Part positioning and drilling end effector

A method for positioning a workpiece against a panel and drilling at least one hole at a predetermined position in the workpiece and the panel, comprising;

• positioning an end effector over a part with a clamp on said end effector bracketing said part;
• energizing said clamp to grip said part
• moving said end effector to place said part against a panel;
• and
• drilling at least one coordination hole through said part and said panel;
• and
• configuring adjustable drill support structures on said end effector to position drills at locations in said end effector using positioning data derived directly from original part definition engineering data.

An end effector adapted for connection to an arm of a machine tool or robot and for picking up a workpiece, positioning the workpiece against a panel at a desired position thereon, and drilling at least one coordination hole through the workpiece and the panel, comprising:

• a tool connector and adaptor for coupling said robot arm to said end effector;
• a frame connected to said tool connector and adaptor, said frame having one end connected to said tool connector and adaptor, and an opposite end cantilevered therefrom;
• a shuttle mounted for lateral motion on said frame and having a lateral motion motor for moving said shuttle to a selected lateral position in said frame;
• a vertical motion motor for imparting vertical motion to a first lug on said shuttle;
• a first support plate supported horizontally on said shuttle and connected to said lug for movement in a vertical direction to a desired position under control of said vertical motion motor;
• a drill mounted on said support plate, said drill having a drill motor for rotating a drill bit chucked in said drill, and a plunge mechanism for advancing and retracting said drill bit into and out of said workpiece and said panel for drilling a hole therein;
• and
• a clamp mounted on said frame in front of said drill for holding said workpiece in position to be drilled when said drill rotates and plunges said drill bit forward to drill said hole in said workpiece and said panel.

An end effector for attachment to and manipulation by a robot arm for picking up a part, carrying and positioning the part accurately to a desired location against a panel, drilling at least one coordination hole through the part and the panel, and delivering the part to a receptacle, comprising:

• a rigid frame having a vertically oriented back plate with front and back surfaces;
• a top U-shaped member having two side arms connected at inner ends thereof to said back plate and a front top cross member connected to outer ends of said side arms;
• a bottom U-shaped member having two lower side arms connected at inner ends thereof to said back plate and a front botton cross member attached to an outer end of said two lower side arms;
• and two vertical members connecting said side arms of said top and bottom U-shaped members on each lateral side of said frame;
• a tool adapter connected to said back surface of said back plate for attachment of said end effector to a robot arm;
• a pair of vertically spaced horizontal linear bearings, including two vertically spaced horizontal tracks defining a vertical plane, and a pair of laterally spaced bearing blocks engaged with said tracks, said linear bearing being attached to a front surface of said vertical members of said frame;
• a shuttle having a shuttle housing mounted for lateral movement on said horizontal linear bearings for horizontal movement parallel to said vertical plane;
• a horizontal lead screw in said shuttle mounted on bearings therein for rotation about the longitudinal axis of said lead screw;
• a first servomotor mounted on said shuttle housing and coupled to said horizontal lead screw for rotating said lead screw about the longitudinal axis thereof;
• a first nut engaged with said lead screw and movable horizontally therealong when said lead screw rotates;
• a first translation lug connected to said nut and projecting out of a slot in said shuttle housing and engaged with a receptacle fixed on said frame, such that said translation lug and said nut remain stationary when said lead screw rotates in said nut, thereby moving said lead screw and said shuttle body along said horizontal linear bearing by an amount equal to the pitch of said lead screw for each rotation thereof;
• a pair of axially aligned lead screws of opposite hand to each other, coupled end-to-end on a vertical longitudinal axis, and mounted in said shuttle housing parallel to said vertical plane and orthogonal to said longitudinal axis of said horizontal lead screw;
• a pair of axially aligned nuts threadedly engaged, one each on each of said axially aligned lead screws, and movable therealong vertically in opposite directions when said axially aligned lead screws are rotated about said vertical longitudinal axis;
• a pair of translation lugs attached to said pair of nuts and projecting beyond said shuttle housing;
• a pair of horizontally spaced vertical linear bearings having bearing rails connected to upright portions of said shuttle housing;
• a pair of horizontally disposed, vertically spaced drill support plates, each having a pair of vertical hanger blocks connected thereto;
• a bearing block attached to each of said hanger blocks, each bearing block engaged with a respective one of said bearing rails of said vertical linear bearings for supporting said drill support plates in said horizontal disposition;
• a drill mounted on each of said drill support plates, each drill having a rotational axis about which it drives a drill bit held in a chuck on said drill and along which said drill plunges said drill bit when drilling a hole in a workpiece;
• a clamp for grasping and holding a workpiece in line with said rotational axes of said drills;
• whereby said robot can be manipulated to position said end effector over said workpiece and trigger said clamp to grasp said workpiece, and said robot can manipulate said end effector to carry said workpiece and place it against a panel at a precisely predetermined position, and said drills can be triggered to rotate and plunge said drill bits through said workpiece and said panel to provide coordination holes for accurate placement of said part on said panel.