Robot-based automation of manual artistic stone surface processing techniques

Companies in the natural stone industry are facing an increasing competition. Although various production steps have been automated or mechanized, traditional surface processing techniques are still a domain of manual work. A new flexible approach is desirable which allows to process individual workpieces with a high aesthetic value and makes the processing accessible for designers and architects without specific robotic and stone processing knowledge. This thesis presents a robot based approach designed to reach these aims. It first analyzes manually performed traditional processing techniques in regard to their automation and presents a concept which implements the findings. Furthermore, the thesis discusses the material behavior of the used sandstones and introduces the relevant material and processing parameters. A performed dynamic analysis shows the significant excitation of robot vibrations in the processing. But an approach to reduce these vibrations proves to be effective. All the results and further analyses are implemented in process-specific path planning functions to make the results accessible for architects and designers.