Dual flexible contact material removal model for robotic disk grinding

High-precision machining of flexible materials, such as rubber, presents a challenge in manual grinding. The implementation of robotic grinding has the potential to significantly enhance machining precision and efficiency. Normally, an accurate material removal model is needed for precise planning of the robotic grinding parameters. Existing models are mostly built for metal materials, and neglect the large deformation of flexible workpieces, resulting in deficiencies in accuracy and generalization. To this end, a nonlinear dual flexible contact force model is presented, considering the significant deformation of both the tool and the workpiece, to characterize the dual flexible contact mechanism. Then, the contact force model is combined with the Preston equation, yielding the material removal model. The effectiveness and superiority of our contact force model and material removal model are substantiated by force–displacement experiments and robotic grinding experiments, respectively. These experiments show a remarkable reduction of 68.17% in the root-mean-square error (RMSE) for the contact force model and a noteworthy 29.31% decrease in RMSE for the material removal model.