Sheet metal stamping production line control method, system, electronic device, storage medium and program product

Abstract

The application discloses a sheet metal stamping production line control method, system, electronic equipment, storage medium and program product, and belongs to the intelligent manufacturing equipment industry field, wherein the method comprises: setting a material number variable for each stamping device, wherein the material number variable is used for recording the number of materials processed in the stamping device; according to the value state of the material number variable corresponding to the stamping device of the target station, controlling the industrial robot corresponding to the target station to perform a material transfer action, and updating the material number variable, wherein the material transfer action comprises at least one of the following: a feeding action, a taking action. The application solves the technical problems of low production efficiency, long invalid downtime and insufficient intelligent production line control caused by the lack of real-time digital tracking and interlocking mechanism of the material state in the station and the rigid abnormal handling mode of the sheet metal stamping production line in the related art.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of intelligent manufacturing technology, and more specifically, to a control method, system, electronic device, storage medium, and program product for a sheet metal stamping production line. Background Technology

[0002] Sheet metal stamping production lines are core equipment for the production of automotive parts, home appliance housings, and hardware structural parts. Currently, mainstream production lines generally use multiple industrial robots to complete the fully automated operation of destacking and loading, inter-station transfer, unloading and palletizing, forming a linked production line with stamping main machines, molds, and positioning tooling.

[0003] However, in related technologies, the equipment at each workstation on the production line is usually linked only through hard wiring or simple timing signals, lacking a real-time digital tracking and interlocking mechanism for the status of materials within the workstation. The overall control of the production line process is not intelligent enough. In actual operation, abnormalities such as sheet jamming, material suction failure, and mold failure all require operators to stop the machine on-site for troubleshooting. Regardless of the size of the fault, the entire line is generally forced to stop, causing non-faulty workstations to stop operating simultaneously, resulting in a large amount of ineffective downtime. At the same time, after troubleshooting, it is necessary to perform cumbersome line origin reset and trajectory recalibration. There is a lack of segmented rapid recovery and breakpoint resumption mechanisms for the entire line linkage, making it difficult to meet the needs of high-cycle continuous production.

[0004] There is currently no effective solution to the above problems. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a control method, system, electronic device, storage medium, and program product for a sheet metal stamping production line, which at least solves the technical problems of low production efficiency, long ineffective downtime, and insufficient intelligent production line control caused by the lack of real-time digital tracking and interlocking mechanisms for the status of materials in the workstation and rigid abnormal handling methods in related sheet metal stamping production lines.

[0006] According to one aspect of the embodiments of this application, a control method for a sheet metal stamping production line is provided. The sheet metal stamping production line includes: at least one stamping machine and an industrial robot disposed at an upstream station and / or a downstream station corresponding to the stamping machine in the production process. The method includes: setting a material quantity variable for each stamping machine, wherein the material quantity variable is used to record the quantity of material processed in the stamping machine; controlling the industrial robot corresponding to the target station to perform a material transfer action and updating the material quantity variable according to the value state of the material quantity variable corresponding to the stamping machine at the target station, wherein the material transfer action includes at least one of the following: a feeding action and a picking action.

[0007] Optionally, the target workstation includes: a target unloading position and a target retrieving position; based on the value of the material quantity variable corresponding to the stamping equipment at the target workstation, controlling the industrial robot corresponding to the target workstation to perform material transfer actions includes: when the material quantity variable corresponding to the stamping equipment at the target unloading position is detected to be zero, controlling the industrial robot corresponding to the target unloading position to perform an unloading action, and incrementing the material quantity variable corresponding to the stamping equipment at the target unloading position by one after the unloading action is completed, wherein the unloading action is used to transfer the acquired material to the target unloading position; when the material quantity variable corresponding to the stamping equipment at the target retrieving position is detected to be non-zero, controlling the industrial robot corresponding to the target retrieving position to perform a retrieving action, and decrementing the material quantity variable corresponding to the target retrieving position by one after the retrieving action is completed, wherein the retrieving action is used to retrieve material from the target retrieving position.

[0008] Optionally, the stamping equipment at the target feeding position includes: the first stamping equipment in the sheet metal stamping production line; the industrial robot includes: a front-end machine positioned between the feeding conveyor belt and the first stamping equipment; the method further includes: when the material is detected to be in place in the feeding conveyor belt, controlling the front-end machine to perform a picking action to obtain the material; when the material count variable corresponding to the first stamping equipment in the production line is detected to be zero, controlling the front-end machine to perform a feeding action to place the material in the stamping equipment and incrementing the material count variable corresponding to the stamping equipment by one; when the front-end machine is detected to have reset to a safe point position, controlling the stamping equipment to process the material, wherein the safe point position is the avoidance position to which the front-end machine resets after completing the feeding, and which does not interfere with the stamping action of the stamping equipment.

[0009] Optionally, the stamping equipment at the target feeding position further includes: the remaining stamping equipment in the sheet metal stamping production line excluding the first stamping equipment; the industrial robot further includes: an intermediate machine positioned between the two stamping equipments; the method further includes: when the material quantity variable corresponding to the first stamping equipment is detected to be non-zero and the first stamping equipment is in the top dead center state, controlling the intermediate machine to perform a material picking action to obtain the processed material from the first stamping equipment, and decrementing the material quantity variable corresponding to the first stamping equipment by one after the material picking action is completed, wherein the first stamping equipment is the preceding stamping equipment located upstream of the intermediate machine in the production line, in the top dead center state. The slider of the stamping equipment is at its highest limit position. When the material quantity variable corresponding to the second stamping equipment is detected to be zero and the second stamping equipment is in the top dead center state, the intermediate machine is controlled to perform the feeding action, placing the material into the second stamping equipment and incrementing the material quantity variable corresponding to the second stamping equipment by one. The second stamping equipment is the stamping equipment downstream of the intermediate machine in the production line. When the intermediate machine is detected to have reset to the safe point position, the second stamping equipment is controlled to process the material. The safe point position is the avoidance position to which the intermediate machine resets after completing the feeding, without interfering with the stamping action of the second stamping equipment.

[0010] Optionally, the industrial robot further includes: a back-end machine disposed between the last stamping equipment and the unloading conveyor belt in the production line; the sheet metal stamping production line further includes: a detection plate disposed between the back-end machine and the unloading conveyor belt; the method further includes: when the material count variable corresponding to the last stamping equipment in the production line is detected to be non-zero and the stamping equipment is in the top dead center state, controlling the back-end machine to perform a material picking action to obtain the processed material from the stamping equipment, and decrementing the material count variable corresponding to the stamping equipment by one after the material picking action is completed; controlling the back-end machine to perform a material unloading action to place the obtained material into the detection plate; when the material count variable corresponding to the detection plate is detected to be zero, controlling the back-end machine to perform a material unloading action to place the obtained material into the detection plate, and incrementing the material count variable corresponding to the detection plate by one.

[0011] Optionally, the sheet metal stamping production line also includes: an image acquisition device; the method further includes: when the material quantity variable corresponding to the detection tray is detected to be non-zero, controlling the image acquisition device to acquire an image of the material in the detection tray to obtain a target image; performing visual inspection on the target image to obtain an inspection result, wherein the visual inspection is used to perform quality inspection on the material to determine whether the material meets the preset qualification standard; when the inspection result indicates that the material quality is qualified, controlling the sorting cylinder to push the material to the unloading conveyor belt and decrementing the material quantity variable corresponding to the detection tray by one; when the inspection result indicates that the material quality is unqualified, controlling the sorting cylinder to push the material to the scrap area and decrementing the material quantity variable corresponding to the detection tray by one.

[0012] Optionally, the method further includes: during the process of the industrial robot performing a picking / unloading action, monitoring whether the air pressure of the vacuum suction cup used for picking / unloading on the industrial robot is within a preset pressure threshold range, and whether the proximity sensor located at the end of the suction cup arm of the industrial robot is triggered, wherein the proximity sensor is used to detect whether the suction cup arm of the industrial robot has reached a preset sensing distance of the material; if the air pressure of the vacuum suction cup exceeds the preset pressure threshold range, or if the proximity sensor is not triggered, picking / unloading is determined to have failed; if picking is determined to have failed and the number of picking attempts is not greater than a preset picking attempt threshold, the industrial robot is controlled to re-execute the picking action until picking is successful or the number of picking attempts is greater than the preset picking attempt threshold; if the number of picking attempts has exceeded the preset picking attempt threshold but picking is still unsuccessful, and / or if unloading is determined to have failed, the abnormal industrial robot is controlled to reset and wait, and an abnormal alarm message is issued.

[0013] Optionally, the method further includes: issuing a jamming alarm message when an abnormal demolding is detected after stamping by the stamping equipment; and resetting the material count variable corresponding to the stamping equipment where the jamming occurred to zero and restarting the stamping equipment when the jamming has been cleared.

[0014] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a control system for a sheet metal stamping production line is also provided, including: at least one stamping device, an industrial robot disposed at an upstream or downstream station corresponding to the stamping device in the production process, and a controller, wherein the stamping device is used to perform stamping processing on materials; the controller is used to set a material quantity variable for each stamping device, wherein the material quantity variable is used to record the quantity of materials processed in the stamping device; based on the value state of the material quantity variable corresponding to the stamping device at the target station, the controller controls the industrial robot corresponding to the target station to perform a material transfer action and update the material quantity variable, wherein the material transfer action includes at least one of the following: a feeding action and a picking action.

[0015] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, an electronic device is also provided, including: a memory and a processor, the processor being configured to run a program stored in the memory, wherein the program executes a control method for a sheet metal stamping production line during runtime.

[0016] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a non-volatile storage medium is also provided, the non-volatile storage medium including a stored computer program, wherein the device containing the non-volatile storage medium executes a control method for a sheet metal stamping production line by running the computer program.

[0017] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a computer program product is also provided, including a computer program, wherein when the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the steps of a control method for a sheet metal stamping production line.

[0018] In this embodiment, a material quantity variable is set for each stamping device, which records the quantity of material processed in the stamping device. Based on the value of the material quantity variable corresponding to the stamping device at the target station, the industrial robot corresponding to the target station is controlled to perform a material transfer action and update the material quantity variable. The material transfer action includes at least one of the following: material feeding action and material picking action. By introducing the material quantity variable, software interlocking and orderly rhythm coordination based on the material status between each station are realized, which avoids repeated feeding, empty picking, and invalid downtime of non-faulty stations. This solves the technical problems of low production efficiency, long invalid downtime, and insufficient intelligent production line control caused by the lack of real-time digital tracking and interlocking mechanism for the material status within the station and the rigid abnormal handling method in related sheet metal stamping production lines. Attached Figure Description

[0019] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of this application and form part of this application, illustrate exemplary embodiments and are used to explain this application, but do not constitute an undue limitation of this application. In the drawings:

[0020] Figure 1 This is a hardware structure block diagram of a computer terminal (or electronic device) for implementing a method for controlling a sheet metal stamping production line, according to an embodiment of this application.

[0021] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a method for controlling a sheet metal stamping production line according to an embodiment of this application;

[0022] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the layout of a sheet metal stamping production line according to an embodiment of this application;

[0023] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of an automated control architecture for a sheet metal stamping production line according to an embodiment of this application;

[0024] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the control flow of the front-end machine in a sheet metal stamping production line according to an embodiment of this application;

[0025] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the control flow of an intermediate machine in a sheet metal stamping production line according to an embodiment of this application;

[0026] Figure 7This is a schematic diagram of the control flow of the back-end machine in a sheet metal stamping production line according to an embodiment of this application;

[0027] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of a visual sorting process provided according to an embodiment of this application;

[0028] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of a material handling, dropping, and jamming anomaly detection process provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0029] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of a material handling process for material picking, dropping, and jamming provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0030] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of a recovery process for abnormal material handling, material dropping, and material jamming provided in the embodiments of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0031] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the present application, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present application, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort should fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0032] It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," etc., in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this application are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be interchanged where appropriate so that the embodiments of this application described herein can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion; for example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that comprises a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units not explicitly listed or inherent to such processes, methods, products, or apparatus.

[0033] In related technologies, automated stamping production lines suffer from the following technical deficiencies in actual operation: First, anomaly detection and handling are highly dependent on manual labor. Issues such as sheet metal jamming, material suction failure, trajectory deviation, mold malfunction, and communication anomalies all require operators to stop the machine on-site for troubleshooting. Second, the anomaly handling methods are simplistic. Regardless of the severity of the fault, a forced shutdown of the entire line is generally implemented, with non-faulty workstations stopping simultaneously. This significant amount of ineffective downtime directly reduces the overall efficiency of the production line, and minor faults can lead to substantial capacity losses. Third, the recovery process is cumbersome. After troubleshooting, it is necessary to perform line origin reset, idle stroke debugging, trajectory recalibration, and process parameter re-entry. There is no mechanism for interrupted production resumption or modular reset, resulting in a long recovery cycle for each operation. Related technologies mostly focus on fault protection for individual robots or stamping equipment, lacking a systematic approach for integrated line operation and rapid segmented recovery, making it difficult to meet the needs of high-cycle, continuous sheet metal stamping production.

[0034] To address the aforementioned issues, this application provides relevant solutions, which are detailed below.

[0035] According to an embodiment of this application, a method for controlling a sheet metal stamping production line is provided. It should be noted that the steps shown in the flowchart in the accompanying drawings can be executed in a computer system such as a set of computer-executable instructions. Furthermore, although a logical order is shown in the flowchart, in some cases, the steps shown or described may be executed in a different order than that shown here.

[0036] The methods and embodiments provided in this application can be executed on mobile terminals, computer terminals, or similar computing devices. Figure 1 A hardware block diagram of a computer terminal (or electronic device) for implementing a control method for a sheet metal stamping production line is shown. Figure 1 As shown, the computer terminal 10 (or electronic device) may include one or more processors 102 (shown as 102a, 102b, ..., 102n in the figure) 102 (processor 102 may include, but is not limited to, a microprocessor MCU or a programmable logic device FPGA, etc.), a memory 104 for storing data, and a transmission device 106 for communication functions. In addition, it may also include: a display, an input / output interface (I / O interface), a universal serial bus (USB) port (which may be included as one of the ports of a BUS bus), a network interface, a power supply, and / or a camera. Those skilled in the art will understand that... Figure 1 The structure shown is for illustrative purposes only and does not limit the structure of the aforementioned electronic device. For example, computer terminal 10 may also include... Figure 1 The more or fewer components shown, or having the same Figure 1 The different configurations shown.

[0037] It should be noted that the aforementioned one or more processors 102 and / or other data processing circuits are generally referred to herein as "data processing circuits". These data processing circuits may be embodied, in whole or in part, in software, hardware, firmware, or any other combination thereof. Furthermore, the data processing circuits may be a single, independent processing module, or may be integrated, in whole or in part, into any other element within the computer terminal 10 (or electronic device). As involved in the embodiments of this application, the data processing circuits serve as a processor control mechanism (e.g., selection of a variable resistor termination path connected to an interface).

[0038] The memory 104 can be used to store software programs and modules of application software, such as the program instructions / data storage device corresponding to the control method of the sheet metal stamping production line in this embodiment of the application. The processor 102 executes various functional applications and data processing by running the software programs and modules stored in the memory 104, thereby realizing the control method of the sheet metal stamping production line described above. The memory 104 may include high-speed random access memory, and may also include non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic storage devices, flash memory, or other non-volatile solid-state memory. In some instances, the memory 104 may further include memory remotely located relative to the processor 102, and these remote memories can be connected to the computer terminal 10 via a network. Examples of such networks include, but are not limited to, the Internet, corporate intranets, local area networks, mobile communication networks, and combinations thereof.

[0039] The transmission device 106 is used to receive or send data via a network. Specific examples of the network described above may include a wireless network provided by the communication provider of the computer terminal 10. In one example, the transmission device 106 includes a Network Interface Controller (NIC), which can connect to other network devices via a base station to communicate with the Internet. In another example, the transmission device 106 may be a Radio Frequency (RF) module, used for wireless communication with the Internet.

[0040] The display may be, for example, a touchscreen liquid crystal display (LCD) that allows the user to interact with the user interface of the computer terminal 10 (or electronic device).

[0041] Under the above operating environment, this application provides a control method for a sheet metal stamping production line. In this embodiment, the sheet metal stamping production line includes: at least one stamping equipment and an industrial robot set at the upstream or downstream station corresponding to the stamping equipment in the production process. Figure 2This is a schematic diagram of a control method for a sheet metal stamping production line according to an embodiment of this application, as shown below. Figure 2 As shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0042] Step S202: Set a material quantity variable for each stamping device, wherein the material quantity variable is used to record the quantity of material processed in the stamping device;

[0043] The software temporary variable can be set separately by the PLC for each stamping device to record the current quantity of material being processed at the corresponding workstation in real time (initialized to 0). This variable is key to achieving quantity interlocking between workstations, ensuring that material is not released when available and not retrieved when not available.

[0044] Step S204: Based on the value status of the material quantity variable corresponding to the stamping equipment of the target station, control the industrial robot corresponding to the target station to perform a material transfer action and update the material quantity variable. The material transfer action includes at least one of the following: material feeding action and material picking action.

[0045] In this embodiment, the industrial robot may include at least one of the following: a front-end machine positioned between the feeding conveyor belt and the first stamping equipment in the production line; an intermediate machine positioned between two stamping equipment; and a back-end machine positioned between the last stamping equipment and the unloading conveyor belt in the production line. Through the above steps, by setting a material quantity variable for each stamping equipment and controlling the industrial robot to perform feeding or picking actions based on the zero or non-zero status detection of this variable, and synchronously updating the variable, software interlocking and orderly rhythm coordination based on material status are achieved between workstations. This avoids repeated feeding, empty picking, and invalid downtime at non-faulty workstations. Furthermore, it solves the technical problems of low production efficiency, long invalid downtime, and insufficient intelligent production line control caused by the lack of real-time digital tracking and interlocking mechanisms for material status within workstations and rigid abnormal handling methods in related sheet metal stamping production lines. This improves the robustness of industrial automatic control systems in the intelligent manufacturing equipment industry.

[0046] The control method of the sheet metal stamping production line in steps S202 to S204 of the embodiments of this application will be further described below.

[0047] The control method in this application embodiment can be applied to a production line consisting of multiple stamping equipment (such as punch presses). For ease of understanding, this embodiment takes a production line consisting of two punch presses as an example to illustrate the control method in this application embodiment. Its control logic can also cover the production line scenario consisting of multiple stamping equipment (such as punch presses), and will not be repeated in this embodiment.

[0048] Figure 3A schematic diagram of the layout of a sheet metal stamping production line including a punch press is provided for an embodiment of this application, as shown below. Figure 3 As shown, a typical workstation is arranged in series with the main line of "feeding conveyor belt → front-end machine → punch press 1 → intermediate machine → punch press 2 → back-end machine → vision inspection tray → sorting cylinder → unloading conveyor belt / waste area". Three circular robots (front-end machine, intermediate machine, and back-end machine) are arranged alternately with two square punch presses, and a vision inspection area and qualified / unqualified sorting cylinder are set at the end.

[0049] for Figure 3 The sheet metal stamping production line shown can have a corresponding automated control architecture as follows: Figure 4 As shown, the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) communicates with the host computer (touchscreen) via the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). It connects to three robot controllers (front-end machine, intermediate machine, and back-end machine) via the Modbus TCP protocol. It controls the servo motor system (punch press 1, punch press 2, and conveyor belt servo drivers), sensor group (proximity switch, pressure switch, safety light curtain), and solenoid valve group (vacuum generator, solenoid valve, and breaker valve) through IO signals. At the same time, the vision system is connected to the industrial computer via an industrial camera and a data acquisition card. The industrial computer then interacts with the PLC through TCP to realize centralized scheduling of the stamping production line, multi-device linkage, and closed-loop control of vision inspection.

[0050] Using the above-described automated control architecture, embodiments of this application can achieve interlocking of status between workstations by setting material quantity variables for each stamping device and inspection plate, as detailed below.

[0051] In some embodiments of this application, the target workstation includes a target feeding position and a target picking position. Controlling the industrial robot corresponding to the target workstation to perform a material transfer action based on the value of the material quantity variable corresponding to the stamping equipment at the target workstation includes: when the material quantity variable corresponding to the stamping equipment at the target feeding position is detected to be zero, controlling the industrial robot corresponding to the target feeding position to perform a feeding action, and incrementing the material quantity variable corresponding to the stamping equipment at the target feeding position by one upon completion of the feeding action, wherein the feeding action is used to transfer the acquired material to the target feeding position; when the material quantity variable corresponding to the stamping equipment at the target picking position is detected to be non-zero, controlling the industrial robot corresponding to the target picking position to perform a picking action, and decrementing the material quantity variable corresponding to the target picking position by one upon completion of the picking action, wherein the picking action is used to acquire material from the target picking position.

[0052] Specifically, in this embodiment, a material quantity variable can be configured as a status flag for each stamping device and detection plate using PLC software, forming a software interlock mechanism between devices. When the material quantity variable of a stamping device is 0, it indicates that there is no material in the device, and the controller allows the corresponding industrial robot (front-end machine, intermediate machine, or back-end machine) to perform the feeding action, and increments the variable by 1 after completion. Conversely, when the variable is not 0, it indicates that there is material in the device and the stamping has been completed, and the controller allows the robot to perform the picking action, and decrements the variable by 1 after completion. For example, if the material quantity of stamping press 1 is 1, even if the front-end machine has already picked up new material from the conveyor belt, it will not feed material to stamping press 1 again, thereby fundamentally avoiding production accidents such as repeated feeding and stamping with material on the press, and improving the robustness of the system.

[0053] The following is based on Figure 3 Taking the sheet metal stamping production line shown as an example, the overall control process of the front-end machines, intermediate machines, and back-end machines in this production line is introduced. First, after the equipment is powered on and initialized, the production line begins to be generated. At this time, all punches are at the top dead center (the highest limit position of the punch slide in the up-and-down reciprocating motion. At this position, the punch die is in the maximum open state, the stamping action has been completed, and the industrial robot is allowed to safely enter the die area to perform material picking or unloading operations), and all robots are in a waiting state for materials.

[0054] The front-end machine is mainly responsible for the complete work cycle of picking up materials from the feeding conveyor belt and feeding them onto the punch press 1, as detailed below.

[0055] In some embodiments of this application, the stamping equipment at the target feeding position includes: the first stamping equipment in the sheet metal stamping production line; the industrial robot includes: a front-end machine disposed between the feeding conveyor belt and the first stamping equipment; the method further includes: when it is detected that the material in the feeding conveyor belt has been conveyed to the correct position, controlling the front-end machine to perform a material picking action to obtain the material; when it is detected that the material count variable corresponding to the first stamping equipment in the production line is zero, controlling the front-end machine to perform a feeding action to place the material in the stamping equipment and incrementing the material count variable corresponding to the stamping equipment by one; when it is detected that the front-end machine has reset to a safe point position, controlling the stamping equipment to process the material, wherein the safe point position is the avoidance position to which the front-end machine resets after completing the feeding and does not interfere with the stamping action of the stamping equipment.

[0056] like Figure 5As shown, the robot first waits for the feeding conveyor belt to transport materials. When it detects that the material has arrived on the feeding conveyor belt and the front-end robot is in a reset state, it controls the front-end robot to perform a material-picking action. Then, it checks whether the material count variable of punch press 1 is 0 and whether punch press 1 has been reset to the top dead center. Only when both conditions are met will it perform material feeding and increment the material count of punch press 1 by 1. After feeding is completed, the front-end robot resets to a safe point. In this embodiment, the safe point refers to the position where the industrial robot resets after feeding the material to the punch press, ensuring no mechanical interference with the punch press's stamping action. The punch press can only start stamping after the robot returns to the safe point to prevent the robot arm from colliding with the punch press slide or mold.

[0057] After confirming that the front-end machine has returned to a safe point, the punch press 1 is triggered to start punching. After punching is completed, the punch press 1 automatically resets and activates the demolding cylinder (an auxiliary cylinder device installed inside the punch press. After the punch press completes punching, this cylinder activates and ejects the punched material from the mold (demolding) so that the downstream robot can pick up the material smoothly). After the front-end machine resets, it automatically enters the material waiting state and enters the next production cycle. Since the material quantity variable of the punch press 1 is 1 at this time, even if the feeding conveyor belt brings material, the front-end machine will not release the material into the punch press 1 after picking it up.

[0058] The intermediate press is mainly responsible for the complete work cycle of taking material from the upstream press and feeding it to the downstream press, as detailed below.

[0059] In some embodiments of this application, the stamping equipment at the target feeding position further includes: the remaining stamping equipment in the sheet metal stamping production line excluding the first stamping equipment; the industrial robot further includes: an intermediate machine disposed between two stamping equipments; the method further includes: when the material quantity variable corresponding to the first stamping equipment is detected to be non-zero and the first stamping equipment is in the top dead center state, controlling the intermediate machine to perform a material picking action to obtain the processed material from the first stamping equipment, and decrementing the material quantity variable corresponding to the first stamping equipment by one after the material picking action is completed, wherein the first stamping equipment is the preceding stamping equipment located upstream of the intermediate machine in the production line, and the upper... The dead point state indicates that the slider of the stamping equipment is at its highest limit position. When the material quantity variable corresponding to the second stamping equipment is detected to be zero and the second stamping equipment is in the upper dead point state, the intermediate machine is controlled to perform the feeding action, placing the material into the second stamping equipment and incrementing the material quantity variable corresponding to the second stamping equipment by one. The second stamping equipment is the stamping equipment located downstream of the intermediate machine in the production line. When the intermediate machine is detected to have reset to the safe point position, the second stamping equipment is controlled to process the material. The safe point position is the avoidance position that the intermediate machine resets to after completing the feeding, which does not interfere with the stamping action of the second stamping equipment.

[0060] Specifically, for multiple stamping machines arranged in series on a production line, the intermediate machine can execute transfer logic between upstream and downstream stamping presses. Here, the first stamping machine refers to the preceding stamping press upstream of the intermediate machine (taking stamping press 1 as an example), and the second stamping machine refers to the following stamping press downstream (taking stamping press 2 as an example). For example, the transfer logic of the intermediate machine can be as follows: Figure 6 As shown, the intermediate machine first waits for the material taking conditions to be met, namely, the intermediate machine itself has been reset, the material count of punch 1 is not zero, and punch 1 has completed stamping and is at the top dead center; then the intermediate machine takes material from punch 1 and decrements the material count of punch 1 by one (i.e., after taking material, the material count of punch 1 is 0); after taking material, the intermediate machine continues to wait for the material discharging conditions to be met, namely, the material count of punch 2 is zero and punch 2 is at the top dead center; then the intermediate machine executes the discharging action, discharging material into punch 2 and incrementing the material count of punch 2 by one (after discharging, the material count of punch 2 is 1).

[0061] After the material is fed, the intermediate press resets to the safety point. Once confirmed to have returned to the safety point, it triggers punch press 2 to start punching. After punching, punch press 2 resets itself and activates the demolding cylinder to demold. After resetting, the intermediate press automatically enters the material waiting state and begins the next production cycle. Since the material quantity variable of punch press 2 is 1 at this time, even if the material in punch press 1 is punched, the intermediate press will not feed material into punch press 2 after picking it up. This upstream and downstream connection logic ensures cycle synchronization and safety interlocking when multiple workstations are connected in series.

[0062] The back-end machine is mainly responsible for the complete work cycle of taking material from punch press 2 and discharging it onto the inspection plate, as detailed below.

[0063] In some embodiments of this application, the industrial robot further includes: a back-end machine disposed between the last stamping equipment and the unloading conveyor belt in the production line; the sheet metal stamping production line further includes: a detection plate disposed between the back-end machine and the unloading conveyor belt; the method further includes: when the material count variable corresponding to the last stamping equipment in the production line is detected to be non-zero and the stamping equipment is in the top dead center state, controlling the back-end machine to perform a material picking action to obtain the processed material from the stamping equipment, and decrementing the material count variable corresponding to the stamping equipment by one after the material picking action is completed; controlling the back-end machine to perform a material unloading action to place the obtained material into the detection plate; when the material count variable corresponding to the detection plate is detected to be zero, controlling the back-end machine to perform a material unloading action to place the obtained material into the detection plate, and incrementing the material count variable corresponding to the detection plate by one.

[0064] Specifically, the back-end machine is responsible for taking the material that has completed all stamping processes from the last stamping equipment on the production line (taking press 2 as an example). The material taking conditions are that the material count of the press is not 0 and it has been reset to the top dead center. After taking the material, the material count of the press is decremented by 1. Subsequently, the back-end machine places the material onto the inspection tray. In this implementation, the inspection tray can also have an independent material count variable. The back-end machine is only allowed to place the material when the variable is 0 (i.e., the inspection tray is empty). After placing the material, the material count on the inspection tray is incremented by 1. This design extends the software interlock mechanism from the stamping equipment to the end inspection station, preventing the material from accumulating in the inspection tray or being placed repeatedly, and ensuring the orderly operation of the vision inspection station.

[0065] For example, such as Figure 7 As shown, when the back-end machine has reset and punch 2 has finished punching and reset to the top dead center, and the material count in punch 2 is 1 (not zero), the back-end machine performs a material-taking action, taking material from punch 2 and decrementing the material count in punch 2 by one (after taking material, the material count in punch 2 is 0); then the back-end machine places the material onto the detection tray, incrementing the material count on the detection tray by one (after discharging material, the material count on the detection tray is 1); after discharging material, the back-end machine performs a reset action and automatically enters the waiting state for material, proceeding to the next production cycle. Since the material count in the detection tray is 1 at this time, even if the material in punch 2 has finished punching, the back-end machine will not discharge material into the detection tray after taking material.

[0066] In this embodiment of the application, the automated quality inspection and diversion logic (visual sorting) for materials in the detection tray is as follows.

[0067] In some embodiments of this application, the sheet metal stamping production line further includes: an image acquisition device; the method further includes: when the material quantity variable corresponding to the detection tray is detected to be non-zero, controlling the image acquisition device to acquire an image of the material in the detection tray to obtain a target image; performing visual inspection on the target image to obtain an inspection result, wherein the visual inspection is used to perform quality inspection on the material to determine whether the material meets the preset qualification standard; when the inspection result indicates that the material quality is qualified, controlling the sorting cylinder to push the material to the unloading conveyor belt and decrementing the material quantity variable corresponding to the detection tray by one; when the inspection result indicates that the material quality is unqualified, controlling the sorting cylinder to push the material to the scrap area and decrementing the material quantity variable corresponding to the detection tray by one.

[0068] When the material count variable on the inspection tray is non-zero, it indicates that there is material to be inspected in the tray. The controller triggers the image acquisition device (industrial camera) to take a picture, and the visual inspection algorithm determines whether the material meets the preset qualification standard. If it is qualified, the controller drives the qualified sorting cylinder to push the material to the unloading conveyor belt. If it is unqualified (such as uneven cutting edges, cracks, missing material, burrs, hole misalignment, missing punches, etc.), the controller drives the unqualified sorting cylinder to push the material to the scrap area. Regardless of whether it is qualified or not, after the material leaves the inspection tray, its corresponding material count variable is decremented by 1 to zero. This process realizes closed-loop control of post-stamping quality inspection and automatic diversion. At the same time, by releasing the interlock by returning the material count variable to zero, the back-end machine can continue to replenish new material to the inspection tray, maintaining the continuous operation of the production line.

[0069] For example, such as Figure 8 As shown, the system can first wait for the background machine to be reset and the material count in the detection tray to be 1 before taking a picture. Once the condition is met, the camera is triggered to take a picture to check the product's conformity. If the product is deemed conforming, the sorting cylinder 1 is activated to push the material onto the conveyor belt. If the product is deemed unconforming, the sorting cylinder 2 is activated to push the material to the waste area. Regardless of conformity, the material count in the detection tray is reduced to zero. Then the cylinder is reset, and the system returns to the waiting state for taking a picture, entering the next detection cycle.

[0070] In addition, in order to improve the overall efficiency and capacity of the production line, this application also introduces a graded flexible handling strategy for abnormalities such as material picking, material dropping, and material jamming, as detailed below.

[0071] In some embodiments of this application, the method further includes: during the process of the industrial robot performing a picking / unloading action, monitoring whether the air pressure of the vacuum suction cup used for picking / unloading on the industrial robot is within a preset pressure threshold range, and whether the proximity sensor located at the end of the suction cup arm of the industrial robot is triggered, wherein the proximity sensor is used to detect whether the suction cup arm of the industrial robot has reached a preset sensing distance of the material; if the air pressure of the vacuum suction cup exceeds the preset pressure threshold range, or if the proximity sensor is not triggered, it is determined that the picking / unloading has failed; if the picking failure is determined and the number of picking attempts is not greater than a preset picking attempt threshold, the industrial robot is controlled to re-execute the picking action until the picking is successful or the number of picking attempts is greater than the preset picking attempt threshold; if the number of picking attempts is greater than the preset picking attempt threshold but the picking is still unsuccessful, and / or the unloading failure is determined, the abnormal industrial robot is controlled to reset and wait, and an abnormal alarm message is issued.

[0072] In some embodiments of this application, the method further includes: issuing a jamming alarm message when an abnormal demolding is detected after stamping by the stamping equipment; and resetting the material count variable corresponding to the stamping equipment where the jamming occurred to zero and restarting the stamping equipment when the jammed material has been cleared.

[0073] like Figure 9 , Figure 10 and Figure 11 As shown, the parallel detection, handling, and recovery process for three types of anomalies—material handling, material dropping, and material jamming—is illustrated. In this embodiment, the handling of these three types of anomalies can maintain the positions of other materials in the production line, performing only a partial reset on the faulty unit to achieve rapid fault handling, as detailed below.

[0074] In case of material handling abnormalities, after the robot picks up the material and returns to the material handling pre-position, it can determine whether the material handling was successful or failed by detecting whether the vacuum suction cup pressure is normal and whether the proximity sensor is triggered. If the material handling fails, the number of material handling attempts is automatically accumulated and the robot is retried. When the number of attempts exceeds the preset threshold and still fails, the robot is reset and the production line stops to wait for recovery. If the material handling is successful, the robot enters the material unloading stage. After successful unloading, the number of material handling attempts is reset to zero and the robot enters the punching and demolding stage. In case of material handling abnormalities, after the production line stops and the equipment is deactivated, the suction cup material handling problem is manually resolved. Subsequently, the equipment is directly restarted and the material handling robot is automatically reset.

[0075] In case of material feeding abnormality, the robot monitors the vacuum suction cup pressure and proximity sensor status in real time during the feeding process. If any indicator is abnormal, the feeding is judged to have failed. If the feeding fails, the robot will reset directly and trigger the production line to stop. In case of material feeding abnormality, after the production line stops and the equipment is enabled, the fallen material is manually cleaned up, and then the equipment is directly started and the feeding robot is automatically reset.

[0076] In case of material jamming, if demolding fails, a jamming alarm will be issued and the production line will stop. If demolding is successful, the demolding will proceed normally and the machine will wait for the robot to pick it up. In case of material jamming, after the production line stops and the equipment is enabled, the jammed material on the punch press will be manually cleared. Then, the material count on the punch press will be manually reset to 0 via the HMI (Human Machine Interface). Subsequently, the equipment will start up and the material picker robot will automatically reset the count.

[0077] In summary, during the robot's material handling process, the system can monitor two key indicators in real time: first, whether the air pressure of the vacuum suction cup is within a preset threshold range (to determine if the material is effectively adsorbed); and second, whether the proximity sensor located at the end of the suction cup arm is triggered (to determine if the robot has reached the preset sensing distance of the material). If the air pressure is abnormal or the proximity sensor is not triggered, the material handling / discharging is considered a failure. For material handling failures, the system allows the robot to automatically retry within a preset threshold number of attempts (the number of attempts can be set via the HMI), achieving online self-healing for minor anomalies. If the number of retry attempts exceeds the limit and still fails, or if discharging fails (material drops), the system can perform a partial shutdown and reset on the faulty robot and issue an abnormal alarm, while other workstations on the production line maintain the current material position. After manual troubleshooting, production can resume from the breakpoint, thus avoiding the capacity loss caused by the forced shutdown of the entire production line in traditional methods.

[0078] Regarding material jamming, if the demolding cylinder fails to reach its proper position after the punch press completes its stroke (determined by the demolding cylinder position sensor or the material detection sensor inside the punch press), a material jam is detected. The system issues a jamming alarm and disables the machine to stop. Since jamming means material is stuck in the mold, the material count variable for that punch press remains non-zero, blocking the upstream robot's material handling logic. Therefore, after manually clearing the jammed material from the punch press, the operator must manually reset the material count variable to 0 via the Human-Machine Interface (HMI) to release the software interlock. The punch press can then be restarted to continue production. This design enables independent reset of the faulty unit, eliminating the need for line-wide origin reset and no-load adjustment, significantly shortening the recovery cycle.

[0079] This application's solution achieves interlocking between workstations by setting material quantity variables for each stamping device and detection plate. When the material quantity at the target feeding position is detected to be zero, the corresponding robot is controlled to feed the material and increment it by one. When the material quantity at the target picking position is detected to be non-zero and the press is reset to the top dead center, the corresponding robot is controlled to pick the material and decrement it by one. At the same time, multi-sensor fusion (vacuum suction cup air pressure monitoring and end proximity sensor) is used to accurately detect and flexibly handle abnormalities such as picking, dropping, and jamming. That is, minor abnormalities allow the robot to automatically retry picking, while serious abnormalities only disable the faulty unit and stop the machine while keeping the material positions of other workstations unchanged. After the fault is manually resolved, the faulty unit can be independently and quickly restored and resumed production by resetting the material quantity variable through alarm reset or HMI reset. This significantly reduces ineffective downtime, shortens fault recovery time, improves the overall efficiency and capacity of the production line, and enhances the robustness of industrial automatic control systems in the intelligent manufacturing equipment industry. Moreover, the solution is based on a general PLC platform, does not depend on a specific equipment brand, can be adapted to multiple specifications of sheet metal stamping production lines, and has good versatility and scalability.

[0080] According to an embodiment of this application, an embodiment of a control system for a sheet metal stamping production line is also provided. The hardware architecture of this control system adopts a modular layout; the specific architecture and layout can be found in [reference needed]. Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown. Figure 3 and Figure 4 The typical configuration consists of three robots (front-end robot, middle robot, and back-end robot) and two punch presses (stamping equipment). This layout can cover most sheet metal stamping application scenarios with the same logic. It is based on a general PLC platform and does not depend on a specific robot or punch press brand, thus having good versatility and scalability.

[0081] The system control includes: at least one stamping machine, an industrial robot installed at the upstream or downstream station of the stamping machine in the production process, and a controller.

[0082] Stamping equipment is used to process materials by stamping, and the stamping process can be completed under the control of a controller;

[0083] The controller is used to set a material quantity variable for each stamping equipment, wherein the material quantity variable is used to record the quantity of material processed in the stamping equipment; based on the value status of the material quantity variable corresponding to the stamping equipment of the target station, the controller controls the industrial robot corresponding to the target station to perform material transfer actions and update the material quantity variable, wherein the industrial robot includes at least one of the following: front-end machine, intermediate machine, and back-end machine, and the material transfer action includes at least one of the following: material feeding action and material picking action.

[0084] In addition, the system may also include: a feeding conveyor belt for conveying materials to be processed to the picking position, and a feeding conveyor belt for conveying materials processed by the sheet metal stamping production line to the downstream process, that is, receiving qualified finished products and sending them to the downstream process, and other equipment.

[0085] Optionally, the target workstation includes: a target unloading position and a target retrieving position; based on the value of the material quantity variable corresponding to the stamping equipment at the target workstation, controlling the industrial robot corresponding to the target workstation to perform material transfer actions includes: when the material quantity variable corresponding to the stamping equipment at the target unloading position is detected to be zero, controlling the industrial robot corresponding to the target unloading position to perform an unloading action, and incrementing the material quantity variable corresponding to the stamping equipment at the target unloading position by one after the unloading action is completed, wherein the unloading action is used to transfer the acquired material to the target unloading position; when the material quantity variable corresponding to the stamping equipment at the target retrieving position is detected to be non-zero, controlling the industrial robot corresponding to the target retrieving position to perform a retrieving action, and decrementing the material quantity variable corresponding to the target retrieving position by one after the retrieving action is completed, wherein the retrieving action is used to retrieve material from the target retrieving position.

[0086] Optionally, the stamping equipment at the target feeding position includes: the first stamping equipment in the sheet metal stamping production line; the industrial robot includes: a front-end machine positioned between the feeding conveyor belt and the first stamping equipment; the controller is further configured to: control the front-end machine to perform a material-picking action to obtain the material when it is detected that the material in the feeding conveyor belt has been delivered to the correct position; control the front-end machine to perform a feeding action to place the material in the stamping equipment and increment the material count variable corresponding to the stamping equipment when it is detected that the front-end machine has reset to the safe point position; and control the stamping equipment to process the material when it is detected that the front-end machine has reset to the safe point position, wherein the safe point position is the avoidance position to which the front-end machine resets after completing the feeding, and which does not interfere with the stamping action of the stamping equipment.

[0087] Optionally, the stamping equipment at the target feeding position also includes: the remaining stamping equipment in the sheet metal stamping production line excluding the first stamping equipment; the industrial robot also includes: an intermediate machine positioned between the two stamping equipments; the controller is further configured to: when it detects that the material quantity variable corresponding to the first stamping equipment is not zero and the first stamping equipment is in the top dead center state, control the intermediate machine to perform a material picking action to obtain the processed material from the first stamping equipment, and decrement the material quantity variable corresponding to the first stamping equipment by one after the material picking action is completed, wherein the first stamping equipment is the preceding stamping equipment located upstream of the intermediate machine in the production line, in the top dead center state. The slider of the stamping equipment is at its highest limit position. When the material quantity variable corresponding to the second stamping equipment is detected to be zero and the second stamping equipment is in the top dead center state, the intermediate machine is controlled to perform the feeding action, placing the material into the second stamping equipment and incrementing the material quantity variable corresponding to the second stamping equipment by one. The second stamping equipment is the stamping equipment downstream of the intermediate machine in the production line. When the intermediate machine is detected to have reset to the safe point position, the second stamping equipment is controlled to process the material. The safe point position is the avoidance position to which the intermediate machine resets after completing the feeding, without interfering with the stamping action of the second stamping equipment.

[0088] Optionally, the industrial robot further includes: a back-end machine located between the last stamping machine and the unloading conveyor belt in the production line; the sheet metal stamping production line also includes: a detection plate located between the back-end machine and the unloading conveyor belt; the controller is further configured to: when the material count variable corresponding to the last stamping machine in the production line is detected to be non-zero and the stamping machine is in the top dead center state, control the back-end machine to perform a material picking action to obtain the processed material from the stamping machine, and decrement the material count variable corresponding to the stamping machine by one after the material picking action is completed; control the back-end machine to perform a material unloading action to place the obtained material into the detection plate; when the material count variable corresponding to the detection plate is detected to be zero, control the back-end machine to perform a material unloading action to place the obtained material into the detection plate, and increment the material count variable corresponding to the detection plate by one.

[0089] Optionally, the sheet metal stamping production line also includes: an image acquisition device; the controller is further configured to: when the material quantity variable corresponding to the detection tray is detected to be non-zero, control the image acquisition device to acquire an image of the material in the detection tray to obtain a target image; perform visual inspection on the target image to obtain an inspection result, wherein the visual inspection is used to perform quality inspection on the material to determine whether the material meets the preset qualification standard; when the inspection result indicates that the material quality is qualified, control the sorting cylinder to push the material to the unloading conveyor belt and decrement the material quantity variable corresponding to the detection tray by one; when the inspection result indicates that the material quality is unqualified, control the sorting cylinder to push the material to the scrap area and decrement the material quantity variable corresponding to the detection tray by one.

[0090] Optionally, the controller is also configured to: monitor whether the air pressure of the vacuum suction cup used for picking up and placing materials on the industrial robot is within a preset pressure threshold range, and whether the proximity sensor located at the end of the suction cup arm of the industrial robot is triggered, wherein the proximity sensor is used to detect whether the suction cup arm of the industrial robot has reached the preset sensing distance of the material; if the air pressure of the vacuum suction cup exceeds the preset pressure threshold range, or the proximity sensor is not triggered, the picking up / placing of materials is determined to be a failure; if the picking up is determined to be a failure and the number of picking up is not greater than a preset picking up number threshold, the controller controls the industrial robot to re-execute the picking up action until the picking up is successful or the number of picking up is greater than the preset picking up number threshold; if the number of picking up is greater than the preset picking up number threshold but the picking up is still unsuccessful, and / or the placing of materials is determined to be a failure, the controller controls the abnormal industrial robot to reset and wait, and issues an abnormal alarm message.

[0091] Optionally, the controller is also configured to: issue a jamming alarm message when an abnormal demolding is detected after stamping by the stamping equipment; and, if the jammed material in the stamping equipment where the jamming occurred has been cleared, reset the material count variable corresponding to the stamping equipment where the jamming occurred to zero and restart the stamping equipment.

[0092] It should be noted that the control system of the sheet metal stamping production line provided in this embodiment can be used to execute... Figure 2 The control method of the sheet metal stamping production line shown above is also applicable to the embodiments of this application, and will not be repeated here.

[0093] This application embodiment also provides a non-volatile storage medium, which includes a stored computer program. The device containing the non-volatile storage medium executes the following control method for a sheet metal stamping production line by running the computer program: setting a material quantity variable for each stamping device in the production line, wherein the material quantity variable is used to record the quantity of material processed in the stamping device; controlling the industrial robot corresponding to the target station to perform a material transfer action based on the value state of the material quantity variable corresponding to the stamping device of the target station, and updating the material quantity variable, wherein the material transfer action includes at least one of the following: a feeding action and a picking action.

[0094] This application also provides a computer program product, including a computer program. When the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the steps of the control method for the sheet metal stamping production line described in various embodiments of this application: setting a material quantity variable for each stamping device in the production line, wherein the material quantity variable is used to record the quantity of material processed in the stamping device; according to the value state of the material quantity variable corresponding to the stamping device of the target station, controlling the industrial robot corresponding to the target station to perform a material transfer action and updating the material quantity variable, wherein the material transfer action includes at least one of the following: a feeding action and a picking action.

[0095] The sequence numbers of the embodiments in this application are for descriptive purposes only and do not represent the superiority or inferiority of the embodiments.

[0096] In the above embodiments of this application, the descriptions of each embodiment have different focuses. For parts not described in detail in a certain embodiment, please refer to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

[0097] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed technical content can be implemented in other ways. The device embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for example, the division of units can be a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For instance, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the displayed or discussed mutual coupling, direct coupling, or communication connection may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between units or modules may be electrical or other forms.

[0098] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0099] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional unit.

[0100] If the integrated unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as a USB flash drive, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), portable hard drive, magnetic disk, or optical disk.

[0101] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of this application. It should be noted that for those skilled in the art, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principle of this application, and these improvements and modifications should also be considered within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A control method for a sheet metal stamping production line, characterized in that, The sheet metal stamping production line includes: at least one stamping machine, and an industrial robot disposed at the upstream and / or downstream station corresponding to the stamping machine in the production process; the method includes: A material quantity variable is set for each of the stamping devices, wherein the material quantity variable is used to record the quantity of material processed in the stamping device; Based on the value of the material quantity variable corresponding to the stamping equipment at the target workstation, the industrial robot corresponding to the target workstation is controlled to perform a material transfer action and update the material quantity variable. The material transfer action includes at least one of the following: a feeding action and a picking action.

2. The control method for a sheet metal stamping production line according to claim 1, characterized in that, The target workstation includes: a target material feeding position and a target material picking position; based on the value of the material quantity variable corresponding to the stamping equipment at the target workstation, controlling the industrial robot corresponding to the target workstation to perform material transfer actions includes: When the material quantity variable corresponding to the stamping equipment at the target feeding position is detected to be zero, the industrial robot corresponding to the target feeding position is controlled to perform feeding action, and when the feeding action is completed, the material quantity variable corresponding to the stamping equipment at the target feeding position is incremented by one, wherein the feeding action is used to transfer the acquired material to the target feeding position. If the material quantity variable corresponding to the stamping equipment at the target material picking position is not zero, the industrial robot at the target material picking position is controlled to perform a picking action. After the picking action is completed, the material quantity variable corresponding to the target material picking position is decremented by one. The picking action is used to obtain material from the target material picking position.

3. The control method for a sheet metal stamping production line according to claim 1, characterized in that, The stamping equipment at the target feeding position includes: the first stamping equipment in the sheet metal stamping production line; the industrial robot includes: a front-end machine disposed between the feeding conveyor belt and the first stamping equipment; the method further includes: When the material is detected to be in place in the feeding conveyor belt, the front-end machine is controlled to perform the material picking action to obtain the material; When the material quantity variable corresponding to the first stamping equipment in the production line is detected to be zero, the front-end machine is controlled to perform the feeding action, placing the material into the stamping equipment and incrementing the material quantity variable corresponding to the stamping equipment by one; When the front-end machine is detected to have reset to the safe point position, the stamping equipment is controlled to process the material. The safe point position is the avoidance position to which the front-end machine resets after completing the material feeding, so as not to interfere with the stamping action of the stamping equipment.

4. The control method for a sheet metal stamping production line according to claim 1, characterized in that, The stamping equipment at the target feeding position also includes: the remaining stamping equipment in the sheet metal stamping production line excluding the first stamping equipment; the industrial robot also includes: an intermediate machine disposed between two stamping equipment; the method further includes: When the material quantity variable corresponding to the first stamping equipment is detected to be non-zero and the first stamping equipment is in the top dead center state, the intermediate machine is controlled to perform the material picking action to obtain the processed material from the first stamping equipment. After the material picking action is completed, the material quantity variable corresponding to the first stamping equipment is decremented by one. Here, the first stamping equipment is the previous stamping equipment located upstream of the intermediate machine in the production line, and the top dead center state indicates that the slider of the stamping equipment is in the highest limit position. When the material quantity variable corresponding to the second stamping device is detected to be zero and the second stamping device is in the top dead center state, the intermediate machine is controlled to perform the feeding action, placing the material in the second stamping device and incrementing the material quantity variable corresponding to the second stamping device by one, wherein the second stamping device is the next stamping device located downstream of the intermediate machine in the production line; When the intermediate machine is detected to have reset to the safe point position, the second stamping device is controlled to process the material. The safe point position is the avoidance position to which the intermediate machine resets after completing the material feeding, so as not to interfere with the stamping action of the second stamping device.

5. The control method for a sheet metal stamping production line according to claim 1, characterized in that, The industrial robot further includes: a back-end machine disposed between the last stamping machine and the unloading conveyor belt in the production line; the sheet metal stamping production line further includes: a detection plate disposed between the back-end machine and the unloading conveyor belt; the method further includes: If the material quantity variable corresponding to the last stamping equipment in the production line is not zero and the stamping equipment is in the top dead center state, the back-end machine is controlled to perform the material picking action to obtain the processed material from the stamping equipment, and the material quantity variable corresponding to the stamping equipment is decremented by one after the material picking action is completed. The back-end machine is controlled to perform the feeding action, placing the acquired material into the detection tray; If the material quantity variable corresponding to the detection plate is detected to be zero, the back-end machine is controlled to perform the feeding action, placing the acquired material into the detection plate and incrementing the material quantity variable corresponding to the detection plate by one.

6. The control method for a sheet metal stamping production line according to claim 5, characterized in that, The sheet metal stamping production line also includes: an image acquisition device; the method further includes: When the material quantity variable corresponding to the detection plate is detected to be non-zero, the image acquisition device is controlled to acquire images of the material in the detection plate to obtain the target image. Visual inspection is performed on the target image to obtain inspection results, wherein the visual inspection is used to perform quality inspection on the material to determine whether the material meets the preset qualification standard; If the test result indicates that the material quality is qualified, the sorting cylinder is controlled to push the material to the unloading conveyor belt, and the material quantity variable corresponding to the test plate is decremented by one. If the test result indicates that the material quality is unqualified, the sorting cylinder is controlled to push the material to the waste area, and the material quantity variable corresponding to the test plate is reduced by one.

7. The control method for a sheet metal stamping production line according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The method further includes: During the process of the industrial robot performing material picking / discharging actions, the air pressure of the vacuum suction cup on the industrial robot used for picking and discharging materials is monitored to see if it is within a preset pressure threshold range, and whether the proximity sensor set at the end of the suction cup arm of the industrial robot is triggered. The proximity sensor is used to detect whether the suction cup arm of the industrial robot has reached the preset sensing distance of the material. If the air pressure of the vacuum suction cup exceeds the preset pressure threshold range, or if the proximity sensor is not triggered, the material handling / discharging failure is determined. If the material picking fails and the number of picking attempts does not exceed the preset picking attempt threshold, the industrial robot is controlled to re-execute the material picking action until the material picking is successful or the number of picking attempts exceeds the preset picking attempt threshold. If the number of material picking attempts exceeds the preset threshold but material picking still fails, and / or if material feeding fails, the industrial robot that is experiencing an abnormality will be reset and put into a waiting state, and an abnormality alarm message will be issued.

8. The control method for a sheet metal stamping production line according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The method further includes: If an abnormal demolding is detected after stamping by the stamping equipment, a jamming alarm message is issued; If the material jammed in the stamping equipment that caused the jamming abnormality has been cleared, the material quantity variable corresponding to the stamping equipment that caused the jamming abnormality is reset to zero, and the stamping equipment is restarted.

9. A control system for a sheet metal stamping production line, characterized in that, include: The system includes at least one stamping machine, an industrial robot installed at an upstream or downstream station of the stamping machine in the production process, and a controller, wherein... The stamping equipment is used for stamping processing of materials; The controller is configured to set a material quantity variable for each of the stamping devices, wherein the material quantity variable is used to record the quantity of material processed in the stamping device; based on the value state of the material quantity variable corresponding to the stamping device at the target station, the controller controls the industrial robot corresponding to the target station to perform a material transfer action and update the material quantity variable, wherein the material transfer action includes at least one of the following: a feeding action and a picking action.

10. An electronic device, characterized in that, include: A memory and a processor, the processor being configured to run a program stored in the memory, wherein the program, when running, executes the control method for a sheet metal stamping production line according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

11. A non-volatile storage medium, characterized in that, The non-volatile storage medium includes a stored computer program, wherein the device containing the non-volatile storage medium executes the control method of the sheet metal stamping production line according to any one of claims 1 to 8 by running the computer program.

12. A computer program product, comprising a computer program, characterized in that, When the computer program is executed by the processor, it implements the steps of the control method for the sheet metal stamping production line according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

Images