Bumper facia punching/welding system and method
AssigneeT.A. Systems Inc.
InventorTheodore Robert Brown
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system includes a first fixture to support one side of a part and a robot that has a second fixture to support an opposite side of the part with respect to the one side. One of the part sides has a target on a surface that indicates a location for the operation. The system has a sensor to measure the target in 3-dimensional space. A tool performs the operation at the location, and a controller moves the robot to pick up the part from the first fixture using the second fixture. The controller presents the target to the sensor for measuring the x,y,z coordinates and the yaw, pitch and roll of the target. The controller moves the second fixture with the part to the tool based upon the measurement.
Claims20
A system for performing an operation on a part, comprising
- a first fixture configured to support one side of a part;
- a robot having a second fixture configured to support an opposite side of the part with respect to the one side, wherein one of the part sides has a target on a surface indicating a location for the operation;
- a sensor configured to measure the target in 3-dimensional space;
- a tool configured to perform the operation at the location;
- and
- a controller configured move the robot to pick up the part from the first fixture using the second fixture, the controller configured to present the target to the sensor for measuring the x,y,z coordinates and the yaw, pitch and roll of the target, and the controller configured to move the second fixture with the part to the tool based upon the measurement.
A method of performing an operation on a part, comprising:
- supporting a part in a first fixture;
- robotically picking up the part with a second fixture;
- measuring a target on a curved surface of the part to determine a location of the target in 3-dimensional space, the target measuring step including determining the x,y,z coordinates and the yaw, pitch and roll of the target;
- presenting the part to a tool at an orientation corresponding to the measured location of the target;
- and
- performing an operation at the location.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.