Robustness Increase of a Ceramics Finishing Prototype: Towards Meeting Industry Requisites

This paper presents the development of a polishing prototype with a rotating sponge to be applied in the automation of a finishing process for the ceramic industry, focusing on increasing mechanical robustness. The prototype includes an AC motor, encoder, microcontroller, motor drive, and a collaborative robot to assist in the tests. Validation experiments related to the speed and force control were performed followed by the trajectory control tests using pieces printed using 3D printing technology to simulate the ceramic pieces. The results were satisfactory and showed a good performance of the polishing prototype, being this a good teaching aid tool to assist in the teaching and practical classes of mechatronics.