Abstract
The paper presents new results of automated path planning for an industrial robot manipulator performing microplasma spraying of coatings on substrates with complex surface shapes. Path planning and automatic generation of the manipulator motion program are performed using data of a preliminary 3D surface scanning by a laser triangulation distance sensor installed on the same robot arm. The automatic manipulator working tool path planning algorithm is based on the choice of the starting segment of the working tool trace as a geodetic line on the surface. An algorithm for optimal spatial curve approximation by a sequence of line segments and arcs has been developed as a part of the automatic manipulator program generation system. The developed algorithms and their software implementation were experimentally tested through robotic microplasma spraying of a protective coating on the surface of a jaw crusher plate, which was then successfully operated for crushing mineral raw materials.