A mathematical formulation for tool path generation in 5axis laser welding process applied on a free form surface

presentation by Saish Tedia 08ME3117 Under the Guidance of Prof. A. Roy Chowdhury

Introduction
A laser is a device that emits light (electromagnetic radiation) through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. Emergence of Laser as an effective and important tool finding wide applications in numerous manufacturing and machining processes. Increasing demands of 5-axis CNC machining to process freeform surfaces to cater to industrial requirements. Use of coating technologies for enhancement in surface properties like hardness, surface finish, porosity etc.

Laser coating
Laser beams can be focused to very tiny spots through optical lens, achieving a very high irradiance. The coating material, a powder or wire, is applied on the surface of the base material The powder absorbs energy from the laser beam melts, and deposits on the surface of the base material. Also Controlled melting of a thin layer of the base material. This leads to formation of a real metallurgical bonding between the coating and the base material.

Coating of Surfaces
Achieve many improvements in the surface properties like:
High hardness for cutting tools
Corrosion resistance

High temperature oxidation resistance

Abrasive / wear resistance

Freeform surfaces
Also called sculptured surfaces Widely used in aerospace, automobile, consumer products and the die/mold industry. Defined as surfaces containing one or more non-planar non-

quadratic surfaces generally represented by parametric and/or

tessellated models.

5-axis CNC machines

Make 3D cuts in almost all planes (x, y, z) Cutting any geometry in any location Cutting stainless steel, aluminium, steel, and galvanized steel

bevel holes
2 additional rotational degrees of freedom. Better machining efficiency and precision. High speed machining of free-form surfaces with continuously changing curvatures and deep cavities can be performed.

2 configurations of 5- axis CNC machines

Laser assisted Coating

Literature: Adraider et al.
Laser induced deposition of sol-gel alumina coating on stainless steel compared to as-dried coating from the same sol-gel alumina
Significantly different composition and microstructure

Much higher mechanical strength

Hardness values four times higher

Laser assisted Coating

Literature: W. Yuan et al.
Laser processing of plasma spray AlCuFe quasicrystalline alloy coatings
Dense and hard coatings obtained by the laser posttreatment processing. Modification in Microstructure

Significant improvement to the tribological properties of

the plasma sprayed AlCuFe QC coatings.

Laser assisted Coating

Literature: Ouyang et al.
ZrO2 - Y2O3 Ceramic coatings deposited by laserassisted plasma hybrid spraying
Coatings exhibit distinctly reduced porosity Uniform microstructure High hardness Highly adhesive bonding

Laser assisted Coating

Thus, the control of microstructure through laser irradiation has been recognized as an important factor in characterizing the friction and wear of different types of coatings.

Problem Definition
Lot of research has been carried out on 5-axis CNC machining of freeform surfaces about generation of accurate tool paths and minimizing contour errors.

Laser-assisted coatings have also been thoroughly studied. But, this research has mostly been restricted to flat surfaces or simple geometries.

Problem Definition
Combination of the two technologies i.e. laser-assisted

coatings of freeform surfaces using 5-axis machines still

remains quite unexplored.

To utilize the complete potential of laser-assisted coating processes and make them industrially applicable, coating of

freeform surfaces has to be thoroughly studied.

Objectives
Free form surface modelling of art to be laser processed, by Bezier Surface. Laser path generation (position, axis orientation) for proper laser processing of the part surface. Forward and Inverse kinematic analysis of the 5-axis CNC machine. G and M codes generation for the laser path. Carrying out experiments with the path so generated over the Bezier surface and comparison of path contour for different combinations of input parameters such as laser power, feed velocity and number of data points representing the path.

Modeling a freeform surface

Bezier Surface
A species of mathematical spline used in computer graphics, computer-aided design, and finite element modeling.

Defined by a set of control points.

Usually does not pass through

the central control points;

rather, it is "stretched" toward them.

Modeling a freeform surface

Bezier Surface
A given Bezier surface of order (n, m) is defined by a set of (n + 1)(m + 1) control points. Position of a point p as a function of the parametric

coordinates u, v is given by:

Modeling a freeform surface

Bezier Surface
In the above equation:

is a Bernstein polynomial and

Bezier surface made using a software called Design Mentor. And cordinates of control point were obtained.

Flow chart for Bezier surface generation

Cutter path generation

Axis of the cutter at any point should always align with the normal to the Bezier surface at the point. Normal at a point is obtained by finding the cross-product of two tangents at the point.

The two tangents are obtained by differentiating the u and v

parameters.

Steps Required
Defining the designed Surface in the (u,v) Direction. Calculating the radius of curvature. Calculating The Optimum Line Segment in (u,v) Converting the Length Line Segment in (u,v) Direction into Parametric Domain Obtaining the Normal at all points to calculate cutter location points.

Algorithm: The following steps are constructed for building interpolator surface: 1- Input control points of the surface as matrix (m*n). 2- Input increment value in (u and w). 3- Input u=0. 4- Input w=0. 5- Calculate the X, Y and Z coordinate of each point on the surface. 6- Plot each X, Y and Z point for surface. 7- Check the magnitude of (w 1). 8- No: Goto step (4). 9- Yes: Goto step (13). 10- Check the magnitude of ( u 1). 11- No: Goto step (3).

 12- Yes: Goto step (13). 13- Calculate the radius of curvature of each point (X,Y,Z) on the surface as matrix (n*n). 14- Select the minimum radius of curvature. 15- Input tolerance between the segments line and the curve. 16- Input the height scallop. 17-Calculate the best line direction (u) or forward direction with tolerance given. 18- Calculate the best line indirection (w) or side step direction with height scallop given. 19- Input control point of surface as matrix (n,n). 20- Input increment value (line segment) in (u and w) direction.

21- Input (X=Xmin). 22- Input (Y=Ymin). 23- Calculate the X, Y and Z coordinate of each point on the surface. 24- Plot each X, Y, and Z for surface. 25- Check the magnitude of (Y=Ymax). 26- No: Goto step (22). 27- Yes: Goto step (31). 28- Check the magnitude of (X=Xmax). 29- No: Goto step (21). 30- Yes: Goto step (31).

Surface created on Design Mentor

Surface using Matlab

Front view

Surface using Matlab

Side view

Surface using Matlab

Tilted view

LASER PROGRAMMING

Things have to be kept in mind particularly: The stand-off distance i.e. distance of the nozzle from the substrate surface should remain fixed at all times. The nozzle should traverse with a uniform feed velocity from one point to another. The cutter nozzle should be aligned in the direction of the normal to the surface. The standoff distance depends upon the specifications of the laser and that of the lens used. Optimum stand-off distance according to required spot size should be chosen so that the focussed intensity is enough to create a melting pool and bind the powder with the base material.

Modelling of 5-Axis CNC Machine In Solidworks

Joint 1 is a prismatic pair along Z axis. Joint 2 is also a prismatic pair with the axis along X axis. Joint 3 is also a prismatic pair with the axis along Y axis. Joints 4 and 5 are rotary joints. Joint 4, being a twisting pair, has its axis along Y axis whereas joint 5 is a revolute joint with its axis along X axis.

Forward Kinematic analysis of the machine

The forward kinematic analysis is used to determine the position and orientation of the end-effector, given the values for the joint variables of the robot.
Length of link i (a i): It is the mutual perpendicular distance between Axis i-1and Axis i. Angle of twist of link i ( i): It is defined as the angle between Axis i-1and Axis i. Offset of link I (d i):It is the distance measured from a point where ai1intersects the Axisi-1to the point where ai intersects the Axisi-1measured along the said axis Joint Angle ( i): It is defined as the angle between the extension of a i1and a i measured about the Axis i-1

Co-ordinate system at each joint

TRANSFORMATION MATRICES

nx = -sin(theta5) ny = cos(theta 4)*cos(theta5) nz = -sin(theta 4)*cos(theta5) Sx = -cos(theta5) Sy = -cos(theta4)*sin(theta5) Sz = sin(theta4)*sin(theta5) ax = 0 ay = sin(theta4) az = cos(theta4) px = -a5*sin(theta5)-d3+a1 py = a5*cos(theta4)*cos(theta5)+a3+d2 pz = -a5*sin(theta4)*cos(theta5)+d1

Inverse Kinematic Analysis of the machine

Inverse kinematics refers to the use of the kinematics equations of a robot to determine the joint parameters that provide a desired position of the end-effector. Forward kinematics uses the joint parameters to compute the configuration of the chain, and inverse kinematics reverses this calculation to determine the joint parameters that achieves a desired configuration

Calculation of rotation angles about z and x

Laser initially aligned along x-axis at t=0 and at a particular instant it is in a particular orientation in space. Therefore we need to find the angles to reach that particular orientation. Consider a 3d vector U=(a,b,c) in space find the rotations required about x and z to align the vector with the x and then reverse the rotations. Rotate space about the x axis so that the vector in the xy plane tan(t)=-c/b Rotate space about the z axis so that the vector lies along the positive x axis. Using the appropriate dot and cross product relationships as before we find that tan(t2)= (sqrt(b2 + c2))/a =-d/a Therefore first rotate about z by d/a and then about x by c/b to reach a particular orientation wrt base co-ordinate system.

Computation of joint angles using Rotation matrices:

Where c= cosine S=sine

From forward kinematic analysis:

Equating the matrix term by term.: From comparing the results of inverse and forward kinematic analysis,

Theta 4= -1 * ( )
Theta 5= - 90 degree d1= qz + 215*sin (theta4)*cos (theta5) d2= qy - 215*cos (theta4)*cos (theta5) -585 d3 = -215*sin (theta5)-qx+675

Modelling Of An Existing Bezier Surface

A curve fitting algorithm employed in Matlab represent the existing Bezier surface Find the control points for the particular Bezier surface. Find out the values of co-ordinates of points representing a 6*6 horizontal grid on Bezier surface. In this case, this was done with the help of CMM machine in the metrology Choose the parameter values. Each column can be thought of defining the curve in u variable and each vertical row can be thought of defining the curve in u parameter (v constant). 6 equations 6 unknowns At a point on the grid, The u parameter value would be the x co-ordinate value divided by total length of the part. Similar process can be done for for v parameter.

Where: Di =(x,y,z) are the points on the curve, Bi is the control points matrix on the curve that have to be solved, k1, k2 etc. are the coefficients of the Bi terms that contain the Bernstein polynomials

Bezier surface generated with these control points:

The figure matches with the existing Bezier surface part and all the co-ordinates measured with CMM lie on the surface at correct locations.The difference is very small and cannot be shown distinctly in the figure.

Results obtained by passing the control points in previously developed program

Orientation of laser at all instants: Front view

Side View

Tilted View

JOINT PARAMETER VALUES

The Matlab generates a text file of x,y,z,a,c,d1,d2,d3 values as stated before so we can calculate the rotations and translations required to reach these orientations. All the joint parameter values are stated in the report and due to the constraints of the presentation values for only u=1 are shown.

X=72.4382 Y=140.5891 Z=-201.1157 a=-86.8334 c=1.5861 d1=137.6069 d2=-784.7130 d3=387.5870 u=0.0000 v=0.0000 X=-0.1249 Y=2.9978 Z=-0.1422 a=-1.3016 c=-84.6460 d1=207.0164 d2=-528.8534 d3=712.9797 u=0.1000 v=0.0000 X=-0.0656 Y=3.0895 Z=-0.0837 a=-1.0096 c=-86.7794 d1=-65.3758 d2=-628.1256 d3=475.8549 u=0.2000 v=0.0000 X=-0.0045 Y=3.0850 Z=-0.0242 a=-0.8535 c=-88.6289 d1=-124.4846 d2=-696.2966 d3=807.5543 u=0.3000 v=0.0000 X=0.0468 Y=3.0262 Z=0.0304 a=-0.7861 c=-90.1270 d1=87.8728 d2=-500.2358 d3=853.4084 u=0.4000 v=0.0000 X=0.0812 Y=2.9448 Z=0.0755 a=-0.7304 c=-91.2948 d1=143.8459 d2=-427.6113 d3=634.6145 u=0.5000 v=0.0000 X=0.0940 Y=2.8624 Z=0.1077 a=-0.6048 c=-92.1300 d1=66.4506 d2=-492.8997 d3=491.2790 u=0.6000 v=0.0000

X=0.0823 Y=2.7896 Z=0.1241 a=-0.3465 c=-92.6015 d1=8.2918 d2=-569.6348 d3=460.5292 u=0.7000 v=0.0000
X=0.0458 Y=2.7259 Z=0.1225 a=0.0671 c=-92.6616 d1=2.5041 d2=-581.5747 d3=459.9797 u=0.8000 v=0.0000 X=-0.0130 Y=2.6594 Z=0.1005 a=0.6198 c=-92.2611 d1=-47.7912 d2=-514.2022 d3=478.3366 u=0.9000 v=0.0000 X=-0.0884 Y=2.5677 Z=0.0551 a=1.2966 c=-91.3605 d1=-197.7407 d2=-528.5979 d3=620.9908 u=1.0000 v=0.0000 X=2.8984 Y=-28.8481 Z=-0.2962 a=-2.0471 c=-87.8880 d1=-219.3544 d2=-487.0018 d3=655.6528 u=0.0000 v=0.1000 X=-0.1309 Y=3.0384 Z=0.0994 a=0.9773 c=-86.1009 d1=-48.4179 d2=-550.1890 d3=469.2854 u=0.1000 v=0.1000 X=-0.0675 Y=3.1190 Z=0.0573 a=0.6943 c=-87.8034 d1=138.8947 d2=-748.0350 d3=640.5584 u=0.2000 v=0.1000

X=-0.0029 Y=3.1076 Z=0.0321 a=0.4897 c=-89.2409 d1=32.4626 d2=-640.0373 d3=880.7471 u=0.3000 v=0.1000 X=0.0512 Y=3.0441 Z=0.0180 a=0.2981 c=-90.3680 d1=-43.6666 d2=-432.9667 d3=819.6362 u=0.4000 v=0.1000 X=0.0875 Y=2.9588 Z=0.0108 a=0.1190 c=-91.1965 d1=-22.4662 d2=-372.3809 d3=655.5149 u=0.5000 v=0.1000 X=0.1014 Y=2.8723 Z=0.0076 a=-0.0167 c=-91.7274 d1=5.7973 d2=-410.1906 d3=549.7556 u=0.6000 v=0.1000 X=0.0910 Y=2.7944 Z=0.0064 a=-0.0789 c=-91.9492 d1=14.0721 d2=-442.4097 d3=514.3859 u=0.7000 v=0.1000 X=0.0576 Y=2.7242 Z=0.0059 a=-0.0622 c=-91.8427 d1=12.6319 d2=-426.0292 d3=530.5229 u=0.8000 v=0.1000 X=0.0053 Y=2.6495 Z=0.0054 a=0.0050 c=-91.3869 d1=1.6116 d2=-378.4109 d3=615.4372 u=0.9000 v=0.1000

CNC experiment procedure

A CNC program is written in incremental mode to feed all X, Y, Z, A and C values to the CNC workstation. The program has to be then executed for different value of power and feed rate velocity Due to calibration issues and eventually time constraints, the laser welding process is still on-going and will be completed in a few days.

Future Scope
Analyzing the surface properties like hardness, surface roughness, coating thickness etc. after laser coating on a metallic free form surface. Comparison of 5-axis path contour for different combinations of input parameters such as laser power, feed velocity and number of data points representing the path. Comparisons of cut width for different combinations of the above said parameters and study the corresponding variations.

References
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References
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