Method of determining workpiece positions including coordinated motion

A system for determining a position of a workpiece, comprising:

• a robot base;
• a robot arm supported by said base and being movable into a plurality of positions relative to said robot base;
• a sensor supported on the robot arm;
• a positioner located in a predetermined position relative to said robot base and movable into a plurality of orientations relative to said robot base with said positioner having a workpiece reference frame, said positioner including a device for fixedly supporting the workpiece on said positioner;
• a controller that controls movement of said robot arm and said positioner such that said sensor contacts the workpiece near at least a first target point on the workpiece when said positioner is in a first orientation relative to said robot base and determines an offset value between an expected location of the first target point relative to said robot base and an actual location of the first target point relative to said robot base and said controller moving said positioner and said workpiece reference frame to a second orientation and determining the relative location of said robot base to the second orientation of said positioner such that the relative location of the first target point to said robot base is maintained, wherein said sensor contacts the workpiece near at least a second target point on the workpiece when said positioner is in the second orientation relative to said robot base and said controller determines an offset value between an expected location of the second target point relative to said robot base and an actual location of the second target point relative to said robot base and wherein said controller determines the position of the workpiece relative to said robot base, using the determined actual locations of the first and second target points.

A method of determining a position of a workpiece relative to a robot having an arm supported by a base and a sensor supported on the arm, the workpiece being supported on a positioner that is movable relative to the robot with the positioner having a workpiece reference frame indicative of a location of the workpiece in a workspace of the robot, said method comprising the steps of:

• mounting the workpiece on the positioner such that the workpiece remains fixed relative to the positioner and the workpiece reference frame;
• orienting the positioner and the workpiece reference frame in a first orientation;
• determining the relative location of the robot to the first orientation of the positioner;
• moving the arm of the robot until the sensor determines a first target point on the workpiece to locate the first target point relative to the robot;
• moving the positioner and the workpiece reference frame into a second orientation;
• determining the relative location of the robot to the second orientation of the positioner such that the relative location of the first target point to the robot is maintained;
• moving the arm of the robot until the sensor determines a second target point on the workpiece to locate a second target point relative to the robot;
• and
• determining the locations of the first and second target points relative to the robot to determine a shape of the workpiece while the workpiece is moved between different positions by the positioner and determining the relative location of the robot to the workpiece reference frame.

A system for determining a position of a workpiece, comprising:

• a robot base;
• a robot arm supported by said robot base and being movable into a plurality of positions relative to said robot base;
• a sensor supported on the robot arm;
• a positioner located in a predetermined position relative to said robot base and movable into a plurality of orientations relative to said robot base with said positioner having a workpiece reference frame,
• a device mounted to said positioner for fixedly supporting the workpiece on said positioner;
• a controller that controls movement of said robot arm and said positioner such that said sensor determines a first target point on the workpiece when said positioner is in a first orientation relative to said robot base, said controller moving said positioner and said workpiece reference frame to a second orientation and determining the relative location of the robot base to the second orientation of said positioner such that the relative location of the first target point to the robot base is maintained, said controller moving said robot arm such that said sensor determines a second target point on the workpiece when said positioner is in said second orientation relative to said robot base wherein said controller determines the position and the shape of the workpiece relative to said robot base using the first and second target points.