A compliance mechanism for holding a robotic finishing tool implements passive force control and compliance using one or more double-acting pneumatic pistons. A desired application force is set and maintained by controlling pneumatic pressure in chambers both fore and aft of the one or more double-acting pneumatic pistons. The pressures in the fore and aft chambers are dynamically controlled, e.g., in response to changes in spatial orientation of the robot arm and tool, to maintain a desired compliance force applied by the robotic finishing tool to a workpiece. An external regulator maintains the fore and aft chamber pressures, for a given spatial orientation, throughout the holder's range of compliance motion. The compliance mechanism includes a plurality of piston bores; the number of active pistons may be adjusted for a given operation, e.g., in response to the finishing tool weight.

A method for deburring an aeronautical part with an articulated tooling including a plurality of axes of rotation, the aeronautical part including at least one edge to be deburred, the articulated tooling including a tool holder, holding a calibration tool and a machining tool, the calibration tool and the machining tool being fixed to the tool holder and being immovable relative to one another, the method including steps of calibrating the calibration tool and the machining tool, of parameterizing the aeronautical part, of deburring the at least one edge to be deburred with the machining tool moving along a predetermined trajectory, on the basis of the parameters obtained during the parameterization step.

A method for recognizing a deburring trajectory, relevant to be performed by a controller or a computer, includes the steps of: according to a process flow of a workpiece, analyzing a CAD file of the workpiece, determining a burr processing area and obtaining a mathematical model of boundary contour curve; applying a linear contour sensor to scan the workpiece to obtain contour section information of the workpiece; performing curve fitting upon the contour section information of the workpiece and the mathematical model of boundary contour curve so as to obtain a boundary curve function; and, utilizing the boundary curve function to determine deburring position information of the workpiece and to further generate a processing path. In addition, a system for recognizing a deburring trajectory is also provided.

A system includes a frame holding a part, a robot arm adjacent to the frame, a tool rack with a plurality of tools that are interchangeable, and a controller. The controller controls the robotic arm to automatically attach a forming tool from the tool rack to the tool holder; controls the robotic arm with the forming tool to form the part in a first geometry into a second geometry; and controls the robotic arm to automatically return the forming tool to the tool rack and detach the forming tool from the tool holder.

A system for treating a part with ultrasonic vibrations. The system includes a robotic arm, an ultrasonic end effector, and a controller. The robotic arm includes an actuator system that controls motion of the robotic arm and a tool holder. The ultrasonic end effector is configured to apply ultrasonic vibrations to a region of the part. The controller executes a program for controlling motion of the robotic arm for the ultrasonic end effector to apply ultrasonic vibrations to the region of the part; and controls the ultrasonic vibrations of the ultrasonic end effector based on a programmed ultrasonic parameter value for the region.

A system forms a part in an initial geometry (e.g., a sheet) into a desired geometry. The system includes a robot arm with an end effector, a model and a controller. The model receives an input geometry and an input parameter value indicating an interaction between the part and the end effector. The model determines an output geometry of the part based on the input geometry and the input parameter value. The controller receives the initial and desired geometries; applies the model to the initial geometry and to different input parameter values; based on output geometries of the model, determines a set of parameter values for controlling the robot arm; and controls the robot arm according to the determined set of parameter values to form the part into the desired geometry using the end effector.

A method for trimming a thermoformed panel comprises the steps of opening a thermoforming mold to reveal the thermoformed panel, attaching a robotic arm holding means to the thermoformed panel, removing the thermoformed panel from the thermoforming mold by the robotic arm holding means, repositioning the robotic arm holding means over a trimming table, the table comprising a cutting router affixed to the table bed, moving the robotic arm holding means relative to the cutting router in directions to trim all edges of the panel to required panel dimensions, moving the robotic arm and trimmed panel to a panel collection station, and depositing the trimmed panel at the collection station, wherein the directional movement of the robotic arm is controlled by input from 3-dimensional drawing software of the final shape of the thermoformed panel, and wherein the thermoformed panel is of a polymeric material.

A robotic deburring process that automatically, accurately, and efficiently removes burrs from a workpiece. The robotic deburring process uses CAM location data to establish deburring trajectory, physics based machining models to predict burr type and size, and force control functions to compensate inaccuracies due of inaccuracies of robots arms.

A compliance mechanism for holding a robotic finishing tool implements passive force control and compliance using one or more double-acting pneumatic pistons. A desired application force is set and maintained by controlling pneumatic pressure in chambers both fore and aft of the one or more double-acting pneumatic pistons. The pressures in the fore and aft chambers are dynamically controlled, e.g., in response to changes in spatial orientation of the robot arm and tool, to maintain a desired compliance force applied by the robotic finishing tool to a workpiece. An external regulator maintains the fore and aft chamber pressures, for a given spatial orientation, throughout the holder's range of compliance motion. The compliance mechanism includes a plurality of piston bores; the number of active pistons may be adjusted for a given operation, e.g., in response to the finishing tool weight.

A head for a swing arm assembly is provided for a spot welding machine. The head can accommodate a tip dresser or a tip exchanger.