56 X O Chen,Z M Gong,H Huang.S Z Ge,and L B Zhou system is discussed.The idea is that a force-controlled robot can follow the edges or the surfaces of the workpiece using force control functions. Kunida and Nakagawa [6]have developed a curved surface polishing robot system using a magneto-pressed tool and a magnetic force sensor.Desired contact force can be maintained during polishing.In more sophisticated robotic machining applications,dual manipulators may be required. Adaptive neural network control has been attempted for coordinated manipulation in a constrained environment [7].As far as practical applications are concerned,robotic machining has been mostly restricted to simple operations under well-defined conditions,such as deburring, polishing and chamfering of new parts. As compared with manufacturing new parts,one of the major difficulties in overhauling aerospace components is that the part geometry is severely distorted after service in the high-temperature and high-pressure condition.As a result,the intended automation system cannot rely on the teach-and-play or programming-and-cut methods used for conventional robotic or machining applications.Another challenge is to overcome the process dynamics that is very much empirical and largely knowledge- based.Despite extensive research work and laboratory prototyping and implementation by researchers all over the world,automated systems for blending and polishing of 3D distorted profiles,such as refurbishment High-Pressure Turbine (HPT)vanes,do not exist in today's factories.The operation is manually done in almost every overhaul service factory.To this end,a concerted effort has been made to implement a robotic system for 3D profile grinding and polishing for production use. Following the discussion on the perspective and approach of 3D profile grinding and polishing in Chapter 2,this chapter focuses on the development of core technological modules and full implementation of a working prototype.Section 2 discusses the selected finishing robot,Self- Aligned End-Effector(SAE),and control interface.Section 3 explains the In-Situ Profile Measurement (IPM)and coordinate transformation necessary to construct the part geometry.Template-based Optimal Profile Fitting (OPF)requirements,algorithm,and software development are detailed in Section 4.It is followed by the discussion on Adaptive Robotic Path Planning (ARP)in Section 5.Section 6 highlights the working prototype "SMART 3D Grinding/Polishing System",the first-of-its-kind for blending distorted 3D profiles.Section 7 presents the results of benchmarking tests conducted on the SMART system for JT9D High-56 X Q Chen, Z M Gong, H Huang, S Z Ge, and L B Zhou system is discussed. The idea is that a force-controlled robot can follow the edges or the surfaces of the workpiece using force control functions. Kunida and Nakagawa [6] have developed a curved surface polishing robot system using a magneto-pressed tool and a magnetic force sensor. Desired contact force can be maintained during polishing. In more sophisticated robotic machining applications, dual manipulators may be required. Adaptive neural network control has been attempted for coordinated manipulation in a constrained environment [7]. As far as practical applications are concerned, robotic machining has been mostly restricted to simple operations under well-defined conditions, such as deburring, polishing and chamfering of new parts. As compared with manufacturing new parts, one of the major difficulties in overhauling aerospace components is that the part geometry is severely distorted after service in the high-temperature and high-pressure condition. As a result, the intended automation system cannot rely on the teach-and-play or programming-and-cut methods used for conventional robotic or machining applications. Another challenge is to overcome the process dynamics that is very much empirical and largely knowledge￾based. Despite extensive research work and laboratory prototyping and implementation by researchers all over the world, automated systems for blending and polishing of 3D distorted profiles, such as refurbishment High-Pressure Turbine (HPT) vanes, do not exist in today’s factories. The operation is manually done in almost every overhaul service factory. To this end, a concerted effort has been made to implement a robotic system for 3D profile grinding and polishing for production use. Following the discussion on the perspective and approach of 3D profile grinding and polishing in Chapter 2, this chapter focuses on the development of core technological modules and full implementation of a working prototype. Section 2 discusses the selected finishing robot, Self￾Aligned End-Effector (SAE), and control interface. Section 3 explains the In-Situ Profile Measurement (IPM) and coordinate transformation necessary to construct the part geometry. Template-based Optimal Profile Fitting (OPF) requirements, algorithm, and software development are detailed in Section 4. It is followed by the discussion on Adaptive Robotic Path Planning (ARP) in Section 5. Section 6 highlights the working prototype “SMART 3D Grinding/Polishing System”, the first-of-its-kind for blending distorted 3D profiles. Section 7 presents the results of benchmarking tests conducted on the SMART system for JT9D High-