System and method for locally re-shaping a workpiece

A method for fabricating articles comprising:

• manufacturing a lot of sheet metal panels in a mass-produced form via a primary forming process;
• identifying a batch of designated sheet metal panels from the lot of sheet metal panels for further processing in a secondary forming process separate from the primary forming process;
• receiving data in an input module indicating a target form of the batch of designated sheet metal panels, wherein the target form includes a geometric design feature that is not present in the mass-produced form and that is beyond a forming limit of the primary forming process;
• providing a robot configured to pass each designated sheet metal panel through a machine, the robot including an end effector configured to grasp and hold each designated sheet metal panel;
• determining, with a control module, a forming path of the robot based on the mass-produced form of the sheet metal panels and the target form of the batch of designated sheet metal panels, the forming path defining orientations and speeds at which each designated sheet metal panel is to be presented to the machine for forming the geometric design feature;
• performing a finishing process by passing, with the robot, a selected sheet metal panel from the batch of designated sheet metal panels through the machine along the forming path one or more times while the end effector continuously grasps the selected sheet metal panel and while the machine acts on the selected sheet metal panel, wherein the machine forms the selected sheet metal panel with the target form, including the geometric design feature, while a remainder of the selected sheet metal panel retains the mass-produced form;
• and
• repeating the finishing process for each remaining designated sheet metal panel in the batch of designated sheet metal panels.

A robotic system for forming workpieces, the robotic system comprising:

• a mass-production apparatus configured to manufacture a mass-produced form of a workpiece;
• a machine configured to re-shape the workpiece, the machine being at least one of a power hammer, a press brake, and an English wheel, and the machine being configured to re-shape the workpiece via at least one of incremental cold forging, air-bending, die-forming, embossing, bending, flanging, coining, drawing, stretching, and ironing;
• a robot configured to pass the workpiece through a machine;
• an end effector configured to be attached to the robot and configured to grasp and release the workpiece, the end effector comprising a support portion and at least one attachment device movable relative to the support portion along at least one axis, the end effector being adjustable to a plurality of different configurations by movement of the at least one attachment device relative to the support portion;
• an adjustment module comprising at least one of (i) a vision-based module including at least one camera configured to capture images of the workpiece before and after passing through the machine, or (ii) a force-based module including at least one force sensor disposed on the end effector, the adjustment module being configured to determine a change in the workpiece from (a) the mass-produced form of the workpiece prior to the passing of the workpiece through the machine to (b) an intermediate form of the workpiece after passing of the workpiece through the machine;
• a control module configured to adjust a present configuration of the end effector to a second configuration based on the change in the workpiece from (a) the mass-produced form to (b) the intermediate form;
• and
• an input module configured to receive data indicating a target form of the workpiece, wherein the target form includes a geometric feature to be formed in the workpiece that is not present in the mass-produced form;
• wherein the control module is further configured to determine, based on the mass-production apparatus and the target form of the workpiece, the mass-produced form of the workpiece and a forming path of the robot based on the mass-produced form of the workpiece and the target form of the workpiece;
• and
• wherein the control module is communicatively coupled to the adjustment module and is configured to receive the determined change in the workpiece from the adjustment module and, in response, adjust at least one of the forming path of the robot and the configuration of the end effector for a subsequent pass of the workpiece through the machine.