STRATMAN: Automatic Design and Assembly of Fixtures Using Modular Components

在机械部件和装配的所有生产活动中，安装和夹具是自动化程度最低的活动之一，但它们对成本和交货期等总体因素的影响很大。该项目致力于实现整个夹具过程的自动化，从夹具的设计到其作为模块化组件的装配的物理实现。运动学和动力学、几何建模、机器人和人工智能领域的理论和技术将通过两个机构的四名主要研究人员和他们的学生以及一名行业合作者的共同努力来部署。将考虑多项任务--例如，NC(数控)加工、金属沉积工艺、装配和检验。任务描述以及零件、组件和组合夹具组件的实体模型将用于计算适合任务的夹具配置，并生成自动装配夹具的计划。此外，还将讨论可装配性设计问题，并向设计者提供有关其决定的装夹后果的反馈。该项目的主要目标是促进当前对自动化整个夹具过程的各个步骤(例如，夹具配置的合成)的表示法和算法的理解，并将子问题解决方案集成到演示该方法的可行性的原型实验系统中。工业合作者将为实验调查、关于当前工业实践的信息以及现实的任务和产品提供试验台。

Setup and fixturing are amongst the least automated of all the production activities for mechanical components and assemblies, and yet they contribute significantly to overall factors such as cost and lead time. This project seeks to automate the entire fixturing process, from the design of fixtures to their physical realization as assemblies of modular components. Theory and technology from the fields of kinematics and dynamics, geometric modeling, robotics, and artificial intelligence will be deployed through a joint effort involving four principal investigators and their students in two institutions, plus an industrial collaborator. Multiple tasks will be considered-for example, NC (numerically controlled) machining, metal-deposition processes, assembly, and inspection. Task descriptions, plus solid models of parts, assemblies and modular fixturing components will be used to compute fixture configurations appropriate for the tasks, and to generate plans for assembling the fixtures automatically. In addition, issues of design for fixturability will be addressed, and feedback will be provided to designers about the fixturing consequences of their decisions. The main objectives of the project are to advance the current understanding of representations and algorithms for automating the various steps of the overall fixturing process (e.g., the synthesis of fixture configurations), and to integrate subproblem solutions into a prototype, experimental system that demonstrates the feasibility of the approach. An industrial collaborator will provide a test bed for experimental investigations, information on current industrial practices, and realistic tasks and products.