Implementation and Testing of a Shoe Polishing Process with a Collaborative Robotic System

Nowadays, automated processes in manufacturing industries are on the rise due to the need to increase productivity and product quality, but also to reduce operator cognitive-physical fatigue. This need is more felt in companies, such as footwear companies, where production is done entirely by hand and the success of the product relies totally on the skill of experienced artisans. The work presents the automation with a collaborative robot of the shoe polishing. This process is very delicate because of the high variability of leather types and the maximum quality to be achieved, as well as very tiring for the operator. An operational methodology for carrying out the polishing of a real leather shoe is proposed. Starting from the design of polishing trajectories, implementing them on UR5e, controlling the contact force of the tool, toe shoe polishing is performed, achieving a good quality standard. Experimental tests and their results are presented