Design manufacturing support apparatus and design manufacturing support method

Abstract

To provide a technique for confirming whether manufacturing is possible in a design stage before a manufacturing step.SOLUTION: A design manufacturing support apparatus 100 includes a display device 206 and a CPU 201. The CPU 201 acquires manufacturing instruction information including 3D-CAD data of a product, extracts assembling shape for each of assembling stages, acquires attitude / torch constraint information, prepares a production procedure including work instruction positions, determines whether manufacturing is possible on the basis of the assembling shape and the attitude / torch constraint information, and displays a result of the determination on the display device 206.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a design and manufacturing support device and a design and manufacturing support method. [Background technology]

[0002] In product design, it is common to use drawings known as CAD (Computer Aided Design) or three-dimensional CAD (3D-CAD) to consider and create shapes and evaluate the quality of the product. In addition, it is common to check before the manufacturing process whether the considered and created shapes can actually be processed, assembled, and otherwise manufactured. By checking whether manufacturing operations are possible at the design stage, it is possible to prevent rework and defective designs in later processes.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that can obtain a highly efficient production system by extracting a worker capable of satisfying the required operations and work constraints based on required operation information, work constraint information, and worker information, and outputting a worker capable of realizing each process of the work process information.

[0004] Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses a technology that determines whether each of a plurality of work processes defined in procedure data is included in standard process data, and highlights special processes, which are work processes determined not to be included in the standard process data, on a display screen of the procedure data, thereby making it possible to design a process for assembling a product even if the product assembly procedure includes a special work process unique to that product that is difficult to define in advance.

[0005] Furthermore, Patent Document 3 discloses a technology that enables efficient robot positioning processing through simulation by assuming that the status of teaching points that were within the robot's operating area before the movement and remain within the operating area after the movement does not change, and checking the arrival status only in areas that have changed. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6628936 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 6965716 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 3-66586 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The techniques described in the above Patent Documents 1 to 3 propose methods relating to process design for production system processes and assembly procedures.

[0008] However, the above-mentioned conventional technology does not disclose how to generate processes for work other than assembly, such as welding, or how to check whether the work is possible based on constraints on the worker's posture and on tools such as torches according to the work procedure. As a result, there may be omissions in the confirmation work of whether the work is possible at the design stage, which may result in rework from manufacturing to design.

[0009] An object of the present invention is to provide a technique that can confirm whether manufacturing operations are possible at the design stage before the manufacturing process. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In order to solve the above problems, one representative design and manufacturing support device of the present invention is a design and manufacturing support device that includes a display unit and a control unit, in which the control unit acquires product manufacturing instruction information and constraint information for the product's manufacturing work, determines whether or not the manufacturing work can be performed based on the manufacturing instruction information and the constraint information, and displays the result of the determination on the display unit. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to confirm whether manufacturing operations are possible at the design stage prior to the manufacturing process.

[0012] Problems, configurations and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a design and manufacturing support device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a design and manufacturing support device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 3] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a design support process executed by the design and manufacturing support device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an input screen displayed on a display device. [Figure 5A] 11 is a table showing an example of functional portion / assembly procedure information in a functional portion / assembly procedure DB. [Figure 5B] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an assembly procedure extracted by an assembly shape extraction unit. [Figure 5C] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a manufacturing procedure created by a manufacturing procedure creation unit. [Figure 6A] 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating interference between a working space and an assembled shape. [Figure 6B] 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating interference between a torch space and an assembled shape. [Figure 7A] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a check result display screen displayed on a display device. [Figure 7B] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of a check result display screen displayed on the display device. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a data flow of the design and manufacturing support device according to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0015] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a design and manufacturing support device according to this embodiment.

[0016] The design and manufacturing support device 100 of this embodiment operates on a computer and includes an input unit 101, an assembly shape extraction unit 102, a manufacturing procedure creation unit 103, a work space check unit 104, an output unit 105, a functional part / assembly procedure DB 106, and a posture and torch constraint DB 107.

[0017] The functional part / assembly procedure DB 106 has functional part / assembly procedure information that is information indicating the assembly procedure of each functional part of a product.

[0018] The posture / torch constraint DB 107 has posture / torch constraint information, which is information on constraints on the posture of a worker in a product manufacturing operation and constraints on tool access, such as whether a welding torch can be inserted.

[0019] The input unit 101 reads manufacturing instruction information including 3D-CAD data of a product.

[0020] The assembly shape extraction unit 102 acquires manufacturing instruction information including the 3D-CAD data read by the input unit 101, and functional part / assembly procedure information from the functional part / assembly procedure DB 106. The functional part / assembly procedure information is information indicating the procedure for manufacturing each functional part of the product and assembling the manufactured functional parts. The functional parts linked to the assembly procedure are compared with the functional parts of the 3D-CAD data, and the 3D-CAD data for each assembly stage is extracted as an assembly shape.

[0021] The manufacturing procedure creation unit 103 creates a manufacturing procedure for the assembly shape extracted by the assembly shape extraction unit 102. The manufacturing procedure is information indicating a procedure for performing manufacturing work such as welding. For example, if the manufacturing instruction information instructs to perform welding work of parts A and B, and the welding end point of part A is close to the welding start point of part B, the manufacturing procedure is set so that part B is welded after part A is welded.

[0022] The work space check unit 104 checks whether the manufacturing work is possible based on the manufacturing procedure and the assembly shape. The work space check unit 104 reads the posture and torch constraint information from the posture and torch constraint DB 107, and checks whether the work is possible by checking whether there is interference between the assembly shape and the work space that allows the worker to work in a natural posture or the torch space for working with a torch.

[0023] The output unit 105 displays the check results of the work space check unit 104. If the work space or torch space interferes with the assembly shape, the output unit 105 displays the interfering work space / torch space superimposed on the assembly shape, allowing the user to confirm the check results and the reasons for them.

[0024] The design and manufacturing support device 100 is realized by executing a program on a computer such as that shown in FIG.

[0025] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the design and manufacturing support device according to this embodiment.

[0026] A computer 200 for implementing the design and manufacturing support device 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201 , a memory 202 , a storage device 203 , a communication I / F 204 , an input device 205 , and a display device 206 , all of which are interconnected via a bus 207 .

[0027] The CPU 201 is a central processing unit, and implements necessary functions by executing programs stored in the memory 202 (or the storage device 203).

[0028] The memory 202 is a main storage device used when the CPU 201 executes processes, and is composed of a volatile storage element such as a RAM (Random Access Memory).

[0029] The storage device 203 is an auxiliary storage device for storing input data provided to the CPU 201 and output data output from the CPU 201, and is configured with a non-volatile storage element such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive).

[0030] The communication I / F 204 is an interface used by the design and manufacturing support device 100 to communicate with an external device, and is configured with a NIC (Network Interface Card) etc. The communication unit 204 is connected to a network (e.g., the Internet) and communicates with the external device via the network.

[0031] The input device 205 is an interface that includes a keyboard, a touch panel, a card reader, a voice input device, or the like, and accepts input from a user (operator).

[0032] The display device 206 is an interface that presents information to the operator by displaying the output data on a screen.

[0033] The bus 207 is an internal communication path of the design and manufacturing support device 100 .

[0034] In this embodiment, the input unit 101, assembly shape extraction unit 102, manufacturing procedure creation unit 103, work space check unit 104, and output unit 105 shown in FIG. 1 implement required functions by having a CPU 201 execute a program stored in a memory 202 (or a storage device 203) in one or more computers 200 having a hardware configuration as exemplified in FIG. 2.

[0035] In addition, the functional portion / assembly procedure DB 106 and the attitude and torch constraint DB 107 shown in FIG.

[0036] 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a design support process executed by the design and manufacturing support device 100 of this embodiment. This process is realized by the CPU 201 executing a program stored in the memory 202 (or the storage device 203).

[0037] The CPU 201 reads 3D-CAD data input from the input device 205 in response to an instruction from a user via an input screen displayed on the display device 206 (step S301).

[0038] The input screen will be explained with reference to FIG.

[0039] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an input screen displayed on the display device 206. As shown in FIG.

[0040] The input screen 400 has a read button 401 , a check button 402 , and a 3D-CAD display area 403 .

[0041] When the user presses the read button 401 , the CPU 201 starts reading the 3D-CAD data, and the read 3D-CAD data is displayed on the 3D-CAD display unit 403 .

[0042] Thereafter, when the user presses the check button 402, the CPU 201 executes a check as to whether the manufacturing work can be performed according to the manufacturing procedure, based on the constraints of the worker's posture and the constraints of the torch.

[0043] Returning to FIG. 3, in step S302, an assembly shape is extracted for each assembly stage from the 3D-CAD data based on the functional part / assembly procedure information in the functional part / assembly procedure DB 106.

[0044] Next, a manufacturing procedure is created based on the work instruction positions such as the welding start point and the welding end point included in the manufacturing instruction information (step S303).

[0045] Extraction of an assembly shape and creation of a manufacturing procedure will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5C.

[0046] FIG. 5A is a table showing an example of functional portion / assembly procedure information in the functional portion / assembly procedure DB 106. As shown in FIG.

[0047] The functional part / assembly procedure information is information that indicates the procedure for manufacturing each functional part of a product and assembling the manufactured functional parts.

[0048] 5A shows, as an example, an assembly procedure in which functional parts such as a frame are manufactured and then the manufactured functional parts are assembled. The assembly shape extraction unit 102 compares the functional parts defined in the 3D-CAD data with the functional part / assembly procedure information, and extracts an assembly shape for each assembly stage from the 3D-CAD data.

[0049] FIG. 5B is a diagram showing an example of an assembly shape extracted by the assembly shape extraction unit 102. As shown in FIG.

[0050] The assembly shape is 3D-CAD extracted for each assembly stage.

[0051] FIG. 5B shows, as an example, an assembled shape in an assembly stage in which part A502 and part B503 are welded to part C501.

[0052] Based on the work instruction positions included in the manufacturing instruction information, part A 502 is welded from welding start point 504 to welding end point 505 , and part B 503 is welded from welding start point 506 to welding end point 507 .

[0053] At this time, since the welding start point 506 of part B is near the welding end point 505 of part A 502, the manufacturing procedure creation unit 103 creates a procedure for performing the welding work of part B 503 after performing the welding work of part A 502. This makes it possible to improve the efficiency of the welding work.

[0054] FIG. 5C is a diagram showing an example of a manufacturing procedure created by manufacturing procedure creation unit 103.

[0055] As shown in FIG. 5C, the manufacturing procedure is created in a table format, and is registered in the storage device 203 for use.

[0056] The manufacturing procedure is information that indicates a procedure for performing manufacturing work such as welding.

[0057] FIG. 5C shows, as an example, a manufacturing procedure in which part A is welded in step 1 and part B is welded in step 2.

[0058] The manufacturing procedure also includes work instruction positions, which are the coordinates of the work start position and the work end position of each work.

[0059] Returning to FIG. 3, in step S304, a work instruction position is output based on the manufacturing procedure created in step S303.

[0060] Next, the posture / torch constraint information is acquired from the posture / torch constraint DB 107, and the working space and the torch space are arranged at the work instruction position of the assembly shape based on the posture / torch constraint information (step S305).

[0061] Next, it is determined whether the work is possible by checking whether the arranged work space and torch space interfere with the assembled shape (step S306).

[0062] The interference between the working space and the torch space and the assembled shape will be described with reference to Figs. 6A and 6B.

[0063] FIG. 6A is a diagram for explaining interference between the working space and the assembled shape.

[0064] 6A and 6B show an example in which welding work is performed at a work instruction position 602 of an assembled shape 601.

[0065] A constraint on the working posture is defined as a working space 603 required for a worker to perform work, based on the posture / torch constraint information acquired from the posture / torch constraint DB 107. The constraint on the working posture is set based on the skeleton of the worker, etc.

[0066] The work space check unit 104 places a work space 603 at a work instruction position 602 of an assembled shape 601, and checks whether welding work can be performed at the work instruction position 602 or not.

[0067] The left side of FIG. 6A is an example in which it is determined that welding work is possible.

[0068] Since the work space 603a does not interfere with the assembled shape 601, the distance between the worker's joints is below the threshold, and the worker can reach the work instruction position 602, the work space check unit 104 determines that welding work can be performed at the work instruction position 602.

[0069] Moreover, a work space 603b is an example of the work space 603 when a worker works in a lying position.

[0070] The right side of FIG. 6A shows an example in which welding work is judged to be impossible.

[0071] Since a part 604a is present near the work instruction position 602, the work space 603 interferes with the assembled shape 601. In this case, when welding work is performed at the work instruction position 602, the feet of the worker 605a become parallel to the ground, resulting in a raised posture, which creates an unnatural posture for the worker 605a's skeleton. Therefore, the work space checking unit 104 determines that welding work at the work instruction position 602 is not possible.

[0072] Another example of a case in which welding is determined to be impossible is when welding at the work instruction position 602 would require the worker 605b to bend his / her spine, resulting in a skeletal imbalance in the worker's 605b posture.

[0073] Yet another example of a case in which welding work is determined to be impossible is when, in a case where a work space 603c is created that includes a worker's field of view 606 based on the worker's field of view angle, the field of view 606 of the work space 603c interferes with part 604b, and part 604b blocks the field of view.

[0074] Regarding the work space 603, by defining constraints as the work space not only for people but also for machines such as welding robots, it is possible to check for interference with the assembly shape.

[0075] FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating interference between the torch space and the assembled shape.

[0076] Based on the posture / torch constraint information acquired from the posture / torch constraint DB 107, the constraints on the torch are defined as a torch space 611 required for the worker to perform welding work with the torch. The constraints on the torch are set based on the size of the torch, the movable range of the worker's arm during welding work, etc. Also, the torch space 611 includes a space for the worker to visually check the work instruction position 602.

[0077] The work space checking unit 104 places a torch space 611 at a work instruction position 602 of the assembly shape 601, and checks whether welding work can be performed at the work instruction position 602 or not.

[0078] 6B, the space 612, which is included in the torch space 611 and allows the worker to visually observe the work instruction position 602, interferes with the assembled shape 601, and therefore the worker cannot visually observe the work instruction position 602. Therefore, the work space checking unit 104 determines that welding work at the work instruction position 602 is not possible.

[0079] 6B, the worker cannot use a torch to perform welding work at the work instruction position 602 because the torch space 611 interferes with the assembled shape 601. Therefore, the work space checking unit 104 determines that welding work at the work instruction position 602 is not possible.

[0080] Regarding the torch space 611, by defining constraints as the torch space not only for the torch but also for a wrench, a multi-axis welding robot arm, and the like, it is possible to check for interference with the assembly shape.

[0081] Returning to FIG. 3, when it is determined in step S306 that the work is possible, CPU 201 displays the check result as to whether the work is possible on the check result display screen displayed on display device 206 (step S307), and ends the processing.

[0082] On the other hand, when it is determined in step S306 that the work is impossible (NO in step S306), the CPU 201 displays the work space and torch space that interfere with the assembly shape, together with the check result, superimposed on the assembly shape on the check result display screen displayed on the display device 206 (step S308), and ends the process.

[0083] The check result display screen will be described with reference to Figs. 7A and 7B.

[0084] FIG. 7A is a diagram showing an example of a check result display screen displayed on the display device 206. As shown in FIG.

[0085] The check result display screen 700 has an assembly shape display section 701 , a result display section 702 , and a reason display section 703 .

[0086] An assembly shape display section 701 displays an assembly shape that has been checked to see whether the work can be performed.

[0087] A list of work contents and the check results for the work, that is, whether the work is possible or not, is displayed in a table format in the result display section 702. Here, the work No. 1 to No. 3 and the check results for the work, that is, whether the work is possible or not, are displayed.

[0088] In FIG. 7A, the groove welding operation for part B of No. 2 is selected in the result display section 702, and it is displayed that this operation is possible.

[0089] The reason display section 703 displays the reason why it was determined that the groove welding work of the No. 2 part B selected in the result display section 702 was possible. Specifically, it displays that the work posture constraints and the torch constraints are met.

[0090] FIG. 7B is a diagram showing another example of the check result display screen displayed on the display device 206. As shown in FIG.

[0091] In FIG. 7B, the fillet welding operation for part A of No. 3 is selected in the result display section 702, and it is displayed that this operation is impossible.

[0092] The reason display area 703 displays the reason why it was determined that the fillet welding operation of part A of No. 3 selected in the result display area 702 was impossible. Specifically, it displays that the operation does not comply with the constraints on the working posture and the constraints on the torch because the working space interferes with the assembled shape and the torch space interferes with the assembled shape.

[0093] 7B, the work space and the torch space are displayed superimposed on the assembly shape in the assembly shape display area 701. This makes it possible to present the user with the check result as well as the reason why the work is not possible.

[0094] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the data flow in the design and manufacturing support device 100 of this embodiment.

[0095] The input unit 101 reads manufacturing instruction information including 3D-CAD data in response to an instruction from a user via an input screen 400 displayed on the display device 206 .

[0096] The assembly shape extraction unit 102 acquires functional part / assembly procedure information from the functional part / assembly procedure DB 106, compares the functional parts included in the 3D-CAD data with the functional parts in the functional part / assembly procedure information, and extracts the 3D-CAD data for each assembly stage as an assembly shape.

[0097] The manufacturing procedure creation unit 103 creates a manufacturing procedure based on the work instruction positions included in the assembly shape extracted by the assembly shape extraction unit 102.

[0098] The work space check unit 104 acquires posture and torch constraint information from the posture and torch constraint DB 107, and checks whether or not the work can be performed based on the manufacturing procedure created by the manufacturing procedure creation unit 103, the assembly shape extracted by the assembly shape extraction unit 102, and the posture and torch constraint information acquired from the posture and torch constraint DB 107.

[0099] The output unit 105 outputs the check result by the work space check unit 104 to the display device 206 .

[0100] According to this embodiment, since it is confirmed whether an operation is possible based on constraints on the worker's posture and constraints on the tools, it is possible to confirm whether a manufacturing operation is possible at the design stage before the manufacturing process.

[0101] In addition, an assembly shape is extracted for each assembly stage, a manufacturing procedure is created for the work instruction positions of the assembly shape, and it is confirmed whether the manufacturing work at each work instruction position is possible, so that it is possible to efficiently confirm whether the manufacturing work is possible.

[0102] In addition, the check result display screen displayed on the display device 206 displays the work space and torch space that interfere with the assembly shape, together with the check results, superimposed on the 3D-CAD of the assembly shape, so that the reason why the work is not possible can be presented to the user.

[0103] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but includes various modified examples. For example, the above-described embodiment has been described in detail to easily explain the present invention, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to the embodiment having all of the described configurations. [Explanation of symbols]

[0104] 100...design and manufacturing support device, 101...input section, 102...assembly shape extraction section, 103...manufacturing procedure creation section, 104...work space check section, 105...output section, 106...functional part / assembly procedure DB, 107...posture and torch constraint DB

Claims

1. A design and manufacturing support device including a display unit and a control unit, The control unit is Acquire product manufacturing instruction information and manufacturing operation constraint information for the product; determining whether the manufacturing operation can be performed based on the manufacturing instruction information and the constraint information; The design and manufacturing support device displays the result of the judgment on the display unit.

2. 2. The design and manufacturing support device according to claim 1, The control unit is The design and manufacturing support device displays the result of the judgment and the reason for the judgment on the display unit.

3. 3. The design and manufacturing support device according to claim 2, The constraint information includes at least one of posture constraint information relating to the posture of a worker in the manufacturing operation and tool constraint information relating to a tool used in the manufacturing operation.

4. 3. The design and manufacturing support device according to claim 2, The control unit is Acquire assembly procedure information for the product; extracting an assembly shape for each assembly stage from the manufacturing instruction information based on the assembly procedure information; A design and manufacturing support device that determines whether or not the manufacturing operation of the assembled shape is possible.

5. 5. The design and manufacturing support device according to claim 4, The manufacturing instruction information has a work instruction location, The control unit is Creating a manufacturing procedure for the work instruction position of the assembly shape; A design and manufacturing support device that determines whether or not the manufacturing work at the work instruction position is possible.

6. 6. The design and manufacturing support device according to claim 5, The control unit is Creating a workspace based on the constraint information; The work space is disposed at the work instruction position of the assembled configuration; A design and manufacturing support device that determines whether or not the manufacturing operation is possible based on the presence or absence of interference between the work space and the assembled shape.

7. A design and manufacturing support method for a design and manufacturing support device including a display unit and a control unit, The control unit Acquire product manufacturing instruction information and manufacturing operation constraint information for the product; determining whether the manufacturing operation can be performed based on the manufacturing instruction information and the constraint information; The design and manufacturing support method further comprises displaying the result of the judgment on the display unit.

8. 8. The design and manufacturing support method according to claim 7, The control unit A design and manufacturing support method, comprising: displaying on the display unit a reason for the judgment together with the result of the judgment.

9. 9. The design and manufacturing support method according to claim 8, The design and manufacturing support method, wherein the constraint information includes at least one of posture constraint information relating to a posture of a worker in the manufacturing work, and tool constraint information relating to a tool used in the manufacturing work.

10. 9. The design and manufacturing support method according to claim 8, The control unit Acquire assembly procedure information for the product; extracting an assembly shape for each assembly stage from the manufacturing instruction information based on the assembly procedure information; A design and manufacturing support method for determining whether or not the manufacturing operation of the assembled shape is possible.

11. The design and manufacturing support method according to claim 10, The manufacturing instruction information has a work instruction location, The control unit Creating a manufacturing procedure for the work instruction position of the assembly shape; A design and manufacturing support method for determining whether or not the manufacturing work at the work instruction position is possible.

12. The design and manufacturing support method according to claim 11, The control unit Creating a space based on the constraint information; The space is disposed at the work instruction position of the assembled configuration; A design and manufacturing support method for determining whether or not the manufacturing work is possible based on the presence or absence of interference between the space and the assembled shape.

Images