An automated hot finishing line based on AMR and composite robot and a method of operation

Abstract

The application discloses an automatic hot finishing operation line and operation method based on an AMR and a composite robot, the automatic hot finishing operation line comprising a composite robot arranged in the middle, a truss manipulator and a suction cup type manipulator being mounted at the tail end of the composite robot, a detection device being arranged on the left side of the composite robot, a hand changing tool being arranged on the right side of the composite robot, a waste product station, a blanking station and a feeding station being arranged on the outer side of the hand changing tool, and a hot finishing machine and an air cooling frame being arranged on the front side or the rear side of the composite robot. The automatic hot finishing operation line and operation method based on the AMR and the composite robot can carry products from a shelf to the hot finishing machine for processing, and then carry the processed products to a warehouse after classification and stacking, greatly improving the working efficiency of hot finishing operation and reducing the labor intensity, and being high in automation degree.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of hot finishing, and more specifically, to an automated hot finishing line and method based on AMR and composite robots. Background Technology

[0002] Hot forming is a crucial process in the machining of precision parts. It is mainly used to correct defects such as deformation and warping that occur after injection molding and stamping, ensuring dimensional accuracy and surface flatness of the product. Currently, traditional hot forming operations mostly adopt a manual-assisted, single-machine operation mode, resulting in a fragmented workflow.

[0003] The existing hot forming operation has low integration and chaotic process connections. Traditional hot forming, air cooling, inspection, sorting, and loading / unloading processes are mostly carried out independently, and each process relies on manual material transfer, resulting in long transfer waiting times, inconsistent work rhythms, and overall low work efficiency.

[0004] Therefore, there is an urgent need for an automated hot finishing line and operation method based on AMR and composite robots that can increase work efficiency and reduce labor intensity. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide an automated hot finishing production line and method based on AMR and composite robots. This automated hot finishing production line and method, based on AMR and composite robots, can transport products from shelves to the hot finishing machine for processing, and then classify and stack the processed products before transporting them to the warehouse, which greatly improves the work efficiency of hot finishing operations, reduces labor intensity, and has a high degree of automation.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides an automated hot finishing production line based on AMR and a composite robot. The automated hot finishing production line includes a composite robot set in the middle. The composite robot is equipped with a gantry manipulator and a suction cup manipulator at its end. A detection device is set on the left side of the composite robot, and a changeover device is set on the right side. A scrap station, a unloading station, and a loading station are arranged outside the changeover device. A hot finishing machine and an air-cooling frame are set on the front or rear side of the composite robot.

[0007] Preferably, the air-cooled frame includes a frame body; an air box is provided at the bottom of the frame body, and multiple layers of hollowed-out frame plates are provided on the side of the frame body facing the composite robot, with support blocks provided on the hollowed-out frame plates.

[0008] Preferably, the hot forming machine includes a chassis, on which a fixed lower forming mold and a movable upper forming mold are provided.

[0009] Preferably, a fixing plate is mounted on the chassis via four columns, and a drive box is provided on the fixing plate. The drive components on the drive box are connected to the upper forming mold.

[0010] Preferably, protective nets are provided on the left, right and rear sides of the chassis.

[0011] Preferably, each of the scrap processing station, unloading station, and loading station has several products placed on a tray, and a pallet is provided under the lowest tray.

[0012] Preferably, the tray includes a tray body; the tray body is provided with a plurality of parallel placement slots, the upper side of the tray body is provided with a plurality of positioning slots, and the bottom of the tray body is provided with a positioning block that stacks and cooperates with the positioning slots.

[0013] Preferably, the pallet is provided with a limiting block corresponding to the tray; the limiting block is a horizontally placed U-shaped block that cooperates with the positioning block for limiting.

[0014] This invention also provides an automated thermal finishing operation method based on AMR and composite robots, using the aforementioned production line, characterized by comprising the following steps: S1, the AMR autonomous mobile robot transports the pallet full of trays to the loading station, and the gantry robot arm set at the end of the composite robot grabs the trays at the loading station and puts them into multiple piles by the changeover man. S2, the suction cup robotic arm at the end of the composite robot grabs the product in the tray and puts it into the hot forming machine for hot forming. Then the hot-formed product is grabbed by the suction cup robotic arm and placed on the air-cooling rack for air cooling. S3: The suction cup-type robotic arm at the end of the composite robot picks up the air-cooled product and puts it into the testing equipment to scan and test the surface flatness of the product. S4. Products that pass inspection are placed on the first empty tray of the changing machine, and products that fail inspection are placed on the second hole tray of the changing machine. Once the first tray or the second tray is full, it is picked up by the gantry robot and stacked at the corresponding scrap station or unloading station. S5 uses an AMR (Autonomous Mobile Robot) to move stacked pallets to the warehouse.

[0015] Preferably, in step S5, the unqualified products are placed back into the heat re-forming machine for re-testing. If they are still unqualified, they are placed into the second tray.

[0016] According to the above technical solution, the present invention is based on AMR and composite robot, which can transport products from the shelf to the hot finishing machine for processing, and then classify and stack the processed products and transport them to the warehouse, which greatly improves the work efficiency of hot finishing operation and reduces labor intensity, and has a high degree of automation.

[0017] Other features and advantages of the present invention will be described in detail in the following detailed description section. Attached Figure Description

[0018] The accompanying drawings are provided to further illustrate the invention and form part of the specification. They are used together with the following detailed description to explain the invention, but do not constitute a limitation thereof. In the drawings: Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the automated hot finishing line of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the air-cooled frame of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the thermal processing unit of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the tray disk of the present invention; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the mating structure of the pallet and tray disk of the present invention; Figure 6 This is a flowchart of the operation method of the present invention.

[0019] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures 1-Composite robot; 2-Inspection equipment; 3-Air-cooled frame; 301-Airbox; 302-Frame body; 303-Hollowed frame plate; 304-Support block; 4-Heated machine; 401-Chassis; 402-Protective net; 403-Drive box; 404-Shaping upper mold; 405-Shaping lower mold; 406-Four columns; 5-Loading station; 6-Unloading station; 7-Scrap station; 8-Manual changer; 9-Tray; 901-Tray body; 902-Placement slot; 903-Positioning slot; 904-Positioning block; 10-U-shaped block; 11-Panel. Detailed Implementation

[0020] The specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are for illustration and explanation only and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0021] In this invention, unless otherwise stated, directional terms such as "up, down, left, right, front, back, inside, outside" in the terminology only represent the orientation of the term in its normal use or are common terms understood by those skilled in the art, and should not be regarded as a limitation on the term.

[0022] See Figure 1-5 The diagram shows an automated hot finishing production line based on AMR and a composite robot. The automated hot finishing production line includes a composite robot 1 located in the middle. The composite robot 1 is equipped with a gantry manipulator and a suction cup manipulator at its end. A detection device 2 is located on the left side of the composite robot 1, and a changeover device 8 is located on the right side. A scrap station 7, a unloading station 6, and a loading station 5 are arranged outside the changeover device 8. A hot finishing machine 4 and an air-cooling frame 3 are located on the front or rear side of the composite robot 1.

[0023] Through the implementation of the above technical solution, the present invention adopts a centrally located composite robot 1, with a detection device 2 on the left side, such as a 3D flatness detection device, and a changing tool 8 and a three-station arrangement on the right side. The changing tool 8 is a tooling rack used for temporarily stacking trays 9, so that the end of the composite robot 1 can switch between a gantry manipulator and a suction cup manipulator. The gantry manipulator is symmetrically arranged with mechanical grippers, which can grip the two ends or the four sides of the tray 9. The suction cup manipulator uses multiple suction cups for adsorbing and grasping products.

[0024] The gantry robot and the suction cup robot can be symmetrically arranged at the end. Additionally, the layout of the hot forming machine 4 and the air-cooling frame 3 on the front or rear side facilitates rapid switching between hot forming and air cooling operations. The centrally positioned composite robot 1 can cover all operating equipment and workstations 360°, achieving seamless integration of the entire process from loading and unloading, hot forming, air cooling, inspection, and sorting. The compact and rational equipment layout greatly improves the utilization rate of workshop space.

[0025] Meanwhile, through the workstation zoning design, the loading, unloading, and waste stacking workstations are independently divided to avoid material mixing and disorder, realize continuous assembly line operation, and greatly improve the overall operation efficiency. From a structural perspective, the hot finishing operation has been integrated and automated.

[0026] This invention, based on AMR and composite robots, can move products from shelves to the hot finishing machine 4 for processing, and then classify and stack the processed products before moving them to the warehouse. This greatly improves the efficiency of hot finishing operations, reduces labor intensity, and has a high degree of automation.

[0027] In this embodiment, the air-cooled rack 3 includes a frame 302; an air box 301 is provided at the bottom of the frame 302, and a multi-layer perforated frame plate 303 is provided on the side of the frame 302 facing the composite robot 1, with a support block 304 provided on the perforated frame plate 303. The air-cooled rack 3 of this invention adopts a structure where the bottom air box 301 supplies air and the multi-layer perforated frame plate 303 is used to place products in layers. The perforated design enables all-around ventilation and heat dissipation, solving the problems of uneven cooling and slow heat dissipation in traditional single-air-cooling methods. The support block 304 can isolate and support high-temperature products, preventing products from directly contacting the frame plate and causing poor local heat dissipation and secondary deformation. Simultaneously, the multi-layer frame plate can hold multiple products to be cooled at the same time, enabling batch air-cooling operations, significantly improving cooling efficiency, ensuring dimensional stability of the products after cooling, and effectively improving the product shaping qualification rate.

[0028] In this embodiment, the hot forming machine 4 includes a housing 401, on which a fixed lower forming mold 405 and a movable upper forming mold 404 are disposed. The hot forming machine 4 adopts a mating structure of the fixed lower forming mold 405 and the movable upper forming mold 404. The fixed lower mold can ensure the accuracy of product placement and positioning, and avoid product deviation during processing. The movable upper mold can accurately press down to complete the hot forming operation. The high precision of the mold body mating can effectively correct warping and deformation defects after product forming, and improve the surface flatness and dimensional accuracy of the product.

[0029] In this embodiment, a fixing plate is mounted on the chassis 401 via four columns 406. A drive box 403 is mounted on the fixing plate, and the drive component on the drive box 403 is connected to the upper forming mold 404. The fixing plate and drive box 403 are fixedly mounted via the four columns 406. The four columns 406 structure has high strength and high stability, effectively counteracting the vibration and offset forces generated during the downward pressing operation of the drive component, ensuring that the upper forming mold 404 is pressed vertically and smoothly, and avoiding forming deviations caused by equipment shaking. The drive box 403 may have a built-in screw jack to drive the upper forming mold 404 to move vertically.

[0030] In this embodiment, protective nets 402 are provided on the left, right, and rear sides of the chassis 401, thereby providing good protection.

[0031] In this embodiment, several products are placed on the waste processing station 7, the unloading station 6 and the loading station 5 via trays 9, and a pallet 11 is provided under the tray 9 at the bottom.

[0032] Each workstation employs a structure where trays 9 carry products and pallets 11 provide bottom support, enabling standardized and batch placement of products and preventing bumps and damage caused by scattered stacking. The pallets 11 provide overall support for stacked multi-layered trays 9, facilitating overall transport by the AMR autonomous mobile robot, eliminating the need for single-tray transport and significantly improving material handling efficiency. Simultaneously, the standardized workstation support structure is compatible with the automated grasping operations of the composite robot 1, eliminating the need for manual material handling and further enhancing the level of automation.

[0033] In this embodiment, the tray 9 includes a tray body 901; the tray body 901 has multiple parallel placement slots 902, and the upper perimeter of the tray body 901 has multiple positioning slots 903. The bottom of the tray body 901 has a positioning block 904 that stacks and engages with the positioning slots 903. The parallel placement slots 902 inside the tray 9 allow for independent placement of products, preventing surface damage caused by friction and compression between products and ensuring the integrity of the product's appearance. The positioning slots 903 and positioning blocks 904 on the top and bottom of the tray body 901 respectively enable precise positioning and engagement when multiple trays 9 are stacked, preventing stacking offset and tipping, ensuring stacking stability. Simultaneously, the precise positioning structure is compatible with precise robot grasping, reducing grasping error rates and improving operational accuracy.

[0034] In this embodiment, the pallet 11 is provided with a limiting block corresponding to the tray 9; the limiting block is a horizontally placed U-shaped block 10 that cooperates with the positioning block 904 for limiting. The U-shaped limiting block on the pallet 11 can precisely cooperate with the bottom positioning block 904 of the tray 9 to fix and limit the bottom tray 9, completely solving the problem of slippage and displacement of the tray 9 during transfer, stacking, and operation. The U-shaped horizontal structure has strong limiting stability, simple structure, and is not easily damaged, which can effectively ensure the regularity of the overall material stacking, provide a stable material foundation for robot automated grasping and AMR automated transfer, and improve the reliability of automated equipment operation.

[0035] refer to Figure 6 The present invention also provides an automated hot-fixing operation method based on AMR and composite robots, using the aforementioned production line, characterized by comprising the following steps: S1, the AMR autonomous mobile robot transports the pallet 11 fully loaded with trays 9 to the loading station 5. The gantry robot arm set at the end of the composite robot 1 grabs the trays 9 at the loading station 5 and stacks them into multiple piles by the changeover manipulator 8. S2, the product in the tray 9 is picked up by the suction cup robotic arm at the end of the composite robot 1 and put into the hot forming machine 4 for hot forming. Then the hot-formed product is picked up by the suction cup robotic arm and put into the air-cooling frame 3 for air cooling. S3, the suction cup-type robotic arm at the end of the composite robot 1 picks up the air-cooled product and puts it into the testing equipment 2 to scan and test the surface flatness of the product; S4, Products that pass inspection are placed on the first empty tray 9 of the changing equipment 8, and Products that fail inspection are placed on the second hole tray 9 of the changing equipment 8; Once the first tray 9 or the second tray 9 is full, it is picked up by the gantry robot and placed in the corresponding scrap station 7 or unloading station 6 for stacking. S5, the stacked pallets 11 are moved to the warehouse by an AMR autonomous mobile robot.

[0036] Through the implementation of the above technical solution, a fully automated process is achieved using AMR robot intelligent transfer and a composite robot with dual robotic arms working collaboratively. The gantry robotic arm enables the overall stacking and transfer of trays (9), while the suction cup robotic arm enables precise picking and placing of individual products. The two robotic arms work together efficiently and systematically, each performing its specific function. The entire process is automated, including automatic feeding, automatic heat shaping, automatic air cooling, automatic flatness detection, automatic sorting, and automatic unloading and transfer, requiring no manual intervention. This completely replaces traditional manual operations, significantly reducing labor costs and improving operational efficiency and production cycle time. Furthermore, standardized operating procedures ensure consistent workflow for each batch of products, improving the consistency of batch processing.

[0037] In this embodiment, in step S5, the products that fail the initial inspection are placed back into the hot finishing machine 4 for reshaping and then inspected again. If they still fail, they are placed into the second tray 9. This invention adds a secondary rework and reshaping process for defective products. Products that fail the initial inspection are not directly deemed scrap; instead, they are re-sent to the hot finishing machine 4 for secondary reshaping and re-inspection. Only products that still fail the second inspection are classified as scrap. This mechanism greatly improves product material utilization, reduces product scrap rate, and lowers production material costs. Simultaneously, by correcting minor deformation defects through secondary reshaping, it further improves the overall product yield, adapting to the needs of high-precision, high-yield large-scale production.

[0038] The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific details of the above embodiments. Within the scope of the technical concept of the present invention, various simple modifications can be made to the technical solution of the present invention, and these simple modifications all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0039] It should also be noted that the various specific technical features described in the above specific embodiments can be combined in any suitable manner without contradiction. In order to avoid unnecessary repetition, the present invention will not describe the various possible combinations separately.

[0040] Furthermore, various different embodiments of the present invention can be combined in any way, as long as they do not violate the spirit of the present invention, they should also be regarded as the content disclosed by the present invention.

Claims

1. An automated hot-pressing production line based on AMR and a composite robot, characterized in that, The system includes a composite robot (1) located in the middle, with a gantry manipulator and a suction cup manipulator installed at the end of the composite robot (1). A detection device (2) is located on the left side of the composite robot (1), and a changeover device (8) is located on the right side. A scrap station (7), a material unloading station (6), and a material loading station (5) are arranged on the outer side of the changeover device (8). A hot-rolling machine (4) and an air-cooling frame (3) are located on the front or rear side of the composite robot (1).

2. The automated hot-pressing production line based on AMR and composite robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The air-cooled frame (3) includes a frame body (302); The frame (302) is provided with a bellows (301) at the bottom, and the frame (302) facing the composite robot (1) is provided with a multi-layer hollow frame plate (303), and a support block (304) is provided on the hollow frame plate (303).

3. The automated hot-pressing production line based on AMR and composite robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The hot forming machine (4) includes a chassis (401), on which a fixed lower forming mold (405) and a movable upper forming mold (404) are provided.

4. The automated hot-pressing production line based on AMR and composite robot according to claim 3, characterized in that, A fixing plate is mounted on the chassis (401) via four columns (406), and a drive box (403) is provided on the fixing plate. The drive component on the drive box (403) is connected to the upper forming mold (404).

5. The automated hot-pressing production line based on AMR and composite robot according to claim 3, characterized in that, The chassis (401) is provided with protective nets (402) on the left, right and rear sides.

6. The automated hot-pressing production line based on AMR and composite robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, Several products are placed on the waste processing station (7), unloading station (6) and loading station (5) via trays (9), and a pallet (11) is provided under the tray (9) at the bottom.

7. The automated hot-pressing production line based on AMR and composite robot according to claim 6, characterized in that, The tray (9) includes a tray body (901); The disc body (901) has a plurality of parallel placement slots (902) inside, and a plurality of positioning slots (903) are provided around the upper side of the disc body (901). The bottom of the disc body (901) is provided with positioning blocks (904) that are stacked and cooperate with the positioning slots (903).

8. The automated hot-pressing production line based on AMR and composite robot according to claim 7, characterized in that, The pallet (11) is provided with a limiting block corresponding to the tray (9); The limiting block is a horizontally placed U-shaped block (10) that cooperates with the positioning block (904) for limiting.

9. An automated hot-fixing operation method based on AMR and composite robots, using the production line described in any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S1, the AMR autonomous mobile robot transports the pallet (11) full of trays (9) to the loading station (5), and the gantry robot arm set at the end of the composite robot (1) grabs the trays (9) at the loading station (5) and stacks them into multiple piles by the change of hand assembly (8). S2, the product in the tray (9) is picked up by the suction cup robotic arm set at the end of the composite robot (1) and put into the hot forming machine (4) for hot forming. Then the hot-formed product is picked up by the suction cup robotic arm and put onto the air-cooling rack (3) for air cooling. S3, the suction cup-type robotic arm set at the end of the composite robot (1) grabs the air-cooled product and puts it into the testing equipment (2) to scan and test the surface flatness of the product; S4, qualified products are placed on the first empty tray (9) on the changer (8), and unqualified products are placed on the second hole tray (9) on the changer (8). When the first tray (9) or the second tray (9) is full, it is picked up by the gantry robot and placed in the corresponding scrap station (7) or unloading station (6) for stacking. S5, the stacked pallets (11) are moved to the warehouse by an AMR autonomous mobile robot.

10. The automated thermal finishing method based on AMR and composite robot according to claim 9, characterized in that, In step S5, the unqualified products are placed back into the heat treatment machine (4) for reshaping and then tested again. If they are still unqualified, they are placed into the second tray (9).

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