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Procedia Manufacturing 43 (2020) 447–454

17th Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing

Trochoid milling with industrial robots

a a
Prof. Dr.-Ing. E. Uhlmann , Dr.-Ing. S. Reinkober *, M. Hoffmann, P. Käpernick
a
Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology, Pascalstraße 8-9, 10587 Berlin, Germany

Abstract

The highly dynamic production puts the versatility of production systems in the center of industrial interests. Due to their
flexibility and low energy consumption industrial robots are a big part of this development. They have been used as handling
systems for decades and are already state of the art in this regard. This is not the case for other surrounding tasks such as
milling. These systems have in comparison to conventional machine tools a relatively low stiffness c, which allows only low
cutting forces Fc and therefore low feed rates f z and speeds vc. This leads to higher processing times and therefore to a higher
energy consumption. A highly dynamic milling strategy, which results in significantly lower cutting forces F c than in
conventional milling and which at the same time has high cutting rates is trochoid milling. This paper shows the basic usability of
this milling strategy on standard industrial robots. Furthermore, the challenges of the near future will be shown.
© 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) Peer
review under the responsibility of the scientific committee of the Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing.

Keywords: robot guided machining; efficient machining strategies; milling, production

1. Introduction

The fields of application of industrial robots are constantly expanding. Today, industrial robots are not only used for tasks in handling,
assembly and logistic. They increasingly face tasks in mechanical manufacturing processes. They are state of the art in milling processes
for the machining of stone, wood, plastics and aluminum as well as cast iron or edge processing on steel materials. In recent years, the
Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology IPK has been working on the applicability of industrial robots for
milling, in particular for hard materials. The desired use of industrial robots is of interest for a variety of reasons in an industrial
environment. These reasons include the relatively low cost of robotic systems compared to processing machines, their large usable
processing space in relation to their installation space, but also their higher flexibility. In addition, the

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +49 30 39 006 326; fax: +49 30 3 91 10 37.

E-mail address: Sascha.reinkober@ipk.fraunhofer.de

2351-9789 © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) Peer review
under the responsibility of the scientific committee of the Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing.
10.1016/j.promfg.2020.02.189
448 E. Uhlmann et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 43 (2020) 447–454

sustainability of production is of great interest, which is given by the use of industrial robots. It can be assumed that the energy
consumption of an industrial robot is lower than the consumption of comparable a machine tool, which further increases the
interest in roughing.The biggest challenges of machining with robots are the lower rigidity c compared to machine tools as well
as the susceptibility to dynamic loads and the resulting low achievable accuracy AP. The named issues can lead to significant
form deviations on the workpiece. It is necessary to select cutting parameters that lead to low cutting forces F c. These are
contradictory to an economic and efficient use as a processing machine. Therefore, robots are only of limited use for time-
consuming milling processes. However, the roughing of large or complex components with high chip volumes through milling
processes, such as in aircraft construction, makes the use of industrial robots interesting.

2. Approach Trochoid Milling

A machining strategy that leads to low cutting forces F and which thus appears to be predestined for robot processing is
the dynamic trochoid milling [HEI14]. This machining strategy is characterized by the movement pattern of the milling
cutter shown in Figure 1, which can be described as an elliptical circular movement [DAV11, DAV12].

Figure 1 Representation of the tool movement during trochoidal milling

Influencing process parameters are the maximum pressure angle φ s of the milling cutter and a dynamically adjusted feed
rate vf. As a result, the chip center thickness h m remains constant [HOF17, HEI14, PLE17]. Further advantages of this method,
which result from the characteristic movement, are a high material removal rate Q w, good chip removal, low heat generation,
and low tool wear and thus a long service life. In modern machining centers, trochoid milling is already state of the art.
Thus, the potential of this strategy for processing with industrial robots is proven. At the Fraunhofer Institute for Production
Systems and Design Technology IPK it is being investigated whether this technology and therefore its utilization can be
transferred to industrial robots. The investigations are carried out on a vertical articulated robot KR 60 HA, KUKA ROBOTER
GMBH, Augsburg, with an electric spindle ES350 from HSD SPA, Pesaro, Italy. In order to be able to measure the loads during
machining, the robot is equipped with the 6-axis force-moment sensor SI -660-60 from ATI INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION,
Apex, USA between flange and spindle. The tool is a solid carbide bur of the Hoffmann Group, which is specially designed for
trochoid milling, with its imbalance and DLC coating. A tool with a diameter d = 6 mm and a cutting length of l = 18 mm was
chosen. A suitable geometry for comparing the conventional milling method with the trochoid milling is a groove. It furthermore
ensures the traceability of the occurring process forces F and moments M. The tool paths is generated by an offline
programming environment. In order to ensure a constant chip center thickness h m during dynamic trochoid milling, the angle
of incidence φs of the milling cutter is calculated at any time and the feed rate vf is adapted to this, which leads to an improved
chirp removal rate Qw. Another difference is the movement of the milling cutter, which is described by a cycloid.
 E. Uhlmann et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 43 (2020) 447–454 449

Differences in path planning – static and dynamic trochoidal milling

Trochoidal milling can be static or dynamic. In static trochoidal milling, the feed rate v f remains constant. As a result, when the
cutting edge enters the workpiece, the chip center thickness h m is low, rises to the middle and then drops again, and thus no
abrupt forces occur. However, the maximum possible removal rate Q w is smaller compared to dynamic trochoidal milling. It
offers advantages through comparatively simple programming of the milling paths. Static trochoidal milling strategies are
primarily used to create grooves and pockets [KIE15, OTK07]. SZALÓKI ET AL. [SZA17] have examined various trochoidal
trajectories using the example of a groove on machine tools with respect to the mean feed and average axial forces and compared
them with a conventionally machined groove. The results show that the mean forces in the advancing direction are close to each
other in all examined trochoidal strategies and are altogether between 70% - 80% lower than with conventional processing. For
the forces in the axial direction, the result is similarly clear. The difference is 60% - 85%. The reduction of the forces could lead
to an increase of the removal rate, which has a direct influence on the processing time and so on the energy consumption.
With this strategy, the milling path is dynamically generated by CAD / CAM modules. The webs are not constant, but
adapt to a calculated cutting volume V. Information stored in a database, such as material to be machined, cutting
material, spindle power, maximum spindle speed n s, maximum feed rate vf and wrap angle φ of the tool, are used to
calculate the cutting values. The aim is to keep the chip center thickness h m as constant as possible. The optimum
conditions depend on the dynamics of the machine tool and the performance of the CAD / CAM system [KIE15].
For the path creation, the two strategies "2D HSC peeling" and the "2D HSC dynamic core roughing" were used. The shelling consists
of a few linear and circular motion instructions. The core roughing has a significantly higher number of track points. The distances of
the points to be approached are sometimes less than 100 micrometers, cf. Figure 2: 2D HSC core roughing and 2D HSC peeling. This small dot
pitch has a direct influence on the track fidelity. In order to implement the required processing speeds, it is necessary to enable
overriding ε, which adversely affects the path accuracy. During milling, the desired geometry should be reproduced as
accurately as possible, which requires a precise approach of the programmed points and has the consequence that with
correspondingly low rounding ε the feed rate v f can not be maintained or achieved and thus the chirp removal rate Q W decreases.
This implies, conversely, that for very large selected overriding criteria ε the actual geometry can deviate significantly from
the desired geometry. This is shown schematically in Figure 3 with a setting of ε = 0.5 mm.

Figure 2: 2D HSC core roughing and 2D HSC peeling

Figure 3: Schematic representation of the influence of the overriding effect

450 E. Uhlmann et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 43 (2020) 447–454

3. Influence of rigidity on the process result with plastic mold steel

A major disadvantage of the robot over the conventional machine tool is the lower rigidity described above. To investigate the
applicability of trochoidal milling, the Fraunhofer IPK carried out trials with the 40CrMnMoS8 plastic mold steel. As geometry
a groove was chosen. The results of the investigations on the displacement show that, depending on the selected parameters,
deviations of up to ΔAP = 4.2% of the nominal width of the groove occur. The influence of the displacement on the
exit of the tool from the workpiece becomes particularly clear. Due to the web geometry, the tool enters and exits
the workpiece every turn. When entering the chip thickness h is very low and increases with increasing wrap angle
φ. As a result, the cutting force F c, which is exerted on the tool by the workpiece and results in a displacement ΔAP
of the tool, is slowly built up. At the end of processing a relief of the robot structure occurs due to the no longer present
counterforce F and yields a rapid drop in the process forces F. Since the actual groove width b due to the displacement is less
than the target width, more material is removed when re-entering the tool, due to the higher chip thickness h. This leads to high
cutting forces Fc and potentially overloading of the cutting edges, which may result in breakage of the tool or the cutting edges
(Figure 4). A possible countermeasure is the reduction of the feed rate v f before exiting the workpiece, which, however, is
accompanied by a reduction of the material removal rate Qw and thus leads to a lower economic efficiency.

10 mm 5 mm

5 mm 2 mm

Figure 2 Top) broken tool, bottom) groove width in the exit

 E. Uhlmann et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 43 (2020) 447–454 451

4. Influence of the robot control on the process result with plastic mold steel

The intelligence of an industrial robot and thus the ability to act flexibly, lays in its controlling algorithms. The robot control
system is the brain. For the economic use of trochoidal milling, the robot control is of great importance. If a program consists out
of many individual motion instructions, such as dynamic core roughing, which must be completed in a short time, the control
comes to its processing limits. Due to the trochoidal path of the tool, a high number of movement instructions with small
distances between the individual points is necessary. At high feed rates v f, this results in over 200 steps to be processed per
second. If it is not possible to process these steps in the given time, the feed rate v f is automatically reduced by the controller. This
leads to a decrease in the removal rate Q w and thus to a reduction in cost-effectiveness. In the case studied, a feed rate of v f = 3
m / min was specified. However, only vf = 0.7 m / min and thus only about 25% of the specified value were achieved.
The investigations have further shown that deviations from the desired geometry occurring are not caused exclusively by the
displacement ΔAP of the tool. In the case of 2D HSC peeling, the specified feed rates v f are indeed achieved, but clear
geometric deviations can be determined (Table 1). When traversing the web without tool intervention, with a feed rate of v f = 3
m / min, the deviation from the target geometry is already 7.5%, at v f = 6 m / min even 20.4% (Figure 5).

Table 1 Results of the experiments for the displacement

Figure 3 Results of the experiments for the displacement

A hypothesis on the reason for the ocurring issues can be described by the control of the robot system used. Due to the high feed rates
and the constantly changing direction of movement of the tool, the position control of the robot controller can not correct occurring
deviations between the actual and desired position fast enough. For industrial robots, the robot controller provides setpoints for position,
velocity, and acceleration to the servo drives of each motor, and retrieves the measured actual values from the motor encoders. As a
result, deviations from the control can be determined and corrected [WEB17]. The decisive factor is the cycle time of the controller. The
lower this is, the faster a deviation can be detected and corrected. For robot controllers, this cycle time is usually 4 ms and above
[SCH16]. This means that, due to the system, there is a dead time of at least 4 ms, in which deviations between actual and set
position can not be effectively corrected by the robot controller [ROE14]. The cycle time of the position
control of modern machine tool control systems is 200 μs compared to robot systems [HEI18].
452 E. Uhlmann et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 43 (2020) 447–454

Influence on the process forces with plastic mold steel

In addition to the investigations on the displacement ΔAP of the target path, the forces were determined according
to the working hypothesis. The hypothesis is that the trochoidal machining can reduce the process forces F acting
on the robot to an extent that enables economical machining of even metallic materials. The highest determined
force is 1200 N and was determined orthogonal to the feed direction. In this direction, most of the machining takes
place. Similarly high values could be determined in the direction of the tool axis. In the feed direction, these are
about 60% lower. Since the forces vary greatly due to the web geometry, high forces rarely occur. On average, the
values are well below the maximum and lie between 35 and 110 N (Figure 6). Comparable milling processes in full
3
section with a material removal rate of Qw = 190 mm / s lead to process forces of F = 400-1000 N. Here, therefore, a
significant improvement in the load is detectable, which can be measured directly in the achieved shape deviation.

Figure 4 Mean values of the process forces

In addition to the process forces F, the roughness characteristics of the generated webs were detected. This objective is
intended to enable an assessment of the quality of the processing. Only the combination of cost-effective and yet demand-
oriented machining offers the potential of industrial implementation. The measurements of the roughness measurements
show that for the arithmetic mean roughness Ra with a maximum value of Ra = 0.752 μm and the average roughness R z
with Rz = 8.865 μm, exact to usual roughnesses according to FISCHER ET AL. [FIS08] can be achieved.

5. Comparison trochoid milling and conventional milling

A comparison of the trajectories between conventional milling and trochoid milling shows a clear difference (Figure 7).
3
Due to the different milling strategies, the material removal rate Q w at a volume of 14.85 cm can be approximately doubled
in trochoid milling in the tests compared with conventional milling. The experimentally determined material removal rate
3
Qw in conventional processing is Qw = 11.45 cm / min. With the trochoid milling strategy and the adaptation of the
3
parameters, the material removal rate at low cutting forces F was increased to Q w = 20.1 cm / min (Figure 8).
With regard to the sustainability of this milling strategy, the energy requirement can be mentioned. Investigations by
[REI17] to record the energy balance of an industrial robot during the machining of an aluminium-magnesium alloy (AlMg3)
have shown that the energy requirement of an industrial robot is lower compared to machine tools and that the cooling of
the system and components has the greatest influence on the overall energy balance in percentage terms.
The trochoidal milling strategy doubled the material removal rate Qw compared to conventional milling. The resulting time savings
result in faster production of the workpiece. It can therefore be assumed that the energy consumption can be significantly reduced

by doubling the chirp removal rate Qw and that the productivity of the robot during milling can also be increased.
 E. Uhlmann et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 43 (2020) 447–454 453

Figure 5 Conventional milling (l.) in comparison with trochoid milling (r.)

24 250 Chirp removal

rate Qw
w

cm^3/min
200 Cutting force F

Process force F Z in N
150
Chirp removal rate Q

12

100
6 s
50

0
0
Test 1 Test 2 Test 3 Test 4
Figure 6 Influence of the parameters on the chirp removal rate Q w and cutting forces F

6. Summary

The investigations at hard materials have shown that the industrial robot, originally designed as a handling robot, is currently
only of limited use for trochoidal processing on hard materials. Although the process forces F can be drastically reduced
according to the established working hypothesis without negatively influencing the realizable chirp removal rate Q w and instead
reducing the process time and therefore the energy consumption. The achievable accuracy does not meet the requirements. The
biggest shortcoming is the robot control, which has too little computing power and too little cycle time for the position control for
dynamic trochoidal milling. Static trochoidal milling is currently feasible, but here, too, the largest deviations yield from the
target geometry caused by the control. As the feed speed v f increases, the deviation ΔAP increases from the programmed
trajectory. The process-specific advantage which can result, in particular, from the high feed rates v f of the trochoidal milling,
is thus not made possible to the full extent. With improved control, even large quantities of material could be economically and
ecologically separated with industrial robots. However, as the development of robotic controllers is steadily improving and
research is being driven forward, this process appears to be a promising alternative to classical machining in the future.
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