The Presentation of Parts for Robot Assembly

Summary

The presentation of parts for robot assembly involves the selection of the correct handling devices for various designs of parts and influences the number of degrees of freedom required. The design of appropriate feeders are discussed with emphasis on their flexibility. A classification system is described which allows parts to be classified in terms of their design features and physical properties. The performance of a parts feeder is shown to depend upon the design of the part that is being handled. A selection procedure is described which enables the correct handling device and robot configuration to be chosen for a given application. An expert system is shown to be the best method of acquiring design information about a part for handleability. A software package is described which simplifies the selection of parts feeders and robot configurations. The importance of the co-operation of industrialists in defining relevant handling devices is discussed. The development of an enhanced CAD system will be the subject of further work.