Title: Polishing special-shaped stone with the semi-consolidated sol-gel abrasive tool on the 6-DOF manipulator

Authors: Yun Shen; Jing Lu; Changcai Cui; Shengui Huang

Addresses: School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, Ganzhou 341000, China; Institute of Manufacturing Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, China; National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Intelligent Manufacturing Technology of Brittle Material Products, Xiamen 361021, China ' Institute of Manufacturing Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, China; National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Intelligent Manufacturing Technology of Brittle Material Products, Xiamen 361021, China ' College of Metrology Measurement and Instrument, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018, China ' Institute of Manufacturing Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, China; National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Intelligent Manufacturing Technology of Brittle Material Products, Xiamen 361021, China

Abstract: As the last step of stone processing, polishing plays a vital role in showing the surface gloss and texture of the stone. While carving can be automated, polishing remains challenging due to complex shapes and compositions. This paper introduces a novel polishing method using sol-gel (SG) prepared semi-consolidated flexible tools and a full-fit polishing model. A six degrees of freedom (6 DOF) manipulator is employed to achieve automatic polishing. XRD analysis, surface roughness, and glossiness tests demonstrate that polishing increases glossiness by six times and reduces roughness by 41%. In different composition areas (black, brown, beige), glossiness and roughness reach approximately 30 and 0.70 μm, respectively. This method enables uniform, high-quality polishing for special-shaped stones, achieving significant improvements in surface performance.

Keywords: special-shaped stone; flexible polishing tools; robotic polishing; trajectory planning; fit polishing.

DOI: 10.1504/IJAT.2025.154566

International Journal of Abrasive Technology, 2025 Vol.13 No.1, pp.49 - 63

Received: 24 Mar 2025
Accepted: 20 Aug 2025
Published online: 06 Jul 2026 *

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