Automated Plywood Production

A robotic work cell for producing an assembly utilized in the production of a plywood panel, said assembly comprising a plurality of veneers including at least two intermediate veneers sandwiched between a first outer veneer and a second outer veneer, each said veneer having an associated peripheral edge including a selected side edge and an opposing side edge and a selected end edge and an opposing end edge, the robotic work cell comprising:

• a sensor system configured to determine a location of the selected side edge and a location of the selected end edge of at least one of the plurality of veneers, and to generate sensor data specifying each determined location;
• at least one robot mechanism configured to generate said assembly by moving the first outer veneer into an assembly region during a first assembly phase, then stacking the intermediate veneers onto the first outer veneer during a second assembly phase, and then stacking the second outer veneer onto the intermediate veneers during a third assembly phase;
• and
• a control unit configured to control the robot mechanism in accordance with the sensor data such that:
• when the intermediate veneers are placed on the first outer veneer, the selected side edges of each intermediate veneer is vertically aligned with the selected side edge of the first outer veneer, and
• when the second outer veneer is placed on the intermediate veneers, the selected side edge of the second outer veneer is vertically aligned with the selected side edge of the first outer veneer, and the selected end edge of the second outer veneer is vertically aligned with the selected end edge of the first outer veneer.

A robotic end-tool configured for use by an articulated robot to perform an automated veneer stacking operation during which a plurality of veneers are moved from one or more supply regions and stacked in an assembly region, each said veneer having an associated peripheral edge including a selected side edge and an opposing side edge and a selected end edge and an opposing end edge, wherein the robot includes an arm portion and an end-shaft connected to a distal end of the arm portion such that the end-shaft is maintained in a vertical direction, the robotic end-tool comprising:

• a frame including:
• a spar,
• a central hub fixture fixedly connected to a central region of the spar and configured for fixed connection to the end-shaft such that the spar is maintained in a first horizontal direction, and
• a plurality of ribs fixedly connected to the spar and extending in a second horizontal direction that is perpendicular to the first horizontal direction;
• a plurality of vacuum grippers, each said vacuum gripper having a housing connected to an associated rib of said plurality of ribs, each housing including one or more vacuum cavities respectively having a downward-facing opening, wherein the plurality of vacuum grippers are disposed in a plane below the spar;
• and
• a plurality of cameras fixedly connected to the frame, each camera being vertically oriented and positioned such that, when a veneer is secured by the plurality of vacuum grippers, said each camera captures image data corresponding to a section of the peripheral edge of the secured veneer.