Automated percussive riveting system

当前的制造趋势要求更灵活的自动铆接系统能够取代效率低、容易出错并且具有健康和人体工程学问题的手动铆接操作。 现有的自动铆接系统（机器和机器人）过于笨重，导致工具可达性差，并且限制了对大的、简单的和相对平坦的金属板零件的应用。 为了克服现有系统的障碍，我们开发了一种新的机器人铆接系统，该系统采用中小型机器人操作铆钉枪。本发明是一种包括硬件集成和软件改进的完整的机器人铆接系统。客户将能够使用该系统来满足他们对更高自动化的需求，并访问许多狭小的空间。 开发的原型（Alpha版）由硬件和软件两部分组成。前者包括三个子系统，即一个6自由度ABB机器人保持/移动一个铆钉枪;一个5轴计算机数控（CNC）龙门系统保持/移动一个压铆杆;和一个可编程逻辑控制（PLC）铆钉送料机自动送铆钉。后者是一个机器人铆接规划和控制计算机程序的三个控制器的上述子系统。该I2 I项目的目标是1）从Alpha原型过渡到Beta原型，以及2）将原型性能与其他铆接操作（包括铝板和复合板上的自动挤压铆接和手动铆接）进行基准测试。

Current trends in manufacturing call for more agile automatic riveting systems capable of replacing manual riveting operations that are inefficient, prone to error, and that have health and ergonomic problems. Existing automatic riveting systems (machines and robots) are excessively heavy and bulky, resulting in poor tool accessibility and limited application for large, simple and relatively flat sheet metal parts. To overcome the barriers of the existing systems, we have developed a new percussive robotic riveting system that applies a robot of small-to-medium size to operate a percussive rivet gun. The invention is a complete percussive robotic riveting system that includes hardware integration and software advancement. Customers will be able to use the system to address their need for greater automation and access many tight and smaller spaces. The developed prototype (Alpha version) consists of two parts, hardware and software. The former includes three subsystems, namely, a 6-DOF ABB robot for holding/moving a percussive rivet gun; a 5-axis computer numerical control (CNC) gantry system for holding/moving a bucking bar; and a programmable logic control (PLC) rivet feeder for feeding rivets automatically. The latter is a robotic riveting planning and control computer program for the three controllers of the afore-mentioned subsystems. The objective of this I2I project is 1) to transition from Alpha prototype to Beta prototype, and 2) benchmark the prototype performance against other riveting operations including automated squeezing riveting and manual riveting on aluminum sheets and composite panels.