Programmable Vibratory Force Fields for Parts Handling

该项目将研究在宏观和中观尺度上使用滑动摩擦和冲击动力学进行各种零件分拣，进料和运输应用。 调查将体现在一个六度的自由度振动板，可以编程移动任意周期性的小振幅运动轮廓。 放置在板上的部件根据其几何形状、质量分布、摩擦和恢复系数以及板的可编程运动相对于板移动。所提出的工作的新奇在于使用板的运动的可编程性来充分利用摩擦和冲击效应，允许其仅通过改变软件来执行各种功能。 这些包括使用运动控制的可编程力场，以允许单独控制板上多个部件的平面运动，部件分类和分离，以及通过创建可编程的“势阱”以捕获部件来在三维中对板上的部件进行无传感器定位和定向。 这项研究的结果将是一个更好的理论的物理振动引起的运动，以及新的技术，工业自动化。我们将招募本科生通过独立项目和REU的参与。 参与这项研究的研究生将受益于复杂系统跨学科研究所的参与。 推广计划包括在当地高中介绍和指导科学项目。

This project will study the use of sliding friction and impact dynamics for a variety of parts sorting, feeding, and transport applications at macro and mesoscopic scales. The investigation will be embodied in a six-degree-of-freedom vibratory plate that can be programmed to move with arbitrary periodic small-amplitude motion profiles. Parts resting on the plate move relative to the plate based on their geometry, mass distribution, and friction and restitution coefficients, as well as the programmable motion of the plate.The novelty of the proposed work is in using the programmability of the plate's motion to take full advantage of friction and impact effects, allowing it to perform a variety of functions simply by changing the software. These include the use of motion-controlled programmable force fields to allow individual control of the planar motion of multiple parts on the plate, parts sorting and singulation, and sensorless positioning and orienting of parts on the plate in three dimensions by creating programmable ``potential wells'' to trap the parts. The results of this research will be a better theory of the physics of vibration-induced motion as well as new technologies for industrial automation. We will recruit undergraduates to participate through independent projects and REU's. Graduate students involved in this research will benefit from participation in the interdisciplinary Institute on Complex Systems. Outreach plans include presentations and mentoring of science projects at the local high school.