System and method for joining workpieces to form an article

A method for aligning a first workpiece to a second workpiece in a fixture of a workstation, wherein the first workpiece has a first physical feature and is mounted to a frame of the fixture and the second workpiece has a second physical feature and is mounted to the frame of the fixture, comprising:

• receiving, by a computer processor, measurement data reflecting the position of the first physical feature of the first workpiece and the position of the second physical feature of the second workpiece;
• receiving, by the computer processor, the collection of assembly data for the workpiece;
• determining, by the computer processor, a test vector that connects the measured position of the first physical feature to the measured position of the second physical feature, where the test vector has vector components represented as variables stored in memory;
• computationally discovering, by the computer processor, a best fit between the measured position of the first physical feature and the measured position of the second physical feature by applying a computational optimization process to the test vector;
• computing, by the computer processor, an adjustment for position of at least one adjustable locator according to the best fit between the measured position of the first physical feature and the measured position of the second physical feature, where the first workpiece is mounted via the at least one adjustable locator to the frame and the at least one adjustable locator is movable in more than one degree of freedom in relation to the frame;
• and
• moving, by at least one motor, the at least one adjustable locator in relation to the frame according to the computed adjustment position for the at least one adjustable locator, where the at least one motor is actuated in response to a signal from the computer processor.

A method for aligning a first workpiece to a second workpiece in a fixture of a workstation, wherein the first workpiece has a first set of physical features and is mounted to a frame of the fixture and the second workpiece has a second set of physical features and is mounted to the frame, comprising:

• receiving, by a computer processor, measurement data reflecting the position of the physical features in the first set of physical features and the position of the physical features in the second set of physical features;
• receiving, by the computer processor, the collection of assembly data for the workpiece;
• determining, by the computer processor, a test vector that connects the measured positions of the first set of physical features to the measured positions of the second set of physical features, where the test vector has vector components represented as variables stored in memory;
• computationally discovering, by the computer processor, a best fit between the measured positions of the first set of physical features and the measured position of the second set of physical features by applying a computational optimization process to the test vector;
• computing, by the computer processor, an adjustment for position of at least one adjustable locator according to the best fit between the measured positions of the first set of physical features and the measured position of the second set of physical features, where the first workpiece is mounted via the at least one adjustable locator to the frame and the at least one adjustable locator is movable in more than one degree of freedom in relation to the frame;
• and
• moving, by at least one motor, the at least one adjustable locator in relation to the frame according to the computed adjustment position for the at least one adjustable locator, where the at least one motor is actuated in response to a signal from the computer processor.