Learning software assisted automated manufacture

A method for automated manufacture of an article from parts, said method comprising the steps of:

• obtaining nominal data measurements for said article;
• performing, by a machine vision system, an identification scan of c date parts of different type within or adjacent to said work area, said candidate parts comprising said pe and additional parts;
• identifying, a controller in electroni th said machine vision ste i said automated material handling robots, of said candidate parts and at least in part by type of part, said parts to form said article;
• causing one or more automated material handling robots to move said parts within view of said machine vision system;
• performing an initial scan of said parts machine vision system to identify target points on each of said parts;
• comparing, at said controller, said target points with said nominal data measurements;
• and
• commanding, by way of said controller, said one or more automated material handling machines to move said parts within said work area to form said article.

A system for automated manufacture of an article from parts, said system comprising:

• a user system configured to facilitate internet access;
• one or more servers in network communication with said user system and configured to host a portal for receiving user input regarding nominal data measurements for said article to be formed by said parts;
• a number of automated material handling robots, each having one or more elements for moving individual ones of candidate parts of different type, wherein said candidate parts comprise said parts and additional parts;
• one or more automated material joining machines, each having a welding tool for joining various areas of said parts to form said article;
• a machine vision system comprising a camera and positioned to view a work area;
• a controller in electronic network communication with each of said automated material handling robots, said automated material joining machines, said machine vision system, and said user system, wherein said controller comprises software instructions stored on one or more electronic storage devices which when executed, configures one or more processors of said controller to:
• receive said user input from said user system by way of said portal;
• command each of said number of said automated material handling robots to move a respective one of candidate parts within view of said machine vision system for identification and inspection;
• command said machine vision system to perform an initial scan of said candidate parts to identify each of said parts from said candidate parts, including by identifying a type of each of the candidate parts, determining if the type of part is needed for the assembly, and determining dimensional measurements between or of features of each of said parts;
• associate each of said nominal data measurements with a non-zero weighting value in accordance with said user input, wherein relatively higher weights are assigned to nominal data measurements indicating critical dimensions or tolerances;
• determine discrepancies between said nominal data measurements and said dimensional measurements from said initial scan;
• perform an iterative analysis to determine a best fit solution for moving said number of parts relative to another such that said features are within a predetermined range of an associated one of said nominal data measurements, wherein said best fit solution is determined by fitting vectors between each of said features and said associated one of said nominal data measurements to develop a solution set, and said best fit solution is a solution from said solution set having the overall shortest length of summed vectors while prioritizing relatively higher weighted nominal data measurements compared to other weights of the nominal data measurements;
• command each respective one of said number of automated material handling robots to move each respective one of said number of parts into positions relative to one another in accordance with said best fit solution to form at least part of said article;
• and
• command said one or more automated material joining machines to join said number of parts at said areas to form said article.

A system for automated manufacture, said system comprising:

• one or more automated material handling robots adapted to handle candidate parts of different type, including parts for forming an assembly, each robot having a portion for grasping and manipulating said candidate parts;
• one or more machine vision systems positioned to view a work area for storing said candidate parts and for said assembly of said parts;
• and
• a controller in electronic communication with each of said robots and said one or more machine vision systems, wherein said controller comprises software instructions stored on one or more electronic storage devices which when executed, configures one or more processors of said controller to:
• perform an inspection scan of said candidate parts;
• identify, from the candidate parts, a subset comprising said parts for forming said assembly, where said subset of said parts are identified, at least in part, based on an identification of a type of each of the parts and a comparison of the identified type of part against the type or types of parts needed to form the assembly;
• obtain data measurements for one or more features of each of said parts in said subset;
• compare, at said controller, target points with said data measurements;
• and
• where, on a part-by-part basis, said target points for a respective one of said parts of said subset are within a predetermined tolerance of said data measurements for the respective one of said parts, command said one or more robots to grasp and move said parts in said subset to form said assembly.