METHOD AND DEVICES FOR PICKING AND PLACING WORKPIECES INTO DEVICES UNDER MANUFACTURE USING DUAL ROBOTS
A device includes a first robot configured to move along a common X-axis and parallel to a Y-axis and a Z-axis. A second robot is configured to move along the common X-axis and parallel to the Y-axis and the Z-axis. A motor assembly coupled to the workpiece supply tray is configured to move the workpiece supply tray at least after the first robot has picked the workpiece to reduce a distance travelled by the first robot or second robot when a next workpiece is picked from the moved workpiece supply tray. In another aspect, a device includes a first and second robots configured for movement parallel to a Z-axis and to a Y-axis. A workpiece supply tray is configured to support a supply of workpieces, and a motor assembly coupled to the workpiece supply tray is configured to relocate the workpiece supply tray.
This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/868,320, entitled “METHOD AND DEVICES FOR PICKING AND PLACING WORKPIECES INTO DEVICES UNDER MANUFACTURE USING DUAL ROBOTS” (Atty. Docket No. LP7753-PRI-US-1), filed on Sep. 28, 2015, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUNDDuring the manufacturing of devices (e.g., mechanical, electromechanical, and electrical devices), an assembly device is typically utilized to connect components of the device under manufacture or assembly. Due to the complexity of high-tech devices, and the cost competitiveness of the high-tech industry, the components of high-tech devices need to be assembled in a precise, time effective, and cost-efficient manner. Examples of high-tech devices may include: computing devices, data storage devices, computing devices, mobile devices, and the like.
Complex devices may include many components and the manufacture thereof may require a longer assembly line that include a large number of manufacturing stations to carry out batch assembly activities. Some automation processes feature a single robot controlling a single tool, with each tool having robot-mounted camera that is used to take a picture before picking a component, with the same robot-mounted camera being used to take picture before placing the part onto the device under manufacture. Material or parts may be kept on fixed component tray, which requires the robot to travel (worst case scenario) all the way to the last position of the last part to be placed, which is costly in terms of both time and wear and tear of the tool.
One embodiment, therefore, is a device configured to pick and place workpieces intended for devices under manufacture or assembly. According to one embodiment, such a device, which may be characterized as a robotic assembly station, may comprise both a first robot and a second robot. One, or both of these first and second robots may be configured to pick and place workpieces intended for devices under manufacture or assembly. Alternatively, one or both of the first and second robots may be configured for other activities that do not require such a pick and place operation. According to one embodiment, the first and second robots may pick and place workpieces for the same device under manufacture or for different devices under manufacture. In so doing, the robot station may assist in high throughput, accurate manufacturing activities.
The device may, according to one embodiment, be configured to operate in a clean room environment such as, for example, a class 1-10 clean room environment suitable for some or all of the assembly process.
As shown in
The first end-effector 202 may comprise, for example, a gripper, such as a vacuum gripper or a two or three jaw gripper, for example. Alternatively, the first end effector 202 may comprise a screwdriver, welder, vacuum head, or other well-known types of robotic tools to act upon or otherwise engage a workpiece and/or the device under manufacture. Exemplary workpieces for data storage devices may include, for example, memory chips, head stack assemblies, ramps, disks, screws, fasteners and the like.
Returning now to
Similar to the first end effector 202, the second end-effector 204 may comprise, for example, a gripper, such as a vacuum gripper or a two or three jaw gripper, for example. Alternatively, the second end effector 204 may comprise a screwdriver, welder, vacuum head, or other well-known types of robotic tools to act upon or otherwise engage a workpiece and/or the device under manufacture. The first and second end effectors may be of the same type or the first and second end effectors may be of different types, configured for different demands.
The first robot 104 may be configured to move together with the second robot 106 or independently thereof. Similarly, the end effectors 202, 204 may be configured to act in unison or independently of one another. For example, the first robot 104 may be controlled to move according to a first predetermined set of movements along the common X-axis and parallel to the Y and Z axes while the second robot may be simultaneously controlled for a second predetermined set of movements along the common X-axis and parallel to the Y and Z axes (or for no movement at all). Similarly, the first end effector 202 may be configured to carry out a given task while the second end effector may be configured to carry out a same or a different task, before, during or after the first end effector carries out its given task upon the same or a different device under manufacture.
In one embodiment, for example, a first robot-mounted camera may be attached to the first robot 104 and a second robot-mounted camera may be attached to the second robot 106. Such robot-mounted cameras may, therefore, be configured to move along with the first and second robots 104, 106 and the images taken thereby may be used, for example, for calibration purposes to find the location from where the part or workpiece may be picked. Other cameras may be provided such as, for example, upward-looking cameras provided underneath the device or devices under manufacture or assembly, for guidance purposes and/or for quality control. In one implementation, an upward-looking camera may be centered on a calibration assembly such as a reticule, to precisely calibrate the position of the first and/or second robots, among other purposes.
According to one embodiment, the first and second X-axis driven elements 112, 114 each may comprise a linear motor configured to drive the first and second robots 104, 106 along the common X-axis defined by the track 108. Similarly, the first and second Z-axis driven elements 116 each may comprise a linear motor configured to drive the first and second robots 104, 106 parallel to the Z-axis. Also, the first and second Y-axis driven elements 122, 124 each comprise a linear motor configured to drive the first and second robots 104, 106 parallel to the Y-axis. According to one embodiment, the first and second robots 104, 106 may also comprise a motor configured for rotation about a theta axis; that is, moved about a predetermined axis or rotation, in addition to movement along the common X-axis and the Y and Z axes.
In one embodiment, the first and/or second end-effector 202, 204 may be configured to remove one or more workpieces, such as workpieces 402 in
In
As suggested in
According to one embodiment, the first robot further may comprise a first end-effector and the method may further comprise the controller(s) guiding the first end effector based upon one or more images (still and/or video) obtained from one or more first cameras mounted to the first robot and/or one or more second cameras fixed above the first robot. The method may also comprise attaching the first end effector to a first Y-axis driven element configured to move the first robot parallel to the Y-axis. The first Y-axis driven element may be attached to a first Z-axis driven element that is configured to move the first robot parallel to the Z-axis and the first Z-axis driven element may be attached to a first X-axis driven element that is configured to move the first robot along the common X-axis.
The second robot, according to one embodiment, may further comprise a second end-effector and the method may further comprise guiding the second end effector based upon one or more images (still and/or video) obtained from a third camera mounted to the second robot and/or a fourth camera fixed above the second robot. In one embodiment, the second end effector may be attached to a second Y-axis driven element configured to move the second robot parallel to the Y-axis. The second Y-axis driven element may be attached to a second Z-axis driven element that is configured to move the second robot parallel to the Z-axis and the second Z-axis driven element may be attached to a second X-axis driven element configured to move the second robot along the common X-axis. The device may further comprise one or more workpiece supply trays configured to support a supply of workpieces to be integrated into the device or devices under manufacture by the first and/or second robots. The method may further comprise moving the workpiece supply tray after a workpiece is removed therefrom, as discussed relative to
Significantly, one embodiment comprising dual first and second robots is less costly, occupies less factory floor real estate and enables an increase in the throughput, as compared to conventional, single robot devices. Moreover, as compared to conventional XYZ configurations, in which the end of the arm tooling is mounted to the Z axis, the actual moment arm to the Y axis includes weight of Z axis as well as that of the tooling, which configuration imposes limitations on the speed at which the actuators may be moved and requires heavy duty bearing sets. These constraints are lessened according to one embodiment, as the end effector is coupled to the Y-axis driven element, which is coupled to the Z-driven element. Lighter bearings may be used and higher speeds may be achieved using this configuration than had previously been possible.
While certain example embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments disclosed herein. Thus, nothing in the foregoing description is intended to imply that any particular feature, characteristic, step, module, or block is necessary or indispensable. Indeed, the novel methods and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the methods and systems described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the embodiments disclosed herein.
Claims
1. A device, comprising:
- a workpiece supply tray;
- a first robot configured to move along a common X-axis and parallel to a Y-axis and a Z-axis, the first robot including a first end-effector configured to pick a workpiece from the workpiece supply tray and to place the picked-up workpiece on or in a device under manufacture;
- a second robot configured to move along the common X-axis and parallel to the Y-axis and the Z-axis, the second robot including a second end-effector; and
- a motor assembly coupled to the workpiece supply tray and configured to move the workpiece supply tray at least after the first robot has picked the workpiece therefrom so as to reduce a distance travelled by the first robot or second robot when a next workpiece is picked from the moved workpiece supply tray.
2. The device of claim 1, wherein the motor assembly is further configured to move the workpiece supply tray parallel to at least one of the common X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis.
3. The device of claim 1, wherein the second robot is configured to move independently of the first robot.
4. The device of claim 1, further comprising a controller configured to determine movement of the workpiece supply tray to minimize movement of at least one of the first robot and the second robot.
5. The device of claim 1, wherein the workpiece supply tray includes slots or molded recesses for presenting workpieces in at least one of a known location or a known orientation on the workpiece supply tray.
6. The device of claim 1, further comprising:
- a second workpiece supply tray; and
- a second motor assembly coupled to the second workpiece supply tray and configured to move the second workpiece supply tray at least after the first robot or the second robot has picked a second workpiece therefrom so as to reduce a distance travelled by the first robot or the second robot.
7. A method, comprising:
- providing a device including: a workpiece supply tray; a first robot including a first end-effector configured to pick a workpiece from the workpiece supply tray and to place the picked-up workpiece on or in a device under manufacture; a second robot including a second end-effector; and a motor assembly coupled to the workpiece supply tray; and
- wherein the method further comprises:
- moving the first robot along a common X-axis and parallel to a Y-axis and a Z-axis;
- moving the second robot along the common X-axis and parallel to the Y-axis and the Z-axis; and
- moving the workpiece supply tray using the motor assembly at least after the first robot has picked the workpiece therefrom so as to reduce a distance travelled by the first robot or the second robot when a next workpiece is picked from the moved workpiece supply tray.
8. The method of claim 7, further comprising using the motor assembly to move the workpiece supply tray parallel to at least one of the common X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis.
9. The method of claim 7, further comprising moving the second robot independently of the first robot.
10. The method of claim 7, further comprising determining movement of the workpiece supply tray to minimize movement of at least one of the first robot and the second robot.
11. The method of claim 7, wherein the workpiece supply tray includes slots or molded recesses for presenting workpieces in at least one of a known location and a known orientation on the workpiece supply tray.
12. The method of claim 7, further comprising moving a second workpiece supply tray using a second motor assembly at least after the first robot or the second robot has picked a second workpiece from the second workpiece supply tray so as to reduce a distance travelled by the first robot or the second robot.
13. A device, comprising:
- a first robot configured for movement parallel to a Z-axis and to a Y-axis and including a first X-axis driven element configured for movement parallel to an X-axis;
- a second robot configured for movement parallel to the Z-axis and to the Y-axis and including a second X-axis driven element configured for movement parallel to the X-axis;
- a workpiece supply tray configured to support a supply of workpieces to be integrated into a device or devices under manufacture by at least one of the first and second robots; and
- a motor assembly coupled to the workpiece supply tray and configured to relocate the workpiece supply tray.
14. The device of claim 13, wherein the first robot and the second robot are configured to move along a common X-axis.
15. The device of claim 13, wherein the first robot includes a first end-effector configured to pick a workpiece from the workpiece supply tray and to place the picked-up workpiece on or in a device under manufacture.
16. The device of claim 13, wherein the motor assembly is further configured to relocate the workpiece supply tray parallel to at least one of the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis.
17. The device of claim 13, wherein the second robot is configured to move independently of the first robot.
18. The device of claim 13, further comprising a controller configured to determine movement of the workpiece supply tray to minimize movement of at least one of the first robot and the second robot.
19. The device of claim 13, wherein the workpiece supply tray includes slots or molded recesses for presenting workpieces in at least one of a known location or a known orientation on the workpiece supply tray.
20. The device of claim 13, further comprising:
- a second workpiece supply tray; and
- a second motor assembly coupled to the second workpiece supply tray and configured to relocate the second workpiece supply tray.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 26, 2018
Publication Date: Nov 22, 2018
Inventors: Jambunathan Vangal-Ramamurthy (San Jose, CA), Rahool Vasudevan (San Jose, CA), Roberto Perez (Salinas, CA)
Application Number: 16/046,232