed at the end of the robot to hold the polishing tool for operation. The data collected by force sensors are used as output and fed back to the robot motion joint coordinates to ensure the basic stability of polishing force during carbody surface polishing. Simulation is used to calculate the robot workspace, and additional robot outer axes are installed based on the vehicle structure to meet actual operational needs. Result & Conclusion The application of robot technology in the quality maintenance process of surface paint on urban rail transit vehicle carbodies can meet the structural characteristics of the vehicle side wall. By reducing the number of operators and meeting the full coverage requirement of the vehicle side wall polishing area on-site, the introduction of force sensors in the polishing tool is expected to enhance the quality of carbody surface polish-ing and meet the stability requirements of on-site processes, thereby increasing the automation rate of the production line.

Keywords

• urban rail transit vehicle
• robot technology
• surface quality
• path planning