A device and method for monitoring and correcting the position and orientation of an operating device (2) with respect to a piece (P). A measuring device (5) including a plurality of sensors (505) connected to the operating device is used to measure through contactless technology the distances of the sensors from a surface (π) of the piece along respective directions (l, r, s) having given orientations. The sensor measurements are compared to predetermined desired values and the position of the operating device (2) is selectively changed to maintain a desired positional relationship between a main operative axis (X1) of the operative device and operation axis (X2) defined by the surface of the piece.

Provided are an alignment jig, a side track buffer system including the same, and an alignment method using the same. The alignment jig includes a horizontal jig fixed to a bottom plate of a side track buffer to extend in a horizontal direction to a lower portion of the transfer rail, and a vertical jig fixed to the transfer rail to extend downward in a vertical direction so as to be adjacent to a top surface in the horizontal direction. A separation distance between an intersection point of the vertical jig and the horizontal jig and a central portion of the bottom plate is detected as a buffer separation distance, and a buffer frame is horizontally moved automatically or manually to allow the buffer separation distance to match a reference separation distance, so that the side track buffer is installed in an accurate position.

This robot system includes a robot on which a driver bit for rotating a screw is mountable, and a robot controller that controls the robot. The robot controller gives a command to the robot to insert a teaching jig into a screw hole which is to be threaded with the screw in a state where the teaching jig is mounted instead of the driver bit, and determines a direction in which the driver bit is inserted by adjusting a direction in which the teaching jig is inserted so as not to cause a load due to interference between the teaching jig and the screw hole.

A drilling method is provided allowing drilling in confined spaces with less effort. Two independent data sources are used for reducing tolerances between the component to be joined to the workpiece. The component is measured at the supplier using photogrammetry or laser scanning First geometric data of the component obtained by this measurement are put in a data storage, such as a barcode tag or database. At the manufacturer, the first geometric data are used to position the component relative to the workpiece. Subsequently, the component is measured to obtain second geometric data indicative of the positions and diameters of the component joining holes. After determining a deviation between the first and second geometric data to be smaller than a predetermined threshold, the automatic drill is positioned at the correct drilling location and joining holes are drilled into the workpiece. Finally, the component and the workpiece are joined by fasteners.

An article processing apparatus (1) according to an embodiment discharges an article to a downstream apparatus (2) disposed downstream. The article processing apparatus includes: a display (110); a capturing unit (100) that captures a picture including at least part of the downstream apparatus; and a controller (30) that displays, in a case where a processing operation of the article remains stopped in the article processing apparatus, on the display, the picture captured by the capturing unit.

A method of machining a feature in a component using a machine having a support rotatable about a rotation axis and having a cutting tool movable relative to the component, the component being mounted on the support for rotation about a central axis of the component, the method includes: determining coordinates of at least three points on a reference surface of the component, the at least three points being circumferentially offset from one another relative to the central axis; determining an angular correction to apply to the cutting tool based on the coordinates of the at least three points; and machining the feature in the component using the cutting tool angled with the angular correction.

An alignment device includes a holding device capable of holding the second workpiece, a moving device that moves the holding device toward the first workpiece, a mirror member capable of reflecting the second workpiece, the mirror member being arranged adjacent to the first workpiece, an image sensor arranged to be able to simultaneously and continuously capture the first workpiece and a mirror image of the second workpiece reflected on the mirror member, and a control device that performs feedback control of the moving device based on the calculated position of the second workpiece with respect to the first workpiece based on the first workpiece and the mirror image of the second workpiece, which are captured by the image sensor, to align the second workpiece with the first workpiece.

A teaching method of teaching a position of a control point on a working route through which the control point set on a robot arm passes when the robot arm performs work and a posture of the robot arm using three-dimensional data of a working object, includes a first step of setting a predetermined first work point on the working route based on the three-dimensional data, and a second step of associating a first coordinate system set for the first work point with a second coordinate system set for the robot arm when the control point is located at the first work point, wherein, at the second step, one is selected from a plurality of candidates of the first coordinate system at the first work point, and the selected coordinate system is set as a first correction coordinate system for the first work point.

In one embodiment, a spatial vector locator device includes a first tracker object, a first restraint, and a first bushing. The spatial vector locator device further includes a second tracker object, a second restraint, and a second bushing. A first reference point on the first tracker object is aligned with a vector to determine a first vector point along the vector. A second reference point on the second tracker object is aligned with the vector to determine a second vector point along the vector. An alignment rod is inserted through a first hole of the first bushing and a second hole of the second bushing to physically locate the vector in space.

A teaching method of teaching a position of a control point on a working route through which the control point set on a robot arm passes when the robot arm performs work and a posture of the robot arm using three-dimensional data of a working object, includes a first step of setting a predetermined first work point on the working route based on the three-dimensional data, and a second step of associating a first coordinate system set for the first work point with a second coordinate system set for the robot arm when the control point is located at the first work point, wherein, at the second step, one is selected from a plurality of candidates of the first coordinate system at the first work point, and the selected coordinate system is set as a first correction coordinate system for the first work point.