Method and a system for controlling multiple resources used for the controlled manufacturing and / or assembly of parts or components

Abstract

Methods for controlling multiple pieces of equipment that are jointly used for the controlled manufacturing and / or assembly of parts or components, wherein in an electronic evaluation and control unit before commissioning the equipment a three-dimensional static map (3) with position coordinates for mapping static objects and dynamically movable equipment (A, B) as well as individual computer programs for controlling the equipment (A, B) for carrying out individual work tasks that are to be carried out with the equipment (A, B) are stored in at least one memory location, and with at least one device (4) to detect dynamic changes in the positional coordinates of equipment (A, B) during manufacturing and / or assembly in real time, and the static map (3) is updated with the changed position coordinates recorded by the device (4) for recording dynamic changes in position coordinates of equipment in order to obtain a current three-dimensional space occupancy map corresponding to the respective time, which takes into account all changes in relation to the first determined or considered position coordinates of the stationary map and The execution of at least one work task (7) with one or more operating resources (A, B) is controlled using the current three-dimensional space occupancy map, whereby the sequence of the execution of work tasks (7) and their assignment to at least one operating resource is controlled by the electronic evaluation and control unit, taking into account the trajectories associated with the respective work task(s) of the operating resources (A and B), collisions of operating resources (A, B) are avoided and times in which operating resources (A, B) are not used for production and / or assembly are minimized.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method and a system for controlling a plurality of pieces of equipment that are used jointly for the controlled production and / or assembly of parts or components. Parts or components of parts can be manufactured and / or assembled using a plurality of identically or differently constructed or configured pieces of equipment. One piece of equipment can perform at least one complete work task as part of the production or assembly of a part or component of a part, or only a portion of a work task. Complete production and / or assembly can be achieved by performing a plurality of work tasks, which, according to the invention, are to be performed by a plurality of pieces of equipment.

[0002] Typically, equipment has a control system that can perform at least one task for the respective part or component using predefined design data (e.g., CAD models). This also takes into account data for the control of at least one drive and, if applicable, for drive transmission elements, such as joints and gears, which are transmitted from the control system to the respective equipment as commands.

[0003] Equipment often also contains sensors that transmit data to the control system, which can then be used to control at least one drive of the respective equipment or other equipment. Sensors can be used, for example, to detect the position of the equipment, a drive of a particular equipment, the orientation of the equipment in space and, in particular, in relation to a part or component being processed, and the completion of a work task or part of a work task, and take this into account in the control system.

[0004] In production and assembly involving multiple pieces of equipment, it often happens that a work task is performed by one piece of equipment until it is completed, while another piece of equipment remains idle and unusable until the next work task can be performed. This is done primarily to avoid collisions between pieces of equipment.

[0005] As can easily be seen, the resulting downtime of equipment reduces labor productivity, as the cycle times are increased by the waiting times of equipment and the overall production and / or assembly time is extended accordingly.

[0006] For example, DE 10 2014 222 857 A1 discloses a flexible, cycle-time-optimized sharing of a workspace for robots.

[0007] US 2016 / 0288324 A1 concerns a movable apparatus with robot manipulators.

[0008] It is therefore an object of the invention to provide possibilities for increasing labor productivity and reducing the time required in the automated production and / or assembly of parts or components with several controlled operating resources.

[0009] According to the invention, this object is achieved by a method having the features of claim 1. Claim 8 relates to a corresponding system. Advantageous embodiments and further developments of the invention can be realized with features defined in the subordinate claims.

[0010] Industrial robots, in particular, can be used as equipment, which can be configured identically or differently from one another. The latter relates, for example, to the different possibilities of mobility in one or more degrees of freedom and / or the possibilities for performing different work tasks. For example, a piece of equipment can have options for creating material-to-material connections, such as welding, and / or options for creating form-fitting connections, such as screw connections during assembly. Of course, these are only examples, and a variety of other, even different, manufacturing or assembly steps can naturally also be performed with a piece of equipment.

[0011] Industrial robots, in particular, can be used as operating equipment in the invention. The operating equipment used should enable operation in several degrees of freedom.

[0012] In the method according to the invention, a three-dimensional static map with position coordinates for mapping static objects and dynamically movable equipment as well as individual computer programs for controlling the equipment for carrying out individual work tasks that are to be carried out with the equipment are stored in at least one memory in an electronic evaluation and control unit before the equipment is put into operation.

[0013] At least one device records dynamic changes in the position coordinates of equipment during production and / or assembly in real time.

[0014] The static map is updated with the changed position coordinates recorded by the device for recording dynamic changes in position coordinates of equipment in order to obtain a current three-dimensional room occupancy map corresponding to the respective point in time.

[0015] Based on the current three-dimensional space occupancy map, the execution of at least one work task with one or more pieces of equipment is controlled. The electronic evaluation and control unit determines the sequence of execution of work tasks and their assignment to at least one piece of equipment, taking into account the trajectories associated with the respective work task(s) of the control program(s) responsible for executing work tasks with the control program or, if applicable, another program stored in the electronic evaluation and control unit. Work tasks are executed simultaneously or in immediate succession with pieces of equipment in such a way that collisions between equipment can be avoided and times during which equipment is not used for production and / or assembly can be minimized.

[0016] During or before commissioning, the static three-dimensional map can be created using CAD or with the help of position coordinates recorded with a 3D laser and stored in a memory of the electronic evaluation and control unit.

[0017] This stationary map is updated by the changed position coordinates recorded by the device for recording dynamic changes in position coordinates of equipment in order to create an updated room occupancy map that takes into account all changes in relation to the first determined or taken into account position coordinates of the stationary map.

[0018] The stationary map should take into account the position, shape, dimensions and geometry of fixed fixtures arranged in the vicinity of a part or component, such as columns or walls, as well as the position, shape, dimensions, geometry and orientation in relation to the respective part or component of the equipment used and arranged in the vicinity.

[0019] A trajectory of a piece of equipment can be understood as the movements to be performed by a piece of equipment when performing a work task. This also applies to changes in the position coordinates of the piece of equipment itself as well as parts of a piece of equipment, such as a movable arm and / or a manipulator, which can also be attached to an arm and be a handling unit for a tool.

[0020] The invention can utilize a device for detecting dynamic changes in the position coordinates of operating resources, which device is formed with at least one camera system, position-determining sensor(s), and / or motion sensor(s). The device or elements thereof should be arranged in the vicinity of a part to be manufactured or assembled and / or a component to be manufactured or assembled and / or on at least one of the operating resources. Thus, at least one camera system can be arranged in such a way that visual monitoring of the surroundings or a work area in which the operating resources used are arranged and move before and during production or assembly can be achieved.

[0021] Position sensors can be arranged in the surrounding area / work area and / or directly on a piece of equipment and wirelessly transmit the respective detected position coordinates to the evaluation and control unit. At least one motion sensor can advantageously be arranged on a piece of equipment, whereby a motion sensor can also detect the movement of a part of a piece of equipment, such as an arm of an industrial robot, and transmit it to the electronic evaluation and control unit.

[0022] At the very least, a device for detecting dynamic changes in position coordinates should be able to detect all changes in positions or orientations, such as in particular the movements of a piece of equipment, its orientation and movements of sub-elements of a piece of equipment, for example an arm and / or a manipulator of an industrial robot, in real time or at least promptly and take them into account in such a way that at least collisions can be avoided and the downtimes of equipment during which it is not performing work for production and / or assembly can be minimized.

[0023] For example, if the possibility or danger of a collision is detected, the movement of the respective equipment should be stopped immediately, or an alternative trajectory for at least one piece of equipment at risk of collision should be calculated and considered for the continuation of the manufacturing and / or assembly process. In this case, a stop should be avoided.

[0024] Taking the acquired position coordinates into account, a dynamic three-dimensional map should be created and merged with the static map. This intermediate step allows a spatial and local relationship between static objects and moving assets to be established in a model.

[0025] During merging, the static map can be updated or supplemented at specified intervals, which can take into account a specified time interval, the movement of at least one piece of equipment, and / or the progress of production and / or assembly. The static map can form the basis for further implementation of the process. By merging the static map with newly created dynamic maps, a current room occupancy map can be obtained that corresponds to the current image within the respective environment / work area.

[0026] Suitable interfaces should be available on the electronic evaluation and control unit and the operating equipment for the acquisition and transmission of position data and control data.

[0027] An updated space occupancy map can take into account the current production or assembly status, as well as the current actual positions and orientations of equipment. These can then be used to plan and execute at least one subsequent work task and select a suitable equipment, particularly its arrangement in relation to the part or component, as well as its configuration with regard to its capabilities for production and / or assembly.

[0028] Advantageously, a computer program stored in the electronic evaluation and control unit can be used to select a piece of equipment for carrying out a work task, taking into account its respective position in relation to a part or component to be manufactured or assembled and / or the current space occupancy map or a space occupancy map taking into account a further processing status after or during the execution of a work task on a part or component.

[0029] The device for recording dynamic changes in the position coordinates of equipment can determine at least the position, shape, and size of objects, and in particular of equipment, located in the vicinity of a part or component to be manufactured and / or assembled. Of course, the changing shape, geometric configuration, and / or, if applicable, the changing position of a particular part or component as a result of manufacturing and / or assembly can also be recorded and taken into account.

[0030] The term “environment” can be understood as the working area around a part or component to be manufactured or assembled, in which operating resources are arranged or in which operating resources for production and / or assembly move and in particular in this working area collisions with static objects and operating resources arranged there can occur.

[0031] Taking into account a current space occupancy map, the sequence in which subsequent work tasks are to be performed can also be adjusted to achieve increased productivity and a reduction in cycle times and / or the total time required for production and / or assembly. By adjusting the order in which work tasks are to be completed, it is also possible to avoid or at least reduce downtimes of equipment.

[0032] Taking into account a current room occupancy map, a particularly suitable piece of equipment can be selected for the execution of a subsequent work task. The position, orientation, and / or configuration of a particular piece of equipment can be taken into account.

[0033] Using updated space occupancy maps, a computer program can be used to create a path plan for the movements of one or more pieces of equipment that are subsequently to be carried out for production and / or assembly. This allows collision-free trajectories to be achieved while taking into account the avoidance or minimization of equipment downtimes and an optimized sequence of work tasks to be performed. This can involve the interaction of several pieces of equipment that are active simultaneously and / or that can be operated with as little downtime as possible and avoiding collisions.

[0034] For example, two industrial robots can be used as operating resources, which can be active in the environment / work area of ​​a part or component to perform various work tasks. The first industrial robot can then start performing a work task. It blocks access to the part or component for the second industrial robot. The second industrial robot waits until the first industrial robot has completed its work task and has granted access to the part or component. The invention, however, is intended to plan and calculate the trajectory and the time of the start of a subsequent work task using a computer program designed for this purpose, so that a handover is achieved practically without any loss of time due to unnecessarily long downtime of the second industrial robot.For this purpose, the movements of the second industrial robot required to carry out the subsequent work task can already be started when the work task to be carried out with the first industrial robot has almost been completed or the first industrial robot releases the part or component for access by the second industrial robot by at least one movement in such a way that a collision can be avoided.

[0035] An electronic evaluation and control unit can contain at least one computer program for controlling operating resources. Several computer programs can also be installed in parallel, which can be used at least partially together to control operating resources.

[0036] The invention will be explained in more detail below by way of example.

[0037] It shows: Fig. 1 a block diagram for exemplary possibilities for implementing the invention.

[0038] First, position coordinates of objects and equipment statically arranged in an environment, which have been detected by a three-dimensional laser scanner system 1, are stored in a memory of an electronic evaluation and control unit (not shown). Data for the arrangement and orientation of a component to be manufactured and / or assembled, particularly in the form of CAD models 2, are fed to this or another memory of the electronic evaluation unit, and a static map 3 is created from this. Equipment can also be configured using a model, for example, a CAD model, and fed to the static map 3.

[0039] Position coordinates of two moving pieces of equipment A and B, recorded in a form not shown in the example shown, are used in real time to create a dynamic map 4. The data from the dynamic map 4 are merged with the data from the static map 3, and a current three-dimensional room occupancy plan is created from this by data fusion 6. The current room occupancy plan is used for the subsequent control of equipment A and B in order to calculate the required data for a suitable trajectory of equipment A and B for work tasks 7 to be carried out using computer programs stored in one or another memory of the electronic evaluation and control unit.The calculation is carried out in such a way that collisions and downtimes are avoided or at least minimized, as already explained in the general part of the description and defined in claim 1.

[0040] In addition to calculating the trajectories for resources A and B, the sequence or order for the execution of work tasks can also be carried out in a process step 8.

[0041] As shown on the right side of Fig. 1 can be seen with the arrows, the movement of the equipment A and B in the environment / work space is continuously monitored with the appropriately designed device 5, preferably with a video camera system, and corresponding position data are recorded, which are used to create a dynamic map 4 and then a three-dimensional room occupancy map.

Claims

[1] Method for controlling several resources that are used jointly for the controlled production and / or assembly of parts or components, whereby in an electronic evaluation and control unit before commissioning the equipment, a three-dimensional static map (3) with position coordinates for mapping static objects and dynamically movable equipment (A, B) and individual computer programs for controlling the operating resources (A, B) for carrying out individual work tasks to be carried out with the operating resources (A, B) are stored in at least one memory, and with at least one device (4) dynamic changes in position coordinates of equipment (A, B) during production and / or assembly are recorded in real time, and the static map (3) is updated with the changed position coordinates recorded by the device (4) for recording dynamic changes in position coordinates of operating resources in order to obtain a current three-dimensional room occupancy map corresponding to the respective point in time, which takes into account all changes in relation to the first determined or taken into account position coordinates of the stationary map and based on the respective current three-dimensional room occupancy map, the execution of at least one work task (7) with one or more pieces of equipment (A, B) is controlled, wherein the electronic evaluation and control unit determines the sequence of execution of work tasks (7) and their allocation to at least one piece of equipment, taking into account the trajectories of the equipment associated with the respective work task(s) for the execution of work tasks (7) that are to be carried out simultaneously or in immediate succession with pieces of equipment (A and B), with a further computer program stored in the electronic evaluation and control unit, collisions of equipment (A, B) are avoided and times in which equipment (A, B) are not used for production and / or assembly are minimized.

Images