A workpiece transfer apparatus for a furnace includes a carrier having access to a furnace and carrying a workpiece placed thereon, a controller for controlling movement of the carrier, the controller for determining an amount of deformation of the carrier by heat of the furnace, and the controller for determining an adjustment to the attitude of the carrier on the basis of the amount of deformation of the carrier, wherein when handing over the workpiece for a next process tool, the carrier is moved into an adjusted attitude.

A method and computing system comprising identifying one or more candidate objects for selection by a robot. A path to the one or more candidate objects may be determined based upon, at least in part, a robotic environment and at least one robotic constraint. A feasibility of grasping a first candidate object of the one or more candidate objects may be validated. If the feasibility is validated, the robot may be controlled to physically select the first candidate object. If the feasibility is not validated, at least one of a different grasping point of the first candidate object, a second path, or a second candidate object may be selected.

A method for turning a pinion-driven lift-robot in an intersection of rails. Moving the pinion-driven lift-robot in a first motion mode to position the pinion-driven lift-robot in a first position at the intersection. The pinion-driven lift-robot is turned over a corner of the intersection that is accessible from the first position and that includes continuous rails connecting a vertical track and a horizontal track, whereby positioning the pinion-driven lift-robot in a second position at the intersection. The pinion-driven lift-robot is moved in a second motion mode towards a designated direction.

This machine tool system uses a plurality of mobile robots to convey workpieces to a plurality of machine tools, the machine tool system being provided with: machine tool control unit that issues work requests to the machine tools; a mobile robot control unit that determines workable times for the mobile robots on the basis of the work requests; and a determining unit that compares the workable times which are for the mobile robots and respectively planned by the mobile robots, and causes the mobile robot with the fastest workable time to execute the requested work.

The disclosure provides an appearance inspection system that can reduce subject blurring when an object is imaged while changing a relative position of an imaging device with respect to the object. A first control unit causes the imaging device to perform imaging when the imaging device reaches an imaging position corresponding to the inspection target position. A second control unit changes at least one of the position and the orientation of the imaging device in a direction in which a relative movement between a field of view of the imaging device and the inspection target position according to the change in the relative position along a designated path is canceled out during a predetermined period including a time point at which the imaging device reaches the imaging position.

A combined system having a function for rapidly detecting and correcting a positional misalignment between a machine tool and a robot. The combined system includes: a machine tool having a table and a workpiece fixing jig integrally movable with the table; a robot system separated from the machine tool and having a robot configured to supply or take out a workpiece to or from the jig; a network for information transmission between the machine tool and the robot; an interference judging part which judges occurrence of interference, based on a disturbance value of each axis of the robot, when the workpiece is supplied to or taken out from the jig; and an interference avoiding part which, when it is judged that the interference occurs, stops a motion of the robot and moves the table in a direction of at least one axis based on the disturbance value.

A method wherein by reducing the amount of current, and therefore torque, to the linear servo motor (50) and/or rotary servo motor (52) of a loader mechanism (9), the loader mechanism is operable for determining proper workpiece positioning in a machine tool such as a gear manufacturing machine, particularly a machine (4) for manufacturing bevel and hypoid gears.

Disclosed is a method for machining a component including: a first processing step of machining a workpiece material into a workpiece in which a needed portion is connected to an unneeded portion via a connecting portion by action of a tool supported by a tool supporting portion on the workpiece material supported by a workpiece material supporting portion in a processing space covered with a cover member; and a second processing step of cutting the connecting portion to separate the needed portion from the unneeded portion by using the tool supported by the tool supporting portion in a state in which a door that divides the processing space is opened for a workpiece material transport mechanism to move into the processing space and at least the needed portion of the workpiece obtained through machining in the first processing step is supported by the workpiece material transport mechanism.

A system for changing and inserting or placing tools on a machine tool, including: a tool changer with a manipulator which is configured to remove a tool to be introduced from a tool magazine of the machine tool at a removal position and to transfer it to a work spindle of the machine tool at a tool change position in an automatic tool changing operation, and a tool diameter measuring apparatus, which is configured to determine a tool diameter or a tool radius of the tool to be introduced that has been removed from the tool magazine of the machine tool by the manipulator.

A method for turning robots at an intersection of tracks. The robot moves in a first motion mode to reach a first position at the intersection. The robot turns over a corner of the intersection that includes continuous tracks connecting a vertical track and a horizontal track, whereby reaching a second position at the intersection. The robot moves in a second motion mode towards a designated direction.