Composite material placement robot and wire placement method based on multi-robot collaboration

Abstract

The present invention discloses a composite material laying robot and a wire laying method based on multi-manipulator cooperation, the robot comprising a core mold support frame, a rotating device, a plurality of manipulator arm moving tracks arranged around the rotating device, a plurality of manipulator arms arranged on each manipulator arm moving track through a translation mechanism, and a plurality of electrified tracks, the execution end of each manipulator arm is provided with a wire laying device and a depth camera for monitoring the curvature information of a to-be-laid wire area, the manipulator arm is connected to the electrified track through a sliding brush; the core mold surface is divided into a plurality of circumferential wire laying areas arranged circumferentially, and each circumferential wire laying area is further divided into a plurality of longitudinal wire laying areas arranged longitudinally; during wire laying, the manipulator arm is translated by the translation mechanism to complete wire laying for each longitudinal wire laying area, and the selection device is rotated to complete wire laying for each circumferential wire laying area, so as to realize wire laying for multiple points of the core mold at the same time, thereby greatly improving the wire laying efficiency and the wire laying quality.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of robots and relates to an aviation material placing robot, and in particular to a composite material placing robot and a wire placing method based on multi-manipulator collaboration. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, robots have been widely used in the aviation field, especially composite material placement robots have developed rapidly. At present, the placement of composite materials mainly relies on two forms: machine tool-type equipment laying and single robot modular laying. Machine tool-type equipment laying has the advantages of high forming rate and high production efficiency, but due to the limitations of the loading platform of the wire laying head, it often cannot meet the requirements of trajectory, posture adjustment and parameter control for irregular curved surface components. Single robot modular laying is currently the most widely used, stable and efficient laying form, but it is also stretched when facing complex and large-scale aviation components.

[0003] In the existing technology, the research on multi-robot collaborative placement of composite materials is still at the stage of dual-arm robot placement, and is aimed at small and small batch component placement. The multi-robot collaborative placement equipment for complex and large-scale aviation components is still under exploration and research. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of the above-mentioned deficiencies in the research of existing composite material laying robots, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a composite material laying robot based on multi-manipulator collaboration, which can perform laying operations on complex and large-scale aviation components. Taking advantage of the movable manipulator arm, replaceable wire laying device and multi-manipulator collaboration, and taking advantage of the manipulator arm's strong ability to adapt to curvature changes, high controllability and flexible movements, the composite material laying robot with multi-manipulator collaboration described in the present invention has the characteristics of high material utilization, high laying efficiency and high product performance, and has great application value in the aerospace field.

[0005] To achieve the above object, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is:

[0006] A composite material placement robot based on multi-manipulator collaboration, comprising:

[0007] A core mold support frame, used for supporting the core mold;

[0008] The rotating device provides a rotating power for the mandrel support frame, and is used to drive the mandrel support frame and the mandrel thereon to rotate, so as to switch the wire laying area on the mandrel in the circumferential direction;

[0009] A plurality of mechanical arm moving tracks are longitudinally arranged around the core mold support frame;

[0010] A plurality of robotic arms are installed on the moving track of each robotic arm through a translation mechanism. The execution end of each robotic arm is provided with a wire laying device and a depth camera for monitoring the curvature information of the area to be laid. The longitudinal position of the wire laying area on the mandrel can be switched through the translation mechanism.

[0011] A live track is arranged parallel to one side of each robot arm moving track, and each robot arm is provided with a sliding brush that cooperates with the live track for drawing electricity;

[0012] The control device is used to receive the information collected by the depth camera and the control instructions, and control the rotating device, the mechanical arm, the wire laying device and the translation mechanism to perform corresponding actions.

[0013] Furthermore, there are 2 to 10 robot arm moving tracks, the number of which is determined according to the size of the core mold and is evenly distributed around the core mold support frame.

[0014] Each robot arm moving track is provided with 2-6 robot arms, and each robot arm is limited to move within its own area through a translation mechanism.

[0015] Furthermore, the surface of the mandrel is divided into a number of circumferential wire-laying areas arranged circumferentially, and each circumferential wire-laying area is further divided into a number of longitudinal wire-laying areas arranged longitudinally; a number of manipulators on each manipulator moving track are responsible for the wire-laying work of a circumferential wire-laying area, and each manipulator is responsible for the wire-laying work of a longitudinal wire-laying area in the circumferential wire-laying area, so as to improve the wire-laying efficiency, and the rotating device rotates an angle corresponding to a circumferential wire-laying area each time it rotates. For example, if the surface of the mandrel is divided into 8 circumferential wire-laying areas and four manipulator moving tracks are set, then the rotating device only needs to rotate once to complete the wire-laying work of the 8 circumferential wire-laying areas.

[0016] Furthermore, a displacement sensor is provided on the robot arm moving track for monitoring the displacement of each robot arm, through which coordinate system positioning and conversion can be performed.

[0017] Furthermore, the control device establishes real-time communication with the depth camera, the rotating device, the robotic arm, the wire laying device and the translation mechanism, and the transmitted communication information all carries a timestamp.

[0018] Furthermore, rotating shafts are provided at both ends of the core mold support frame, and the rotating shafts at both ends of the core mold support frame are respectively installed on the ground or a base through a supporting platform.

[0019] Furthermore, the rotating device is a servo motor, and the servo motor is connected to the rotating shaft at the end of the core mold support frame through a coupling, so that the rotation angle can be accurately controlled by the servo motor.

[0020] Furthermore, the control device includes an industrial computer and a display, and the display is used to display wire laying information.

[0021] Before use, first select a reference point to establish a world coordinate system, calibrate each robotic arm to obtain a coordinate conversion matrix, and convert the wire laying device at the end of each robotic arm into coordinates in the world coordinate system for control.

[0022] Furthermore, a suitable structure (such as a clamping mechanism) is designed at the end of the robot arm to fix the wire placing device, thereby ensuring the stability and ease of replacement of the wire placing device during the wire placing process.

[0023] Furthermore, each robot is mounted on its own robot base, which is mounted on the corresponding robot moving track through a translation mechanism; therefore, the relative position relationship between the robot base coordinate systems can be known. Based on the relative position relationship of the base coordinate system and combined with the coordinate conversion process, the industrial computer can solve the target point of the wire laying device at any time, that is, the relative position relationship between each wire laying device and the core mold surface.

[0024] Furthermore, the translation mechanism can be a manual adjustment mechanism, and the displacement is recorded by a displacement sensor after each adjustment so as to obtain the conversion matrix between the robot arm base coordinate system and the world coordinate system. The translation mechanism can also be set as an automatic adjustment mechanism, such as a screw-nut mechanism, a gear rack mechanism, a synchronous belt mechanism, an electric push rod and other linear motion mechanisms, and the specific form is not limited.

[0025] During the entire wire laying process, the wire laying device is fixed at the end of the robotic arm and follows the robotic arm to adjust its posture. Based on the forward kinematics of the robotic arm and the posture transformation matrix of the wire laying device relative to the end of the robotic arm, the posture of the wire laying device in the coordinate system of the wire laying robot arm base can be calculated and sent to the industrial computer, and the posture data is accompanied by a system timestamp.

[0026] Furthermore, the core mold support frame supports and fixes the core mold, rotates the core mold support frame through the servo motor, adjusts the position of the core mold, and cooperates with 8 mechanical arms to perform laying operations. The servo motor establishes a real-time communication mechanism with the industrial computer, and the industrial computer can obtain the position information of the core mold and the position information of the coordinate system in the servo motor coordinate system in real time, and this information carries a system timestamp.

[0027] Furthermore, the depth camera is fixed on each wire laying device, respectively, so the position relationship of the camera on each wire laying device relative to the respective robot arm base is known. The depth camera scans the area to be laid on the core mold, and generates a position point cloud and sends it to the industrial computer. The point cloud information carries a system timestamp. By calibrating the depth camera, the coordinates and normal vectors of discrete sampling points on the surface of the core mold in the coordinate system of the robot arm base can be calculated. The curvature change of the core mold can be identified by the point coordinates and normal vector of the area to be laid. According to the curvature change, the posture of the wire laying device is adjusted in real time through the robot arm, so that the wire laying device is at the optimal wire laying angle, that is, during the wire laying process, the pressure direction of the pressure wheel is the same as the normal vector of the corresponding wire laying point.

[0028] Furthermore, the industrial computer can record the position information of each robot arm base, and the robot arm can move on the robot arm moving track to expand its own wire laying work area. Of course, the movement range of each robot arm is limited on the robot arm moving track to prevent collision. When a robot arm is damaged, it can be disassembled and then the movement range of the robot arm on the robot arm moving track can be re-limited.

[0029] Furthermore, the robotic arm may be a multi-degree-of-freedom robotic arm, or may be a six-axis robotic arm.

[0030] Further preferably, the wire placing device is installed at the end of the robot arm through a three-dimensional posture adjustment device, and a three-dimensional posture sensor can also be provided on the wire placing device to correct the posture calculated by the kinematics of the robot arm.

[0031] The present invention also provides a composite material laying method based on multi-robot collaboration, using the above-mentioned composite material laying robot, comprising the following steps:

[0032] Step 1: Prepare a composite material placement robot and install the core mold of the workpiece to be processed on the core mold support frame;

[0033] Step 2, dividing the surface of the mandrel into a number of circumferential wire-laying areas arranged circumferentially, each of which is further divided into a number of longitudinal wire-laying areas arranged longitudinally, driving the mandrel to rotate by a rotating device so that the wire-laying device on the robot arm reaches the initial position of the circumferential wire-laying area on the mandrel, and resetting each robot arm to the longitudinal initial position on the robot arm moving track;

[0034] Step 3, start the wire laying device to lay wire on the core mold. When the wire laying exceeds the moving range of the robot arm, the translation mechanism is used to drive the longitudinal movement of the core mold to continue laying wire until the wire laying of all longitudinal wire laying areas in a circumferential wire laying area is completed;

[0035] Step 4, start the rotating device to drive the mandrel to rotate a circumferential wire-laying area angle, so that all the robot arms are in the new circumferential wire-laying area, repeat step 3, and complete the wire-laying of all longitudinal wire-laying areas in the new circumferential wire-laying area;

[0036] Step 5: Repeat step 4 until all circumferential wire laying areas are completed and the composite wire is laid on the mandrel.

[0037] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0038] 1. The method of combining the electrified track with the robot track eliminates the tedious wiring operation, makes the robot move more flexibly, expands the working area of ​​a single robot, and is more suitable for large-scale core mold structures with high complexity.

[0039] 2. By replacing the wire laying device, the equipment can switch between wire laying and tape laying, or even some robotic arms can lay wires and some robotic arms can lay tapes at the same time, making the laying system more targeted and compatible.

[0040] 3. A coordinate system is established with the center of the servo motor as the reference, and an independent base coordinate system is established for each robotic arm. Through the relative conversion between coordinates, the position and posture description of each part of the robotic arm in the coordinate system is unified. The position and posture information of any robotic arm can be obtained at any time, which greatly improves the controllability of the placement operation.

[0041] 4. During the wire laying process, the robotic arms cooperate with each other and their positions can be adjusted at any time. Then they perform composite material laying operations without interfering with each other, thus improving the accuracy and continuity of wire laying.

[0042] 5. The present invention limits the wire laying operation area of ​​each robotic arm to the nearest wire laying operation area, and then expands the wire laying operation area through a translation mechanism and a rotation device, thereby realizing multi-point simultaneous operation without mutual interference, thereby greatly improving the wire laying operation efficiency while ensuring the quality of the wire laying operation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043] Figure 1 It is an overall appearance diagram of the composite material placement robot based on multi-manipulator collaboration according to the present invention;

[0044] Figure 2 It is a partial appearance diagram of the robotic arm base of the composite material placement robot based on multi-robotic arm collaboration described in the present invention.

[0045] Figure 3 It is the control framework of the composite material placement robot based on multi-mechanical arm collaboration described in the present invention.

[0046] Among them, 1-servo motor, 2-core mold, 3-robotic arm, 4-electric track, 5-core mold support frame, 6-support table, 7-display, 8-mouse, 9-industrial computer, 10-depth camera, 11-wire laying device, 12-displacement sensor, 13-sliding brush, 14-robotic arm base, 15-robotic arm moving track, 16-circumferential wire laying area, 17-longitudinal wire laying area. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] In order to make the technical problems and technical solutions to be solved by the present invention clearer, the composite material placement robot based on multi-manipulator collaboration provided by the present invention is described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments, which are intended to explain the present invention rather than to limit it.

[0048] Example 1.

[0049] See also Figure 1 and Figure 2 A composite material placement robot based on multi-manipulator collaboration includes a servo motor 1, a core mold support frame 5, 8 manipulators 3 and 4 manipulator moving rails 15, wherein the core mold support frame 5 is provided with rotating shafts at both ends, and the rotating shafts at both ends of the core mold support frame 5 are respectively installed on the ground through supporting platforms 6, and the servo motor 1 is connected to the rotating shaft at the left end of the core mold support frame 5 through a coupling, so as to drive the core mold support frame 5 and the core mold 2 thereon to rotate; the 8 manipulators 3 are installed on the manipulator moving rails 15 in two layers, and two manipulators 3 are installed on each manipulator moving rail 15 on average, and an electrified rail 4 is arranged next to each manipulator moving rail 15. Each robot arm 3 is fixed on its own robot arm base 14. At the corresponding position on the electrified track 4 next to the robot arm moving track 15, each robot arm 3 is equipped with a sliding brush 13. The sliding brush 13 is connected to the robot arm base 14. The power brush of the sliding brush 13 can move on the electrified track 4 to draw power as the robot arm 3 moves. The robot arm 3 uses a six-axis robot arm. The number of joint axes of each robot arm 3 is not limited to this, but should be at least six axes or more. If the center position of the servo motor 1 is selected to establish a coordinate system and defined as a world coordinate system, in addition, each robot arm base 14 is equipped with a displacement sensor 12 to locate the coordinates of the robot arm 3 when it moves. We can obtain the position and coordinates of each wire laying device in the world coordinate system. Through the conversion calculation between coordinate systems and the measurement of the actual position of the robot arm moving track, the posture of the robot arm 3 can be expressed in the world coordinate system, especially the end posture of the robot arm can be tracked in real time in the world coordinate system.

[0050] For further information, see Figure 1The middle dotted line divides the surface of the mandrel 2 into a plurality of circumferentially arranged and distributed circumferentially wire-laying areas 16, each of which is further divided into a plurality of longitudinally arranged and distributed longitudinally wire-laying areas 17. The mandrel 2 is driven to rotate by the servo motor 1, so that the wire-laying device 11 on the robot arm 3 reaches the initial position of the circumferentially arranged and distributed area 16 on the mandrel 2, and each robot arm 3 is reset to the longitudinal initial position on the robot arm moving track 15;

[0051] For further information, see Figure 1 The core mold support frame 5 fixes the core mold 2 and can drive the core mold 2 to rotate accordingly. When the position of the core mold 2 needs to be adjusted, the industrial computer 9 issues a command to make the servo motor 1 drive the core mold support frame 5 to rotate a certain angle to adjust the surface position of the core mold 2. Here, the support platform 6 plays the role of supporting the core mold support frame 5. The robot arm moving track 15 and the live track are partially fixed at the upper end and partially fixed on the ground.

[0052] For further information, see Figure 2 , 8 depth cameras 10 are respectively fixed on 8 wire laying devices 11, so the position relationship of the depth camera 10 on each wire laying device 11 relative to the respective robot base 15 is known. The depth camera 10 scans the area to be laid on the core mold, and generates a position point cloud and sends it to the industrial computer 9. The point cloud information carries a system timestamp. By calibrating the depth camera, the coordinates and normal vectors of the discrete sampling points on the surface of the core mold 2 in the robot base coordinate system can be calculated.

[0053] For further information, see Figure 2 The depth camera 10 is fixed in the wire laying direction of the wire laying device 11, so as to obtain the geometric information of the area to be laid in the core mold 2 in advance (mainly the curvature change information, which is judged and calculated by comparing the normal vector of the coordinate point).

[0054] For further information, see Figure 1 and Figure 3, the industrial computer 9 can record the position information of the 8 robot arm bases 15. Each robot arm 3 has its own optimal wire laying area. The robot arm 3 can move on the robot arm moving track 15 to expand its longitudinal wire laying work area. Of course, the movement range of each robot arm 3 is limited on the robot arm moving track 15 to prevent collision. When a robot arm 3 is damaged, it can be disassembled and then the movement range of the robot arm 3 on the robot arm moving track 15 can be redefined. When the area to be laid cannot be captured (all laying is completed in a circumferential wire laying area 16), the industrial computer 9 issues a command to make the servo motor 1 drive the core mold support frame 5 to rotate a certain angle, and the 8 wire laying devices begin to capture the position information of the core mold 2 in the coordinate system, and this information carries a system timestamp. According to the coordinate conversion relationship, the industrial computer 9 can also obtain the position of the wire threading and laying device 11 and the core mold 2 in the world coordinate system in real time. After data integration and processing, the industrial computer 9 can display the relative position image of the core mold surface 2 and the wire laying device 11 on the display 7. The wire laying path and the geometric information of the core mold 2 can be observed on the display 7 through the mouse 8. The industrial computer 9 displays the planned path and the collected geometric information of the core mold 2 on the display 7; then observe whether the actual posture of each robot arm 3 and the core mold is normal, and confirm that it is consistent with the plan. After confirmation, click the start wire laying option again through the mouse 8, and the wire laying device 11 starts laying wire.

[0055] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention, but not to limit the present invention. Although the present invention is described in detail with reference to the embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various combinations, modifications or equivalent substitutions of the technical solutions of the present invention do not depart from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present invention, and should be included in the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A composite material placement method based on multi-robot collaboration, wherein the composite material placement robot used comprises: A core mold support frame, used for supporting the core mold; The rotating device provides a rotating power for the mandrel support frame, and is used to drive the mandrel support frame and the mandrel thereon to rotate, so as to switch the wire laying area on the mandrel in a circumferential direction; A plurality of mechanical arm moving tracks are longitudinally arranged around the core mold support frame; A plurality of robotic arms are installed on the moving track of each robotic arm through a translation mechanism. The execution end of each robotic arm is provided with a wire laying device and a depth camera for monitoring the curvature information of the area to be laid. The longitudinal position of the wire laying area on the mandrel can be switched through the translation mechanism. A live track is arranged parallel to one side of each robot arm moving track, and each robot arm is provided with a sliding brush that cooperates with the live track for drawing electricity; as well as A control device, used to receive the information and control instructions collected by the depth camera, and control the rotating device, the mechanical arm, the wire laying device and the translation mechanism to perform corresponding actions; The control device includes an industrial computer and a display, and the display is used to display wire laying information; The composite material laying method comprises the following steps: Step 1: Prepare a composite material placement robot and install the core mold of the irregular curved surface workpiece to be processed on the core mold support frame; Step 2, dividing the surface of the mandrel into a number of circumferential wire-laying areas arranged circumferentially, each of which is further divided into a number of longitudinal wire-laying areas arranged longitudinally, driving the mandrel to rotate by a rotating device so that the wire-laying device on the robot arm reaches the initial position of the circumferential wire-laying area on the mandrel, and resetting each robot arm to the longitudinal initial position on the robot arm moving track; Step 3, start the wire laying device to lay wire on the core mold. When the wire laying exceeds the moving range of the robot arm, the translation mechanism is used to drive the longitudinal movement of the core mold to continue laying wire until the wire laying of all longitudinal wire laying areas in a circumferential wire laying area is completed; Step 4, start the rotating device to drive the mandrel to rotate a circumferential wire-laying area angle, so that all the robot arms are in the new circumferential wire-laying area, repeat step 3, and complete the wire-laying of all longitudinal wire-laying areas in the new circumferential wire-laying area; Step 5, repeat step 4 until all circumferential wire laying areas are completed, and the composite wire material is laid on the mandrel; The depth camera scans the area to be laid on the core mold and generates a position point cloud that is sent to the industrial computer. The point cloud information carries a system timestamp. The coordinates and normal vectors of discrete sampling points on the surface of the core mold in the coordinate system of the robot base are calculated by calibrating the depth camera. The curvature changes of the core mold can be identified through the point coordinates and normal vectors of the area to be laid. The posture of the wire laying device can be adjusted in real time through the robot arm according to the curvature changes, so that the wire laying device is at the optimal wire laying angle.

2. The composite material placement method based on multi-robot collaboration according to claim 1, characterized in that: At least two robotic arms are arranged on each robotic arm moving track, and each robotic arm is limited to move within its own area by a translation mechanism.

3. The composite material placement method based on multi-robot collaboration according to claim 2 is characterized in that: A displacement sensor is provided on the mechanical arm moving track for monitoring the displacement of each mechanical arm.

4. The composite material placement method based on multi-robot collaboration according to claim 3 is characterized in that: The control device establishes real-time communication with the depth camera, the rotating device, the robotic arm, the wire laying device and the translation mechanism, and the transmitted communication information all carries a timestamp.

5. The composite material placement method based on multi-robot collaboration according to claim 1, characterized in that: The two ends of the core mold support frame are provided with rotating shafts, and the rotating shafts at the two ends of the core mold support frame are respectively installed on the ground or the base through the supporting platform.

6. The composite material placement method based on multi-robot collaboration according to claim 5, characterized in that: The rotating device is a servo motor, and the servo motor is connected to the core mold support frame through a coupling.

7. The composite material placement method based on multi-robot collaboration according to claim 1, characterized in that: The number of the mechanical arm moving tracks is 2 to 10 and they are evenly distributed around the core mold support frame.

8. The composite material placement method based on multi-robot collaboration according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step 1 of preparing the composite material placement robot, first select a reference point to establish a world coordinate system, and convert the wire placement device at the end of each robot arm into coordinates in the world coordinate system for control.

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