Intelligent piston clamp spring full-automatic flexible assembly detection line and method

Abstract

The invention belongs to the technical field of engine piston clamp spring assembly, and particularly relates to an intelligent piston clamp spring full-automatic flexible assembly detection line. The intelligent piston clamp spring full-automatic flexible assembly detection line comprises a workbench and is characterized in that a clamp spring automatic assembly unit is installed on the workbench, a feeding and discharging robot is arranged on the front side of the workbench, and a piston intelligent carrying unit is arranged on the side edge of the feeding and discharging robot; the intelligent piston carrying unit is composed of an AGV and a feeding and discharging tray arranged on the AGV, a 3D camera is arranged above the feeding and discharging tray, and a 2D camera is installed on the workbench. The piston clamp spring assembling and detecting device has the beneficial effects that product conveying intelligence, unmanned piston feeding and discharging and unstacking and piston clamp spring assembling and detecting automation and flexibility are achieved, the assembling quality of the piston clamp spring is guaranteed, the production efficiency is improved, manpower and material resources are saved, and the production cost is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of engine piston snap ring assembly technology, and specifically relates to an intelligent fully automatic flexible assembly and testing line and method for piston snap rings. Background Technology

[0002] The piston is a critical component in an engine, and the piston circlip is used to secure the piston pin, preventing it from moving outward and thus avoiding serious consequences such as cylinder scoring. Currently, piston circlips in passenger car engines are generally C-shaped circular cross-section circlips, which have high rigidity and are slightly larger than the diameter of the piston pin hole. Traditional single-sided circlip assembly is usually done manually, which has technical drawbacks such as low efficiency, high cost, easy scratching of the inner wall of the piston pin hole, and the circlip being prone to breaking out and causing injury.

[0003] Existing automated piston circlip assembly devices are limited in function and lack assembly flexibility. The loading and unloading of pistons still largely requires manual labor, and cannot be considered truly automated or unmanned. Even at a single workstation integrated into the production line where piston handling is automated, the presence and proper positioning of the piston circlip during assembly are difficult to guarantee, significantly reducing assembly quality. Failure to promptly detect and install defective circlips into the engine can lead to irreversible consequences.

[0004] With the continuous increase in the production of internal combustion engines in China, more and more engine manufacturers hope to automate the assembly of piston circlips to save manpower and resources and reduce production costs. Therefore, the automated assembly of piston circlips has gradually become an industry trend. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To overcome the shortcomings of the prior art, this invention provides an intelligent fully automated flexible assembly and testing line and method for piston snap rings.

[0006] This invention is achieved through the following technical solution: An intelligent piston circlip fully automated flexible assembly and testing line includes a workbench, characterized in that: an automatic circlip assembly unit is installed on the workbench, a loading and unloading robot is provided on the front side of the workbench, an intelligent piston handling unit is provided on the side of the loading and unloading robot, the intelligent piston handling unit consists of an AGV trolley and a loading and unloading tray placed on the AGV trolley, a 3D camera is provided above the loading and unloading tray, and a 2D camera is installed on the workbench.

[0007] The automatic snap ring assembly unit includes a piston loading / unloading position placed on a worktable. A piston loading / unloading position is equipped with a piston loading / unloading position detection sensor on its side. A snap ring hopper is located inside the piston loading / unloading position. A snap ring hopper detection sensor is located on the side of the snap ring hopper. A snap ring loading cylinder is located below the snap ring hopper for loading snap rings. A snap ring flipping cylinder is located in front of the snap ring loading cylinder for flipping snap rings. A snap ring loading position detection sensor is located in front of the snap ring flipping cylinder. A snap ring initial compression cylinder is located above the snap ring flipping cylinder for moving snap rings. A snap ring pushing cylinder is located on the side of the snap ring loading cylinder.

[0008] A piston positioning cylinder is provided on the outer side of the piston's upper and lower material positions.

[0009] The piston is equipped with a snap ring compression sleeve on the inner side of the upper and lower material positions.

[0010] A stop block and a magnet are installed on the lower side of the piston's upper and lower material positions.

[0011] A fully automated intelligent piston snap ring assembly and inspection method, characterized by the following steps: (1) The loading and unloading pallets filled with pistons are transported to the loading position by AGV trolley; (2) The 3D camera identifies the spatial coordinates of the piston in the loading and unloading tray; (3) The 3D camera sends the coordinates to the loading and unloading robot to guide the robot to grab the piston; (4) The loading and unloading robot moves the gripped piston above the 2D camera; (5) The 2D camera identifies the piston cavity to guide the loading and unloading robot to adjust the piston angle correctly; (6) The loading and unloading robot places the piston with the correct angle into the piston loading and unloading position, and the piston positioning cylinder extends to position the piston. (7) The circlip feeding cylinder pushes out the circlip at the bottom of the circlip hopper and then retracts it; (8) The snap ring flips the cylinder and retracts, so that the snap ring that was pushed out fits against the output end of the snap ring initial compression cylinder; (9) The circlip compression cylinder extends and presses down the circlip to the large end of the circlip compression sleeve at the tapered position; (10) The snap ring push cylinder extends and pushes the snap ring at the large end of the snap ring compression sleeve along the large end face of the snap ring compression sleeve to the small end face. The snap ring compression sleeve meets the piston positioning cylinder at the small end face, wraps the snap ring, and delivers the snap ring to the snap ring groove position in the pin hole of the piston. The piston positioning cylinder retracts, the snap ring initial compression cylinder retracts, and the snap ring push cylinder retracts. (11) The snap ring flipping cylinder extends to complete the snap ring installation; (12) The piston returns to the piston's upper and lower material positions; (13) The loading and unloading robot removes the piston and sends the material removal completion signal to the 3D camera; (14) The 3D camera sends the coordinates of the loading and unloading trays to the loading and unloading robot and guides the loading and unloading robot to place the piston at the material position.

[0012] Preferably, in step (7), the snap ring loading detection sensor is used to detect whether the snap ring is loaded in place.

[0013] Preferably, in steps (6) and (12), the piston loading / unloading position detection sensor is used to detect whether the piston is in position.

[0014] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: This intelligent fully automated flexible assembly and inspection line for piston circlips achieves intelligent product conveying, unmanned piston loading, unloading, stacking, and destacking, and automated and flexible piston circlip assembly and inspection. It has been successfully applied to fully automated piston circlip assembly, ensuring assembly quality, improving production efficiency, saving manpower and resources, and reducing production costs. Furthermore, this intelligent fully automated flexible assembly and inspection line for piston circlips fills a gap in the domestic field of fully automated flexible assembly and inspection of piston circlips. Attached Figure Description

[0015] The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0016] Appendix Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the planar layout of the present invention; Appendix Figure 2 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the present invention; Appendix Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the workflow of the present invention; Appendix Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the automatic snap ring assembly unit structure of the present invention; Appendix Figure 5 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the 2D camera-guided loading and unloading robot adjusting the piston to the correct angle according to the present invention. Appendix Figure 6 For the appendix Figure 5 Front view structural diagram; Appendix Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the installation structure of the snap ring feeding position detection sensor of the present invention; Appendix Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the magnet mounting structure of the present invention; In the diagram, 1 is the workbench, 2 is the automatic circlip assembly unit, 3 is the loading / unloading robot, 4 is the piston intelligent handling unit, 5 is the AGV trolley, 6 is the loading / unloading pallet, 7 is the 3D camera, 8 is the 2D camera, 9 is the piston loading / unloading position, 10 is the piston loading / unloading position detection sensor, 11 is the circlip hopper, 12 is the circlip hopper detection sensor, 13 is the circlip loading cylinder, 14 is the circlip tilting cylinder, 15 is the circlip loading position detection sensor, 16 is the circlip initial compression cylinder, 17 is the circlip pushing cylinder, 18 is the piston positioning cylinder, 19 is the circlip compression sleeve, 20 is the stop block, and 21 is the magnet. Detailed Implementation

[0017] The attached figure illustrates a specific embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment includes a workbench 1, on which an automatic snap ring assembly unit 2 is mounted. A loading / unloading robot 3 is located at the front of the workbench 1, and a piston intelligent handling unit 4 is located on the side of the loading / unloading robot 3. The piston intelligent handling unit 4 consists of an AGV trolley 5 and a loading / unloading tray 6 placed on the AGV trolley 5. A 3D camera 7 is located above the loading / unloading tray 6, and a 2D camera 8 is mounted on the workbench 1.

[0018] The automatic snap ring assembly unit 2 includes a piston loading / unloading position 9 placed on the worktable 1. A piston loading / unloading position 9 is provided with a piston loading / unloading position detection sensor 10 on its side. A snap ring hopper 11 is provided inside the piston loading / unloading position 9. A snap ring hopper detection sensor 12 is provided on the side of the snap ring hopper 11. A snap ring loading cylinder 13 for loading snap rings is provided below the snap ring hopper 11. A snap ring flipping cylinder 14 for flipping snap rings is provided in front of the snap ring loading cylinder 13. A snap ring loading position detection sensor 15 is provided in front of the snap ring flipping cylinder 14. A snap ring initial compression cylinder 16 for moving snap rings is provided above the snap ring flipping cylinder 14. A snap ring pushing cylinder 17 is provided on the side of the snap ring loading cylinder 13.

[0019] A piston positioning cylinder 18 is provided on the outer side of the piston loading / unloading position 9. A snap ring compression sleeve 19 is provided on the inner side of the piston loading / unloading position 9. A stop block 20 and a magnet 21 are installed on the lower side of the piston loading / unloading position 9.

[0020] Using the intelligent piston snap ring fully automatic flexible assembly and inspection method of the present invention, the AGV trolley 5 moves the loading and unloading tray 6 containing pistons to the loading position. 3D cameras 7 are installed above the loading and unloading tray 6. The 3D cameras 7 use the neatly arranged pistons as coordinate points to generate spatial coordinates. The 3D cameras 7 send the generated spatial coordinates to the loading and unloading robot 3 to guide the loading and unloading robot 3 to grab the piston corresponding to which coordinate point. The loading and unloading robot 3 places the grabbed piston above the 2D camera 8. The 2D camera 8 identifies the piston cavity and guides the loading and unloading robot 3 to rotate the piston until the angle is correct. The loading and unloading robot 3 places the piston with the correct angle into the piston stop position 9.

[0021] When assembling a single-sided pin-hole retaining ring, the piston positioning cylinder 18 extends to position the piston, and the retaining ring feeding cylinder 13 extends to push the bottom retaining ring of the retaining ring hopper 11 to the tilting table. The retaining ring feeding cylinder 13 then retracts. The retaining ring tilting cylinder 14 retracts, causing the ejected retaining ring to fit against the output end of the retaining ring initial compression cylinder 16. The retaining ring initial compression cylinder 16 extends and presses down the retaining ring to the large-end tapered position of the retaining ring compression sleeve 19. The retaining ring pushing cylinder 17 extends and pushes the retaining ring at the large-end tapered position of the retaining ring compression sleeve 19 along the large-end face of the tapered end of the retaining ring compression sleeve 19 to the small-end face. The retaining ring compression sleeve 19 meets the piston positioning cylinder 18 at the small-end face, wraps around the retaining ring, and delivers the retaining ring to the retaining ring groove position in the pin hole of the piston. The piston positioning cylinder 18, the retaining ring initial compression cylinder 16, and the retaining ring pushing cylinder 17 all retract, and the retaining ring tilting cylinder 14 extends, completing the installation of the retaining ring.

[0022] After the snap ring is assembled, the piston moves to the left with the slide until the stop 20 is close enough to the magnet 21. Under the attraction of the magnet 21, the piston is precisely positioned in the pick-up and put-down position. At the same time, the piston loading and unloading position detection sensor 10 feeds back the position signal, forming an interlock. The 3D camera 7 identifies the spatial coordinate system of the hollow material position in the loading and unloading tray 6. The loading and unloading robot 3 takes the piston with the snap ring assembled from the stop and puts it into the empty position of the loading and unloading tray 6, and the cycle ends.

[0023] During the snap ring assembly process, the snap ring hopper detection sensor 12 constantly detects the presence or absence of snap rings in the snap ring hopper 11, and the snap ring feeding position detection sensor 15 detects the ejection of the snap ring to avoid missing the piston snap ring.

[0024] In this case, the intelligent piston handling unit 4 solved the automation of material handling, the automatic piston up-and-down method recognition and piston cavity orientation recognition solved the automation of loading and unloading, and the automatic snap ring assembly unit 2 solved the automation of snap ring assembly. This system automates piston up-and-down movement, unmanned piston material handling, and snap ring assembly, solving the problem of missing snap rings. It saves 1-2 people per production line, improves product quality by 15%, increases efficiency by 65%, and reduces the defect rate from 2.1% to 0.75%. It provides a model for the automated and intelligent assembly of internal combustion engine parts.

Claims

1. An intelligent fully automatic flexible assembly and testing line for piston circlips, comprising a workbench (1), characterized in that: The workbench (1) is equipped with an automatic snap ring assembly unit (2), a loading and unloading robot (3) is provided on the front side of the workbench (1), and a piston intelligent handling unit (4) is provided on the side of the loading and unloading robot (3). The piston intelligent handling unit (4) consists of an AGV trolley (5) and a loading and unloading tray (6) placed on the AGV trolley (5). A 3D camera (7) is provided above the loading and unloading tray (6), and a 2D camera (8) is installed on the workbench (1).

2. The intelligent piston circlip fully automated flexible assembly and testing line according to claim 1, characterized in that: The automatic snap ring assembly unit (2) includes a piston loading / unloading position (9) placed on the workbench (1). A piston loading / unloading position detection sensor (10) is provided on the side of the piston loading / unloading position (9). A snap ring hopper (11) is provided inside the piston loading / unloading position (9). A snap ring hopper detection sensor (12) is provided on the side of the snap ring hopper (11). A snap ring loading cylinder (13) for loading snap rings is provided below the snap ring hopper (11). A snap ring flipping cylinder (14) for flipping snap rings is provided in front of the snap ring loading cylinder (13). A snap ring loading position detection sensor (15) is provided in front of the snap ring flipping cylinder (14). A snap ring initial compression cylinder (16) for moving snap rings is provided above the snap ring flipping cylinder (14). A snap ring pushing cylinder (17) is provided on the side of the snap ring loading cylinder (13).

3. The intelligent piston circlip fully automated flexible assembly and testing line according to claim 2, characterized in that: A piston positioning cylinder (18) is provided on the outside of the piston upper and lower material positions (9).

4. The intelligent piston circlip fully automated flexible assembly and testing line according to claim 2, characterized in that: The piston upper and lower material positions (9) are provided with a retaining ring compression sleeve (19).

5. The intelligent piston circlip fully automated flexible assembly and testing line according to claim 2, characterized in that: A stop (20) and a magnet (21) are installed on the lower side of the piston upper and lower material positions (9).

6. A method for using the intelligent piston circlip fully automated flexible assembly and inspection line according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that: Includes the following steps: (1) The loading and unloading pallets (6) filled with pistons are transported to the loading position by the AGV trolley (5); (2) The 3D camera (7) identifies the spatial coordinates of the piston in the loading / unloading tray (6); (3) The 3D camera (7) sends the coordinates to the loading and unloading robot (3) to guide the loading and unloading robot (3) to grab the piston; (4) The loading and unloading robot (3) moves the gripped piston above the 2D camera (8); (5) The 2D camera (8) identifies the piston cavity to guide the loading and unloading robot (3) to adjust the piston angle correctly; (6) The loading and unloading robot (3) puts the piston with the correct angle into the piston loading and unloading position (9), and the piston positioning cylinder (18) extends to position the piston; (7) The circlip feeding cylinder (13) pushes out the circlip at the bottom of the circlip hopper (11) and then retracts it; (8) The snap ring retracts into the cylinder (14), causing the snap ring to come into contact with the output end of the snap ring initial compression cylinder (16); (9) The circlip compression cylinder (16) extends and presses down the circlip to the large end conical position of the circlip compression sleeve (19); (10) The snap ring push cylinder (17) extends and pushes the snap ring at the large end of the snap ring compression sleeve (19) along the large end face of the snap ring compression sleeve (19) to the small end face. The snap ring compression sleeve (19) meets the piston positioning cylinder (18) at the small end face, wraps the snap ring, and delivers the snap ring to the snap ring groove position in the pin hole of the piston. The piston positioning cylinder (18) retracts, the snap ring initial compression cylinder (16) retracts, and the snap ring push cylinder (17) retracts. (11) The snap ring flipping cylinder (14) extends to complete the installation of the snap ring; (12) Piston returns to piston upper and lower material positions (9); (13) The loading and unloading robot (3) removes the piston and sends the material removal completion signal to the 3D camera (7). (14) The 3D camera (7) sends the coordinates of the loading and unloading tray (6) to the loading and unloading robot (3) and guides the loading and unloading robot (3) to place the piston at the material position.

7. The method for the intelligent piston snap ring fully automated flexible assembly and testing line according to claim 6, characterized in that: In step (7), the snap ring loading detection sensor (15) is used to detect whether the snap ring is loaded in place.

8. The method for the intelligent piston circlip fully automated flexible assembly and testing line according to claim 6, characterized in that: In steps (6) and (12), the piston loading / unloading position detection sensor (10) is used to detect whether the piston is in position.

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