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AssigneeMotorola, Inc.
InventorsRanvir S. Solanki, Eric J. Gasmann, Joseph R. Kane, Edward P. Griffin, Andrew M. Gantt
Estimating the term…
An assembly machine (10) has a plurality of slots (22) each of which hold a feeder (24) containing a component reel (30). The assembly machine (10) automatically assembles a printed circuit board from these components. When a changeover occurs the assembly machine (10) determines which components need to be added (104), which need to be removed and which can be moved (106). The assembly machine (10) then instructs an operator to first perform all the remove operations, then to perform all the move operations and last to perform all the add operations. A combination of scanning a component ID (32) and a feeder ID (32) verifies the correct component is placed on the appropriate reel (30). The location of reel (30) among the slots (22) is verified by a proximity sensor (28).
A method of loading a plurality of parts required for assembling a second product by an assembly machine, the assembly machine including an assembly table having a plurality of locations for receiving the plurality of parts, a first production setup specifying pads and their locations for assembling a first product, a second production setup specifying parts and their locations for assembling a second product, the assembly table being pre-loaded with the specified parts at their locations according to the first production setup, the method comprising the steps of:
An assembly machine for placing a plurality of parts on a product, each pad being contained by a reel of a plurality of reels, a plurality of feeders for holding the plurality of reels, each reel capable of being held by a feeder, each feeder having a feeder identification tag attached thereto that identifies the feeder, a first production setup specifying parts and their locations of a plurality of locations for assembling a first product, a second production setup specifying parts and their locations of the plurality of locations for assembling a second product, the assembly machine comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.