ASSEMBLING DEVICE FOR MANUFACTURING A PANEL ASSEMBLY

Abstract

An assembling device for manufacturing a panel assembly, which includes at least two tooling systems, which both include wooden slat gripping, positioning and securing means, and insulation panel gripping and positioning means, and a tooling controller communicatively coupled to the tooling systems, wherein the tooling systems are instructed so that, if the length of a wooden slat exceeds a predetermined threshold, the wooden slat gripping means grip the wooden slat at different parts, and are moved relatively to each other in order to align their centerlines and to correct the straightness of the wooden slat.

Claims

1-14. (canceled)

15. An assembling device for manufacturing a panel assembly, the panel assembly including a plurality of wooden slats and insulation panels, each wooden slat having a given length and a given straightness, the assembling device including at least two tooling systems, each tooling system including an articulated arm, a multifunctional tool disposed at an end of the articulated arm, wooden slat gripping means having a centerline and configured to grip a wooden slat, wooden slat positioning means configured to position the gripped wooden slat at an appropriate place on the panel assembly, wooden slat securing means configured to secure the positioned wooden slat to at least one other wooden slat, insulation panel gripping means configured to grip an insulation panel, insulation panel positioning means configured to position the gripped insulation panel at the appropriate place on the panel assembly, the assembling device including a tooling controller communicatively coupled to the tooling systems and programmed to instruct the tooling systems to operate on the wooden slats and the insulation panels in order to assemble the panel assembly, the tooling systems being operable by instruction of the tooling controller so that, if the length of a wooden slat exceeds a predetermined threshold, the wooden slat gripping means grip the wooden slat at different parts of the slat and move relatively to each other in order to align their respective centerlines to one another to correct the straightness of the wooden slat.

16. The assembling device of claim 15, wherein the tooling controller is configured, when the length of a given wooden slat exceeds the predetermined threshold, to instruct the tooling systems so that the relative movement of the wooden slat gripping means generates a lateral pressure on at least one part of the wooden slat.

17. The assembling device of claim 15, wherein the tooling controller is configured, when the length of a wooden slat exceeds the predetermined threshold, to instruct the tooling systems so that the relative movement of the wooden slat gripping means is made so that the straightness of the wooden slat reaches a nominal wooden slat straightness.

18. The assembling device of claim 15, wherein the assembling device is configured, when the length of a wooden slat does not exceed the predetermined threshold, to grip and position the wooden slat using the wooden slat gripping means and the wooden slat positioning means of only one tooling system.

19. The assembling device of claim 15, wherein the predetermined threshold is comprised between a lower inclusive bound and an upper inclusive bound of 50 centimeters and an upper inclusive bound of 150 centimeters.

20. The assembling device of claim 15, wherein the tooling controller is configured to instruct the tooling systems to make a pressure by the wooden slat gripping means and the wooden slat positioning means on portions of the wooden slat where the wooden slat securing means are intended to secure the wooden slat to the wooden slats of adjacent layers.

21. The assembling device of claim 15, wherein at least one of the wooden slat gripping means includes a gripper.

22. The assembling device of claim 15, wherein at least one of the wooden slat securing means includes a series of screwdrivers.

23. The assembling device of claim 15, wherein the tooling systems are operable by instruction of the tooling controller to grip and position that an insulation panel by the insulation panel gripping means and the insulation panel positioning means of only one tooling system.

24. The assembling device of claim 15, wherein at least one of the insulation panel gripping means includes a series of needles designed to penetrate at least partially within an insulation panel and to be ejected from the insulation panel.

25. The assembling device of claim 15, comprising a holding structure designed to hold the panel assembly as said panel assembly is operated on by the tools.

26. A method for manufacturing a panel assembly by means of an assembling device of claim 15, the panel assembly including a plurality of superimposed layers which include a series of wooden slats each wooden slat having a given length and a given straightness, at least one of the layers also including a series of insulation panels, the wooden slats of each layer being secured to the wooden slats of adjacent layers, the method including a series of layer assembling cycles, each layer assembling cycle resulting in assembly of a layer of the panel assembly and comprising one or more of the following steps: operating on an insulation panel with one tooling system, operating on a wooden slat whose length does not exceed a predetermined threshold with one tooling system, operating on a wooden slat whose length exceeds a predetermined threshold with two tooling systems; the step of operating on the insulation panel with one tooling system comprising: gripping the insulation panel with insulation panel gripping means, positioning the insulation panel with insulation panel positioning means between two wooden slats of the same layer, pressing the insulation panel, and releasing the insulation panel; the step of operating on the wooden slat whose length does not exceed the predetermined threshold comprising: gripping the wooden slat with the wooden slat gripping means, positioning the wooden slat with wooden slat positioning means on at least one wooden slat of an adjacent layer, securing the wooden slat together to at least one wooden slat of an adjacent layer with the wooden slat securing means, and releasing the wooden slat; the step of operating on the wooden slat whose length exceeds the predetermined threshold comprising: gripping different parts of the wooden slat with the wooden slat gripping means of each tool, moving wooden slat gripping means relatively to each other with the wooden slat positioning means of each tool to correct the straightness of the wooden slat, positioning the wooden slat with wooden slat positioning means of each tool on at least one wooden slat of an adjacent layer, securing the wooden slat together to at least one wooden slat of an adjacent layer with the wooden slat securing means, and releasing the wooden slat.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of operating on the wooden slat whose length exceeds the predetermined threshold comprises moving the wooden slat gripping means relative to one another so that a lateral pressure is generated on at least one part of the wooden slat, and so that the straightness of the wooden slat reaches a nominal wooden slat straightness.

28. A panel assembly manufactured by the method of claim 12.

29. The assembling device of claim 19, wherein the lower inclusive bound is 100 centimeters and the upper inclusive bound is 130 centimeters.

30. The assembling device of claim 19, wherein the lower inclusive bound is 50 centimeters and the upper inclusive bound is 120 centimeters.

31. The assembling device of claim 19, wherein the lower inclusive bound is 120 centimeters and the upper inclusive bound 150 centimeters.

32. The assembling device of claim 19, wherein the lower inclusive bound is 100 centimeters and the upper inclusive bound is 120 centimeters.

33. The assembling device of claim 19, wherein the lower inclusive bound is 120 centimeters and the upper inclusive bound is 130 centimeters.

34. The assembling device of claim 19, wherein the predetermined threshold is 120 centimeters.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0061] Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent from the following description of embodiments of the disclosure, given below for illustrative purposes, by reference to the annexed drawings.

[0062] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a known construction system.

[0063] FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a known panel assembly (with only wooden slats, i.e. without insulation panels).

[0064] FIG. 2B is a perspective view of a known panel assembly (with both wooden slats and insulation panels).

[0065] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an assembling device of the disclosure.

[0066] FIG. 4-6 are perspective views of a tooling system of the disclosure.

[0067] FIG. 7-10 are perspective views of a tooling system of the disclosure during the operation of a short wooden slat.

[0068] FIG. 11-15 are perspective views of a tooling system of the disclosure during the operation of an insulation panel.

[0069] FIG. 16 is a perspective view of an assembling device of the disclosure where the two tooling systems grip a non-straight wooden slat.

[0070] FIG. 17 is a perspective view of two tooling systems of the disclosure during the operation of a long wooden slat.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0071] The goal of the assembling device according to the present disclosure is to manufacture a series of panel assemblies, which will then be assembled to obtain a construction system, an example of which is given on FIG. 1. A construction system 9, such as a house or a building, is typically made of several wooden panels secured to each other. The panels of a given construction system can be identical or different, depending on the required characteristics, notably all the structural requirements of construction systems. The division of the construction system 9 into a set of panels 10 is made according to a rationale, including the size of the panels to be transported on site, and the unity of the system.

[0072] The assembling device of the present disclosure may be suited for the manufacturing of the panel assembly 10 as depicted on FIGS. 2A and 2B. The panel assembly 10 includes a plurality of superimposed layers, eight layers on FIGS. 2A and 2B, the first four layers being referenced 100, 110, 120, and 130. The first layer 100 is considered to be on the upper part 10A of the panel assembly, while the eight layer is on the lower part 10B. The first layer 100 includes a series of wooden slats, seven slats on FIG. 2A, the four first of which are referenced 101, 103, 105 and 107. The wooden slats fulfil a structural function. They are parallel to each other, and they are evenly distributed along the layer 100, with extreme slats (such as slat 101) at the extremity of the layer 100, and intermediate slats (such as slats 103, 105 and 107) between them, at equal distance from each other.

[0073] The second layer 110 also includes five wooden slats, the first four of which are referenced 111, 113, 115 and 117, with a similar distribution, except that the wooden slats of the second layer are orthogonal to the wooden slats of the first layer. More generally, the wooden slats of each layer (for instance, layer 110) are parallel to each other, but are orthogonal to the wooden slats of the adjacent layers (for instance, layers 100 and 120). The layers are thus “crossed”, and the panel assembly 10 is well known in the art as a “Cross-Laminated Timber” or “CLT”.

[0074] The wooden slats 101, 103, 105, 107 of the first layer 100 may be secured to the wooden slats 111, 113, 115, 117 of the second layer by a series of screws or any other solid securing means, like nails, even though screws are disclosed herein. A set of four screws may be used at the contact zone between two slats of adjacent layers, in order to go through those slats and to secure them to each other. For instance, four screws may be put through the contact zone between slats 101 and 111, but also through the contact zone between slats 101 and 113, slats 101 and 115, and slats 101 and 117. The same applies to the slats of all the other layers, so that the wooden slats of each layer can be secured to the wooden slats of adjacent layers.

[0075] In practice, in the configuration of FIG. 2A, the contact zone of the first slats of each successive layers are superimposed. Securing the layers to each other is made on a layer-by-layer basis, i.e. the first layer is first positioned, then the wooden slats of the second layer are positioned and secured to the wooden slats of the first layer, by means of screws. Then the wooden slats of the third layer are positioned and secured to the wooden slats of the first layer, by means of screws, which are offset with respect to the screws used to secure the first and second layers.

[0076] The wooden slats may have different sizes and shapes, as long as some of them have an elongated shape, which is where an aspect of the present disclosure will apply. The height and width of those wooden slats is usually around a few centimeters. The length may vary along a wider range, from less than 1 meter (which will be considered as short slats), to 3 meters (long slats), and even more than 5 or 6 meters (very long slats).

[0077] The wooden slats also have a given straightness, which corresponds to the deviation between the actual direction of the wooden, regarding a nominal direction which is usually a straight line. In other words, the straightness of a wood represents the fact that it is shaped or not as a straight line. The more the wood is shaped has a straight line, the less it deviates from its nominal straightness. Such deviation is also known in the art as “wood warping”. It may stem from stresses, uneven shrinkage, or uneven moisture. It may depend on multiple factors, such as wood species, grain orientation, air flow, sunlight, uneven finishing, or temperature.

[0078] Since the panel assemblies should be made of a series of straight wooden slats, the fact that some of the wooden slats are not straight enough is detrimental to the overall performance of the panel assembly. To overcome this straightness defect, either the slat is rejected (but this is not cost-efficient), or it is corrected before being assembled (but it may require additional tools).

[0079] Between the wooden slats of the layers, insulation panels are interleaved. On FIG. 2B, since the first layer includes seven wooden slats, six insulation panels can be positioned, the three first of which are referenced 102, 104 and 106. Each insulation panel is interleaved between two wooden slats, for instance the insulation panel 102 is interleaved between wooden slats 101 and 103. The insulation panels fulfil a function of insulating the panel, from an acoustic and/or thermal perspective. They may be interleaved between all wooden slats, or between only some of them, depending on the required insulating performance. By doing so, the insulation panel can be trapped between two consecutive wooden slats of the same layer, on one hand, and between the orthogonal wooden slats of adjacent layers, on the other hand. The length and height of the insulation panels is approximately the same as the one of the wooden slats, while their width may vary, depending on the blank between two consecutive wooden slats within a given layer. Indeed, to perform a proper insulation, it may be better to have the insulation panels fill all the usable space between two consecutive wooden slats.

[0080] The panel assembly of FIGS. 2A and 2B is given for illustrative purpose. The disclosure can apply to variations of this panel, as long as it comprises superimposed layers of wooden slats, on the one hand, with at least some insulation panels, on the other hand. For instance, the wooden slats of a given layer may not be parallel to each other, or the wooden slats of adjacent layers may not be orthogonal to each other. Moreover, the number of layers, wooden slats and/or insulation panels may be different, depending on the required application and performance.

[0081] As a non-limiting example, the panel assembly can be “laminated”, i.e. the surface of at least some wooden slats may be laminated to provide means to avoid the two adjacent wooden slats will slides relatively to each other at the level of their contact interface. For instance, laminating may consists of providing grooves on the surface of wooden slats: on the front side of a slat of a given layer (for instance, slat 101), and on the back side of a slat of an adjacent layer (for instance, slat 111), so that the respective grooves interact with each other and thus prevent any sliding. Other means may be suitable to avoid such sliding, for instance gluing the wooden elements with each other, in addition to screwing means that may be used to secure the wooden elements together and secure the successive layers with each other.

[0082] In reference to FIG. 3, in order to manufacture such a panel assembly, the assembling device 1 according to the present disclosure includes two tooling systems 2, 3, and a holding structure. The holding structure (not visible) is intended to hold the panel assembly during the assembling operations, i.e. to hold the wooden slats and the insulation panels as they are operated by the tooling systems 2, 3. It has the shape of a table, whose size is determined in order to cover the whole panel 10.

[0083] According to the present disclosure, the assembling device 1 includes at least two tooling systems, while in the example below the assembling device includes two tooling systems 2 and 3. The first tooling system 2 is represented from three different perspectives on FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. It includes an articulated arm 2A, and a multifunctional tool 2B. The articulated arm 2A is a known arm, used in production lines. It usually includes a set of wrists, which are moved in order to position the multifunctional tool 2B during the operation. Such an articulated—or robotic—arm is well known in the art, so the skilled person will be able to design and program this arm for the intended purposes.

[0084] The multifunctional tool 2B is attached to the end of the arm 2A, and is intended to perform certain operations. Such tool is usually call “end-of-arm tooling” or “EOAT”. It usually includes one or several operating means. In order to assemble panel assemblies such as the panel 10, the tool 2A is designed to perform operations on wooden slats and insulation panels, notably gripping, positioning and, if need be, securing the slats. The tool 2B—or EAOT—will thus travel with the arm motion.

[0085] According to the present disclosure, the tool 2B includes five operating means 21 to 25. All these operating means are attached to a framework 20, which is in turn attached to the end of the articulated arm 2A. With this variety of operating means, the assembling device has the capability to operate both wooden slats and insulation panels, without needs to shift to another tooling system. It is thus more flexible.

[0086] The structure of the tool 2B is shown on FIGS. 7, 8, 9 and 10, with respect to the gripping or releasing of wooden slat 101. The tool includes, on one side, means to operate wooden slats and, on the other side, means to operate insulation panels.

[0087] In details, the tool 2B first includes wooden slat gripping means 21 intended to pick a wooden slat, by gripping (or trapping) it (here, “picking” and “gripping” are used to refer to the same operation). In this example, the wooden slat gripping means 21 is a mechanical gripper, which includes two fingers 21A, 21B parallel to each other and bound by an actuator 21C, for instance a pneumatic actuator, which can approach or distance the fingers from each other. The gripping means can grip and pick a wooden slat by getting its fingers closer (see FIGS. 7 and 8), and it can release a wooden slat by getting its fingers far from each other (see FIGS. 9 and 10), after it has been secured to a wooden slat of an adjacent layer.

[0088] The wooden slat gripping means 21 have a centerline C.sub.21. In the example of fingers 21A, 21B, the centerline corresponds to the line located at the middle of the fingers and parallel to the fingers (visible on FIG. 5).

[0089] The tool 2B also includes wooden slat positioning means, whose function is to position a gripped wooden slat at the appropriate place on the panel assembly 10, before it will be secured to other wooden slats. In this example, this function is attributed to the arm 2A, as the traveling of the arm 2A will move the whole tooling system—and thus the gripping means—at the appropriate position.

[0090] The tool 2B also includes wooden slat securing means 23, whose function is to secure the positioned wooden slat to at least one wooden slat of an adjacent layer (for instance, to secure slat 101 to slat 111). To this end, the wooden slat securing means 23 include a series of screwdrivers 230. In this example, four screwdrivers are provided, so slats 101 and 111 will be secured to each other, at their contact zone, by means of four evenly distributed screws that are injected simultaneously by the four screwdrivers 230. The screwdrivers may be controlled by an electronic controller, and actuated by a pneumatic head in order to achieve top and down movements.

[0091] To position the screwdrivers right above the wooden slate screwing position, the tool 2B also includes a linear guide 22, to which the wooden slat securing means 23 are attached, and which is pneumatically actuated, so that the securing means 23 can be travelled from left to right. This linear guide, optional, may be useful when the gripping means are designed to grip several contiguous wooden slats at the same time (for instance, two contiguous wooden slats), so the screwdrivers should be travelled on one slat or another.

[0092] On the other side of the tool, means to operate insulation panels are provided, also be reference to FIGS. 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15, with respect to the gripping and the releasing of insulation panel 102. In this regard, the tool essentially includes insulation panel gripping means 24, which are intended to grip insulation panel 102. In this example, the gripping means include needles 240 designed to penetrate at least partially within insulation panel 102 (to grip it) and to be ejected from insulation panel 102 (to release it). For safety reasons, the needles may be designed to penetrate within the insulation panel without sticking out the other side of the insulation panel (their strokes being less than the panel thickness). The needles are distributed on two arms 24A, 24B. The arms 21A, 24B are pneumatically actuated in order to be moved up and down, while the needles 240 can be ejected (“in”) to grip the insulation panel and retracted to release the insulation panel (“out”).

[0093] The arms 24A, 24B can grip two different parts of the insulation panel 102. The arms 24A, 24B may be positioned around the extremity of the width of the insulation panel 102, to ensure not only satisfactory gripping but also an adequate press fit of the insulation panel between two wooden slats. To do so, the distance between arms 24A, 24B may be controlled. To this end, the tool 2B optionally includes a linear guide 25, to which the insulation panel gripping means 24 are attached, and on which the arms 24A, 24B can slide on left and right in order to be properly positioned. The linear guide may improve the positioning of the gripping means 24 before they grip the insulation panel.

[0094] The tool 2B may include insulation panel positioning means 25, whose function is to position a gripped insulation panel at the appropriate place on the panel assembly 10. In this example, again, this function is attributed to the arm 2A, as the traveling of the arm 2A will move the gripping means.

[0095] The insulation panels are intended to be inserted between slats by means of “press fitting”, i.e. by pressing a panel between two slats with the tooling system 2 as the panel is gripped by needle grippers 24A and 24B, so the panel will hold without falling down and without the need to secure it with staples. To do so, considering for instance the insulation panel 106, the dimensional clearances between the width of the insulation panel 106 and the inner edges of wooden slats 105 and 107 (that were assembled and secured to the panel assembly by the same tooling system 2) must be tighter than usual. The actual quantification of those dimensional clearances may be performed during the development of the panel assembly.

[0096] Other operating means may be added to the tool 2B to add more flexibility to the overall assembling device 1. However, it will be appreciated that when the panel assembly consists of a superimposition of several layers, with series of wooden slats and insulation panels, the above-described operating means may be sufficient to allow performing all the necessary operations on the slats.

[0097] The wooden slat operating means 21, 22, 23 are disposed on one side of the tool 2A, while the insulation panel operating means 24, 25 are disposed on the other side, with regard to the framework 20. With this configuration, the tooling system 2 may be able to shift easily from a wooden slat operation to an insulation panel operation, by a simple rotation of the tool 2B around the end of the arm 2A. In practice, when the tool is operating a wooden slat, the wooden slat operating means 21, 22, 23 are oriented on the proper side, while the insulation panel operating means 24, 25 are made inactive. Then, when the tool needs to operate an insulation panel, the arm 2A provides a 180-degree rotation of the tool 2B, so the insulation panel operating means 24, 25 are oriented on the proper side, while the wooden slat operating means 21, 22, 23 are made inactive. Whereas other distributions of the operating means on the tool 2B are contemplated, the configuration of FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 may provide a fast and efficient way to operate successively on wooden slats and insulation panels. This thus may give a high flexibility in terms of assembling strategy, for instance regarding the orientation of the different elements of the panel assembly (be it wooden slats or insulation panels).

[0098] The second tooling system 3, visible on FIGS. 16 and 17, has a structure similar as the one of the first tooling system 2 of FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. The pair of tooling systems 2, 3 is thus “twin” tooling systems, which can be interchanged and perform the very same operations. Depending on the necessary operations, and on the contemplated panel assembly, the skilled person may design the second tooling system differently. The skilled person may also add other tooling systems, although a major advantage of the present disclosure may be that it requires relatively few tools in order to manufacture this type of panel assembly, since a pair of two tooling systems may be sufficient to perform all necessary operations. Limiting the number of tooling systems may be advantageous.

[0099] According to the present disclosure, the tooling systems 2, 3 are instructed by a computing program (or tooling controller) to perform different types of operations, depending on the elements to be operated. For example, the tooling controller will instruct the tooling systems to accommodate three types of slats: insulation panels, “short” wooden slats, and “long” wooden slats. In the following description of the disclosure, any reference to “short” or “long” wooden slats will be made by comparison with a length threshold L, which will be discussed below.

[0100] The assembling device of the disclosure may be a part of a production line. In an example, the wooden slats and the insulation panels come from other machines located upstream in the production line. The elements may be tagged and uniquely identified by means of QR codes, and are tracked throughout the manufacturing process from raw material to finished slats of panels. A quality control of the elements may be performed on the production line before they reach the assembling device of the disclosure, so only valid elements will flow through the assembling process. At the entry of the assembling device, a QR code reader may read the QR code of each of the elements and inform the tooling systems on the slat or panel at hand. A sanity check may then be performed in order to verify that this element is indeed the next element that the tooling systems were expected to manipulate on the panel which is being currently assembled, and they can then perform the assembling of the element on the panel assembly. In this example, the length of the slat is simply read through the QR code, in connection with the tooling controller which was programed upfront and which stores the length of each referenced slat of the panel assembly.

[0101] For insulation panels, such as slat 102, as shown on FIGS. 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15, only one tooling system is necessary. This means that slat 102 can be gripped and positioned by the insulation panel gripping means (the arms 24A, 24B and needles 240) and the insulation panel positioning means (the articulated arm 2A) of only one tooling system (the tooling system 2 in this example).

[0102] The following operations may thus performed by the tooling system 2 (or by the tooling system 3 if need be): [0103] First step: gripping insulation panel 102 with insulation panel gripping means 24. From an initial position (FIG. 12), the arms 24A, 24B are moved downwards (FIG. 13), and the needles are ejected to penetrate slat 102 (details on FIGS. 14 and 15). Then the arms are moved upwards and the slat is moved along with the arms. [0104] Second step: positioning insulation panel 102 with insulation panel gripping means 2A between two wooden slats 101 and 103 of the same layer 100. The articulated arm 2A moves in order to position slat 102 between wooden slats 101 and 103; slat 102 will then be “trapped” between wooden slats 101, 103, on the one hand, and wooden slats 111, 113, 115, 117 of layer 110, on the other hand. [0105] Third step: pressing the insulation panel. The arms are moved downwards, until it fits on between wooden slats 101, 103 of the same layer, and on wooden slats 111, 113, 115, 117 of adjacent layer. The shape of the arms 24A, 24B, with an elongated lower surface 241, provides a sufficient lower surface that will press on the insulation panel. [0106] Fourth step: releasing the insulation panel. The needles 240 are retracted, and the arms 24A, 24B are moved upwards.

[0107] In the example of FIG. 11-15, before the first step, the distance between the arms 24A and 24B is set by the linear guide 25. From an initial distance between the arms (FIG. 11), the arms slide along the linear guide until they reach an appropriate distance (FIG. 12), which can be considered as reached when the arms are located around the extremities of the length of panel 102 (but the arms can also be positioned in order to grip other parts of panel 102).

[0108] For “short” wooden slats, such as the slat 101′ visible on FIGS. 7, 8, 9 and 10, again, only one tooling system is necessary. This means that slat 101′ can be gripped and positioned by the wooden slat gripping means (the fingers 21A, 21B) and the wooden slat positioning means (the articulated arm 2A) of only one tooling system (the tooling system 2 in this example).

[0109] The following operations may thus performed by the tooling system 2 (or by the tooling system 3 if need be): [0110] First step: gripping the wooden slat 101′ with the wooden slat gripping means 21. The gripping means are positioned properly so that the slat 101′ is between the two fingers 21A, 21B (FIG. 7), then the fingers get closer until they grip the slat (FIG. 8). The slat 101′ is gripped. [0111] Second step: positioning the wooden slat 101′, with the wooden slat positioning means 2A, on slats 111, 113, 115, 117 of adjacent layer 110. The articulated arm 2A moves in order to position slat 101′ on slats 111, 113, 115, 117. [0112] Third step: securing the wooden slat 101′ together to slat 111 of adjacent layer 110, with the wooden slat securing means 23. The screwdrivers are laterally positioned by the linear guide 22 (if need be), then the screwdriver heads are moved downwards so the screwdrivers 240 can operate the securing of the slat 101′ to slat 111, at the contact zone of slats 101′ and 111 (FIG. 9). [0113] Fourth step: releasing the wooden slat 101′. Once the screwing is finished, the screwdrivers are moved upwards, and the fingers 21A, 21B are distanced from each other, so the slat 101′ is released (FIG. 10).

[0114] If the slat 101′ must be secured to other slats such as slats 113, 115, 117, the arm 2A will move in order to locate the screwdrivers 230 on the contact zone of slat 101′ and any other slat, and then actuate the screwing.

[0115] For “long” wooden slats, such as the slat 101 visible on FIG. 2A, and then on FIG. 17, this time, according to the disclosure, the two tooling systems are cooperatively operated, not only in order to grip, position and secure the slat, but also in order to correct the slat straightness before it is secured.

[0116] To differentiate “short” and “long” wooden slats, a predetermined threshold L is set. Wooden slats whose length do not exceed this threshold (such as slat 101′) are considered as “short”, while wooden slats whose length exceeds this threshold (such as slat 101) are considered as “long”. A relevant threshold may be between 50 and 150 centimeters (inclusive), or even between 100 and 130 centimeters (inclusive), or even around 120 centimeters. This threshold is determined in order to accommodate the size of the tooling systems (too short slats cannot be gripped by two tooling systems), and takes into account the fact that the straightness of “short” wooden slats does not deviate much from nominal straightness.

[0117] For such “long” wooden slats, whose length L.sub.101 exceeds threshold L, the straightness S.sub.101 may deviate from nominal straightness S (i.e. from a straight line). The tooling systems 2, 3 are instructed to correct this straightness. To do so, two parts of the wooden slat (in this example, the extremities 101A and 101B) are gripped by the wooden slat gripping means 21 and 31, respectively. As mentioned above, the wooden slat gripping means 21 and 31 have centerlines C.sub.21 and C.sub.31, respectively. As the straightness S.sub.101 of slat 101 may not be a straight line, when the wooden slat gripping means 21 and 31 grip the slat 101, their respective centerlines C.sub.21 and C.sub.31 may not be aligned.

[0118] To correct this straightness, the wooden slat gripping means 21 and 31 are moved relatively to each other, here by means of the arms 2A and 3B, respectively, in order to align their centerlines C.sub.21 and C.sub.31. By doing so, the two gripped parts of the wooden slats (in this example, the extremities of the slat 101A and 101B) are moved relatively to each other. This relative movement can be achieved by moving both gripping means, or only one (for instance, 21) relatively to the other. This relative moment generates a lateral pressure on different parts of the slat (or on one part, relatively to the other). When the centerlines are indeed aligned, for instance along axis X-X′ on FIG. 17, then the straightness S.sub.101 of the wooden slat 101 is corrected, in order to get close to—or optionally to reach—the nominal straightness S of such wooden slat.

[0119] The following operations may thus performed by the tooling systems 2, 3: [0120] First step: gripping different parts of wooden slat 101A, 101B with the wooden slat gripping means of each tool 21, 31, respectively. Again, the two fingers of the gripping means are properly positioned, and then approached to grip the slat. [0121] Second step: moving the wooden slat gripping means 21, 31 relatively to each other, with the wooden slat positioning means (the arms 2A and 3A), to correct the straightness of the wooden slat S.sub.101. As mentioned above, the centerlines of the gripping means C.sub.21 and C.sub.31 are aligned. [0122] Third step: positioning the wooden slat, with the wooden slat positioning means (the arms 2A and 3A), on wooden slat 111 of adjacent layer 110. [0123] Fourth step: securing wooden slat 101 together to wooden slats 111 and 117 of adjacent layer 110, with the wooden slat securing means 23 and 33. In details, slat 101 is secured to slat 111 at one part (in this example, extremity 101A), by screwdrivers 230, while slat 101 is secured to slat 117 at another part (in this example, extremity 101B), by screwdrivers 230. The screwdrivers 230 of the first tooling system 2 are laterally positioned by the linear guide 22 (if need be), the screwdriver heads are moved downwards so the screwdrivers 240 can operate the securing of the slat 101 to slat 111, at the contact zone of slats 101 and 111. Similarly, The screwdrivers 330 of the second tooling system 3 are laterally positioned by the linear guide 32 (if need be), the screwdriver heads are moved downwards so the screwdrivers 340 can operate the securing of the slat 101 to slat 117, at the contact zone of slats 101 and 117. [0124] Fifth step: releasing the wooden slat. Once the screwing is over, the screwdrivers 230 and 330 are moved upwards, and the fingers 21A, 21B, 31A, 31B are distanced from each other, so the slat 101 is released.

[0125] Again, if the slat 101′ must be secured to other slats such as slats 113, 115, 117, the arms 2A and 3A will move in order to locate the screwdrivers 230 and 330 on the contact zone of slat 101 and any other slat, and then actuate the screwing.

[0126] For each type of slat, the tooling systems may operate on the portion of the slat where it will be pressed or secured within the panel assembly. This means that, for the insulation panels, the gripping takes place in the zone where the pressure will later be made (just before the releasing of the slat). For the wooden slats, this means that the zone where the gripping means and the securing means operate is the contact zone between the wooden slat and the other wooden slat to which it is supposed to be secured (for instance, the contact zone between slats 101 and 111 in the example above).

[0127] The overall assembling process may be programmed and performed upon a panel plan, wherein the types, lengths, positions, etc. of the slats are mentioned. The tooling systems thus know what type of slat they operate, and accordingly what type of assembling steps they have to perform.

[0128] The manufacturing process can be made on a layer-by-layer basis, i.e. one layer at the time, starting from the eight layer to the first (or inversely, from the first layer to the last). In this case, the process may include a series of layer assembling cycles, each layer assembling cycle consisting of assembling one layer of the panel assembly, on a slat-by-slat basis, thereby applying the steps above depending on the type of slat considered.