A wire and electrical connector automatic welding system based on a machine vision robot

Abstract

The application belongs to the technical field of connectors, and particularly relates to a wire and electric connector automatic welding system based on a machine vision robot, which comprises a control box, a six-axis collaborative robot, a vision system, a clamping finger tip device, a seven-axis soldering robot, an electric connector positioning device and a wire positioning device. The welding system is cooperated by two robots, the wire grabbing and welding diversification actions are realized by the clamping finger tip device, the vision system positions the electric connector placed in the electric connector positioning device, the intelligent clamping hand of the six-axis collaborative robot is guided to clamp the wire and move to the electric connector pin to implement welding. The application does not need an operator to hold an electric soldering iron for welding, the welding of wires and electric connectors of various specifications and models is completed by the cooperation of the two robots under the guidance of the vision system, the work station and the robot running track can be optimized according to the site conditions, the work efficiency is improved, the labor intensity is reduced, and the standardization of operation is facilitated.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of connector technology, specifically relating to an automatic welding system for wires and electrical connectors based on machine vision robots. Background Technology

[0002] In the product realization process, most electrical interconnections between component units and systems are achieved through wires and electrical connectors. Wires and electrical connectors are the basic components for electrical connections and signal transmission, and are widely used in military and civilian electronic and electrical products such as aviation, aerospace, and weaponry. Based on the current domestic technology, the automation of wire welding remains a challenge. The welding of wires and electrical connectors is still dominated by manual operation, with a production organization mode that is mainly labor-intensive.

[0003] The existing soldering method involves fixing the electrical connector to a vise, and the operator adjusts the soldering angle, holding the soldering iron in one hand and grasping the wires and solder wires with the other to complete the tinning and soldering operations. Electrical connectors generally have multiple rows of pins, and the observation angle required to solder each row of wires to the pins is different, which is not conducive to the operator's observation and operation, thus affecting the consistency and reliability of the soldering, and also resulting in low work efficiency.

[0004] With the advancement of technology, the development of current visual recognition technology and multi-joint collaborative robot technology has made it possible to overcome this technical bottleneck. Summary of the Invention

[0005] (a) Technical problems to be solved

[0006] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is: how to provide an automatic wire welding system based on machine vision robot to address the shortcomings of existing welding methods. The technical problems to be solved are: (1) solving the fixing and positioning of electrical connectors and realizing the fixing of multiple electrical connectors at one time; (2) changing the tinning of electrical connectors from manual to robotic tinning, thereby improving work efficiency; and (3) realizing the automatic welding of electrical connector wires.

[0007] (II) Technical Solution

[0008] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention provides an automatic welding system for wires and electrical connectors based on machine vision robots. The welding system includes: a control box, a six-axis collaborative robot, a vision system, a fingertip gripper, a seven-axis soldering robot, an electrical connector positioning device, and a wire positioning device.

[0009] The welding system uses two robots working together to perform various actions of grasping and welding wires through a fingertip gripper. The vision system positions the electrical connector placed in the electrical connector positioning device and guides the intelligent gripper of the six-axis collaborative robot to move the wire to the pin of the electrical connector for welding.

[0010] The seven-axis soldering robot is fixed at the soldering station;

[0011] A wire positioning device is provided on one side of the welding station, and the electrical connector positioning device is fixed on the welding table of the seven-axis soldering robot.

[0012] The seven-axis soldering robot includes a soldering table, a temperature control device, and a solder feeding device; the electrical connector positioning device is mounted on the movable soldering table along a horizontal line.

[0013] The vision system is mounted on the robotic arm of the six-axis collaborative robot. The intelligent gripper is located at the end of the robotic arm. The fingertip gripping device is connected to the intelligent gripper and has a V-shaped structure, which is designed to be openable and gripping.

[0014] The electrical connector positioning device is used to orient and fix multiple electrical connectors.

[0015] The electrical connector positioning device includes: a base, a positioning plate, a movable fixing plate, a fixing plate, a fastening screw, and a magnet;

[0016] The fixed electrical connectors are tilted 45° or 90° toward the operator for easy soldering; different specifications and sizes of electrical connectors can be easily fixed by quickly sliding the movable fixing plate, and finally all electrical connectors are pressed together by tightening the fixing screw to push the movable fixing plate.

[0017] The wire positioning device includes a wire positioning groove, in which wires are arranged sequentially and placed. The wires are fixed by a snap ring, and the diameter of the wire positioning groove matches the diameter of the wire.

[0018] The wire positioning device includes: a base, a wire positioning groove, a column, a positioning plate, and a retaining spring; the wires are arranged and placed in the wire positioning groove in sequence, and the retaining spring fixes the wires. The diameter of the wire positioning groove matches the diameter of the wire. The number of wires that can be loaded at one time can be increased by lengthening the base and increasing the number of wire positioning grooves.

[0019] The automatic welding system for wires and electrical connectors includes the following steps during operation:

[0020] Step 1: The robotic arm of the six-axis collaborative robot, equipped with a vision system, reaches the wire positioning device and takes a picture of the wire's position.

[0021] Step 2: The robotic arm of the six-axis collaborative robot obtains the wire positioning data information. The control box issues a command based on the wire positioning data information to control the fingertip gripping device to pick up the wire.

[0022] Step 3: The robotic arm of the six-axis collaborative robot moves to the electrical connector positioning device, and the vision system positions and photographs the electrical connector.

[0023] Step 4: The control box obtains the electrical connector positioning data and drives the six-axis collaborative robot to move the wire to the position of the electrical connector pin that needs to be soldered;

[0024] Step 5: Instruct the seven-axis soldering robot to perform wire soldering operations via communication or external output signals;

[0025] Step 6: After welding is completed, instruct the six-axis collaborative robot to release the robotic arm, i.e., release the wire, and move to the original position to perform the next cycle of gripping, positioning, and welding operations.

[0026] The six-axis collaborative robot is equipped with an intelligent gripper that positions and grasps the wire. The vision system performs secondary positioning of the electrical connector placed in the electrical connector positioning device, completes feature extraction and matching, obtains accurate coordinate information, and the intelligent gripper moves the wire to the correct pin position of the electrical connector.

[0027] The six-axis collaborative robot communicates with the seven-axis soldering robot. The seven-axis soldering robot completes the soldering of the wires and electrical connectors according to the set program. After the solder joint solidifies, the gripper releases and detaches from the wire.

[0028] The vision system and intelligent gripper on the six-axis collaborative robot return to the wire positioning device to pick up the next wire, completing the identification and soldering of another electrical connector pin;

[0029] The seven-axis soldering robot adopts seven-axis linkage control, and the soldering iron angle can be automatically changed at will, which can effectively make contact with heat conduction; when the program is called, the soldering angle is automatically restored, which can realize the rapid change of product types;

[0030] The intelligent gripper has two adaptive parallel mechanical joint fingers, and the foremost fingertip gripping device is used to grip wires. The fingertip has a double V-shaped structure.

[0031] The vision system has two functions: first, it performs preliminary positioning of the wire to be grasped and sends the positioning data to the six-axis collaborative robot to guide the robotic arm to perform the grasping work; second, it performs precise positioning of the pins of the electrical connector to be welded and sends the coordinate information of the pins to the six-axis collaborative robot, which then moves the wire to the correct pin position, and the seven-axis welding robot performs the next welding operation.

[0032] The vision system uses an intelligent camera with built-in software and algorithms. After the intelligent camera takes a picture of the cross-section of the electrical connector, it compares it with the template features to complete the image preprocessing, locates the X and Y positions, angles and range changes of the pins, calculates the welding position deviation angle and transmits it to the six-axis collaborative robot. The position coordinates of the camera and the position coordinates of the robotic arm are uniformly converted to complete the coordinate conversion.

[0033] The vision system on the six-axis collaborative robot identifies, adjusts and corrects the angle of the wire to be grasped, and sends the position information to the robotic arm; the welded electrical connector is placed in the electrical connector positioning device, and the electrical connector and the electrical connector positioning device are regarded as a whole.

[0034] The six-axis collaborative robot controls the intelligent gripper of the robotic arm terminal to grasp the wire at the wire positioning device and accurately place the wire at the pin position of the electrical connector. The seven-axis soldering robot then completes the soldering of the wire to the connector. Once the wire is removed from the gripper's fingertip device, the robotic arm returns to the wire positioning device to pick up the next wire.

[0035] The collaborative welding between the six-axis collaborative robot and the seven-axis soldering robot is controlled by welding, idle point, output, and input commands. The two robots communicate with each other through I / O and cooperate with each other through the combination of idle point commands to complete the welding of a single solder joint.

[0036] (III) Beneficial Effects

[0037] This invention combines automation and information technology with intelligent recognition technology to realize a system that automatically welds wires and electrical connectors together.

[0038] Compared with existing technologies, the technical solution provided by this invention does not require operators to hold a soldering iron for soldering. Under the guidance of a vision system, two robots work together to complete the soldering of wires and electrical connectors of various specifications and models. According to the site conditions, the work station and robot running trajectory can be optimized to improve work efficiency, reduce labor intensity, and facilitate the standardization of operations. Attached Figure Description

[0039] Figure 1 This is a flowchart illustrating the principle of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the fingertip clamping device of the present invention;

[0042] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the wire positioning device of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the electrical connector positioning device of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0044] To make the objectives, contents, and advantages of the present invention clearer, the specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples.

[0045] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention provides an automatic welding system for wires and electrical connectors based on machine vision robots. The welding system includes: a control box, a six-axis collaborative robot, a vision system, a fingertip gripper, a seven-axis soldering robot, an electrical connector positioning device, and a wire positioning device.

[0046] The welding system uses two robots working together to perform various actions of grasping and welding wires through a fingertip gripper. The vision system positions the electrical connector placed in the electrical connector positioning device and guides the intelligent gripper of the six-axis collaborative robot to move the wire to the pin of the electrical connector for welding.

[0047] The seven-axis soldering robot is fixed at the soldering station;

[0048] A wire positioning device is provided on one side of the welding station, and the electrical connector positioning device is fixed on the welding table of the seven-axis soldering robot.

[0049] The seven-axis soldering robot includes a soldering table, a temperature control device, and a solder feeding device; the electrical connector positioning device is mounted on the movable soldering table along a horizontal line.

[0050] The vision system is mounted on the robotic arm of the six-axis collaborative robot. The intelligent gripper is located at the end of the robotic arm. The fingertip gripping device is connected to the intelligent gripper and has a V-shaped structure, which is designed to be openable and gripping.

[0051] The electrical connector positioning device is used to orient and fix multiple electrical connectors.

[0052] The electrical connector positioning device includes: a base, a positioning plate, a movable fixing plate, a fixing plate, a fastening screw, and a magnet;

[0053] The fixed electrical connectors are tilted 45° or 90° toward the operator for easy soldering; different specifications and sizes of electrical connectors can be easily fixed by quickly sliding the movable fixing plate, and finally all electrical connectors are pressed together by tightening the fixing screw to push the movable fixing plate.

[0054] The wire positioning device includes a wire positioning groove, in which wires are arranged sequentially and placed. The wires are fixed by a snap ring, and the diameter of the wire positioning groove matches the diameter of the wire.

[0055] The wire positioning device includes: a base, a wire positioning groove, a column, a positioning plate, and a retaining spring; the wires are arranged and placed in the wire positioning groove in sequence, and the retaining spring fixes the wires. The diameter of the wire positioning groove matches the diameter of the wire. The number of wires that can be loaded at one time can be increased by lengthening the base and increasing the number of wire positioning grooves.

[0056] The automatic welding system for wires and electrical connectors includes the following steps during operation:

[0057] Step 1: The robotic arm of the six-axis collaborative robot, equipped with a vision system, reaches the wire positioning device and takes a picture of the wire's position.

[0058] Step 2: The robotic arm of the six-axis collaborative robot obtains the wire positioning data information. The control box issues a command based on the wire positioning data information to control the fingertip gripping device to pick up the wire.

[0059] Step 3: The robotic arm of the six-axis collaborative robot moves to the electrical connector positioning device, and the vision system positions and photographs the electrical connector.

[0060] Step 4: The control box obtains the electrical connector positioning data and drives the six-axis collaborative robot to move the wire to the position of the electrical connector pin that needs to be soldered;

[0061] Step 5: Instruct the seven-axis soldering robot to perform wire soldering operations via communication or external output signals;

[0062] Step 6: After welding is completed, instruct the six-axis collaborative robot to release the robotic arm, i.e., release the wire, and move to the original position to perform the next cycle of gripping, positioning, and welding operations.

[0063] Example 1

[0064] This invention provides an automated welding system for wires and electrical connectors based on a machine vision robot. The welding system includes: a control box, a six-axis collaborative robot, a vision system, a fingertip gripper, a seven-axis soldering robot, an electrical connector positioning device, and a wire positioning device.

[0065] The intelligent gripper of the six-axis collaborative robot positions and grasps the wire, and the vision system performs secondary positioning of the electrical connector placed in the electrical connector positioning device, completes feature extraction and matching, obtains accurate coordinate information, and the intelligent gripper moves the wire to the correct pin position of the electrical connector.

[0066] The six-axis collaborative robot communicates with the seven-axis soldering robot. The seven-axis soldering robot completes the soldering of the wires and electrical connectors according to the set program. After the solder joint solidifies, the gripper releases and detaches from the wire.

[0067] The vision system and intelligent gripper on the six-axis collaborative robot return to the wire positioning device to pick up the next wire, completing the identification and soldering of another electrical connector pin;

[0068] The seven-axis soldering robot adopts seven-axis linkage control, and the soldering iron angle can be automatically changed at will, which can effectively make contact with heat conduction; when the program is called, the soldering angle is automatically restored, which can realize the rapid change of product types;

[0069] The intelligent gripper has two adaptive parallel mechanical joint fingers, and the foremost fingertip gripping device is used to grip wires. The fingertip has a double V-shaped structure.

[0070] The vision system has two functions: first, it performs preliminary positioning of the wire to be grasped and sends the positioning data to the six-axis collaborative robot to guide the robotic arm to perform the grasping work; second, it performs precise positioning of the pins of the electrical connector to be welded and sends the coordinate information of the pins to the six-axis collaborative robot, which then moves the wire to the correct pin position, and the seven-axis welding robot performs the next welding operation.

[0071] The vision system uses an intelligent camera with built-in software and algorithms. After the intelligent camera takes a picture of the cross-section of the electrical connector, it compares it with the template features to complete the image preprocessing, locates the X and Y positions, angles and range changes of the pins, calculates the welding position deviation angle and transmits it to the six-axis collaborative robot. The position coordinates of the camera and the position coordinates of the robotic arm are uniformly converted to complete the coordinate conversion.

[0072] The vision system on the six-axis collaborative robot identifies, adjusts and corrects the angle of the wire to be grasped, and sends the position information to the robotic arm; the welded electrical connector is placed in the electrical connector positioning device, and the electrical connector and the electrical connector positioning device are regarded as a whole.

[0073] The six-axis collaborative robot controls the intelligent gripper of the robotic arm terminal to grasp the wire at the wire positioning device and accurately place the wire at the pin position of the electrical connector. The seven-axis soldering robot then completes the soldering of the wire to the connector. Once the wire is removed from the gripper's fingertip device, the robotic arm returns to the wire positioning device to pick up the next wire.

[0074] The collaborative welding between the six-axis collaborative robot and the seven-axis soldering robot is controlled by welding, idle point, output, and input commands. The two robots communicate with each other through I / O and cooperate with each other through the combination of idle point commands to complete the welding of a single solder joint.

[0075] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be noted that for those skilled in the art, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the technical principles of the present invention, and these improvements and modifications should also be considered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. An automated welding system for wires and electrical connectors based on machine vision robots, characterized in that, The welding system includes: a control box, a six-axis collaborative robot, a vision system, a fingertip gripper, a seven-axis soldering robot, an electrical connector positioning device, and a wire positioning device; The welding system uses two robots working together to perform various actions of grasping and welding wires through a fingertip gripping device. The vision system positions the electrical connector placed in the electrical connector positioning device and guides the intelligent gripper of the six-axis collaborative robot to move the wire to the pin of the electrical connector for welding. The intelligent gripper of the six-axis collaborative robot positions and grasps the wire, and the vision system performs secondary positioning of the electrical connector placed in the electrical connector positioning device, completes feature extraction and matching, obtains accurate coordinate information, and the intelligent gripper moves the wire to the correct pin position of the electrical connector. The six-axis collaborative robot communicates with the seven-axis soldering robot. The seven-axis soldering robot completes the soldering of the wires and electrical connectors according to the set program. After the solder joint solidifies, the gripper releases and detaches from the wire. The vision system and intelligent gripper on the six-axis collaborative robot return to the wire positioning device to pick up the next wire, completing the identification and soldering of another electrical connector pin; The seven-axis soldering robot adopts seven-axis linkage control, and the soldering iron angle can be automatically changed at will, which can effectively make contact with heat conduction; when the program is called, the soldering angle is automatically restored, which can realize the rapid change of product types; The intelligent gripper has two adaptive parallel mechanical joint fingers, and the foremost fingertip gripping device is used to grip wires. The fingertip has a double V-shaped structure. The vision system has two functions: first, it performs preliminary positioning of the wire to be grasped and sends the positioning data to the six-axis collaborative robot to guide the robotic arm to perform the grasping work; second, it performs precise positioning of the pins of the electrical connector to be welded and sends the coordinate information of the pins to the six-axis collaborative robot, which then moves the wire to the correct pin position, and the seven-axis welding robot performs the next welding operation. The vision system uses an intelligent camera with built-in software and algorithms. After the intelligent camera takes a picture of the cross-section of the electrical connector, it compares it with the template features to complete the image preprocessing, locates the X and Y positions, angles and range changes of the pins, calculates the welding position deviation angle and transmits it to the six-axis collaborative robot. The position coordinates of the camera and the position coordinates of the robotic arm are uniformly converted to complete the coordinate conversion. The vision system on the six-axis collaborative robot identifies, adjusts and corrects the angle of the wire to be grasped, and sends the position information to the robotic arm; the welded electrical connector is placed in the electrical connector positioning device, and the electrical connector and the electrical connector positioning device are regarded as a whole. The six-axis collaborative robot controls the intelligent gripper of the robotic arm terminal to grasp the wire at the wire positioning device and accurately place the wire at the pin position of the electrical connector. The seven-axis soldering robot then completes the soldering of the wire to the connector. Once the wire is removed from the gripper's fingertip device, the robotic arm returns to the wire positioning device to pick up the next wire. The collaborative welding between the six-axis collaborative robot and the seven-axis soldering robot is controlled by welding, idle point, output, and input commands. The two robots communicate with each other through I / O and cooperate with each other through the combination of idle point commands to complete the welding of a single solder joint.

2. The automatic welding system for wires and electrical connectors based on machine vision robots as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The seven-axis soldering robot is fixed at the soldering station; A wire positioning device is provided on one side of the welding station, and the electrical connector positioning device is fixed on the welding table of the seven-axis soldering robot.

3. The automatic welding system for wires and electrical connectors based on machine vision robots as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The seven-axis soldering robot includes a soldering table, a temperature control device, and a solder feeding device; wherein, the electrical connector positioning device is installed on the movable soldering table along a horizontal line.

4. The automatic welding system for wires and electrical connectors based on machine vision robots as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The vision system is mounted on the robotic arm of the six-axis collaborative robot. The intelligent gripper is located at the end of the robotic arm. The fingertip gripping device is connected to the intelligent gripper and has a V-shaped structure, which is designed to be openable and gripping.

5. The automatic welding system for wires and electrical connectors based on machine vision robots as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The electrical connector positioning device is used to orient and fix multiple electrical connectors.

6. The automatic welding system for wires and electrical connectors based on machine vision robots as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The electrical connector positioning device includes: a base, a positioning plate, a movable fixing plate, a fixing plate, a fastening screw, and a magnet; The fixed electrical connectors are tilted 45º or 90º towards the operator for easy soldering; different specifications and sizes of electrical connectors can be easily fixed by quickly sliding the movable fixing plate, and finally, all electrical connectors are pressed together by tightening the fixing screw to push the movable fixing plate.

7. The automatic welding system for wires and electrical connectors based on machine vision robots as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The wire positioning device includes: a base, a wire positioning groove, a column, a positioning plate, and a retaining spring; the wires are arranged in sequence and placed in the wire positioning groove, and the retaining spring fixes the wires. The diameter of the wire positioning groove matches the diameter of the wire. The number of wires that can be loaded at one time can be increased by lengthening the base and increasing the number of wire positioning grooves.

8. The automatic welding system for wires and electrical connectors based on machine vision robots as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The automatic welding system for wires and electrical connectors includes the following steps during operation: Step 1: The robotic arm of the six-axis collaborative robot, equipped with a vision system, reaches the wire positioning device and takes a picture of the wire's position. Step 2: The robotic arm of the six-axis collaborative robot obtains the wire positioning data information. The control box issues a command based on the wire positioning data information to control the fingertip gripping device to pick up the wire. Step 3: The robotic arm of the six-axis collaborative robot moves to the electrical connector positioning device, and the vision system positions and photographs the electrical connector. Step 4: The control box obtains the electrical connector positioning data and drives the six-axis collaborative robot to move the wire to the position of the electrical connector pin that needs to be soldered; Step 5: Instruct the seven-axis soldering robot to perform wire soldering operations via communication or external output signals; Step 6: After welding is completed, instruct the six-axis collaborative robot to release the robotic arm, i.e., release the wire, and move to the original position to perform the next cycle of gripping, positioning, and welding operations.

Images