Keywords
Citation
Rigelsford, J. (2004), "Robot Assisted Assembly", Industrial Robot, Vol. 31 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.2004.04931dad.007
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2004, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Robot Assisted Assembly
Robot Assisted Assembly
Keywords: Robots, Assembly, Patents
Applicant: ABB, Inc., CanadaPatent number: US6,606,774Publication date: 19 August 2003Title: Combination tool for robot assisted assembly
This patent relates to the use of specialized tools or manufacturing processes in the robotic assembly of manufactured components such as automobile parts. The invention provides a combination assembly tool that is mounted to a conventional robot that selects parts from a tray or other stationary supply and transfers the part to be assembled on a workpiece. The combined tool includes means to: grip the part; laser scan the workpiece; calculate any offsets required for proper positioning within predetermined tolerances; heat plastic part surfaces and workpiece part surfaces simultaneously; and press the heated surfaces together to form a thermal plastic weld joint and impervious fluid seal.
The method described is suitable for thermal plastic welding of plastic gas tanks for automotive applications.