Adaptive Workstation Assembly for Flexible Production
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing production plants are rigid and inflexible, unable to adapt to changing production requirements due to fixed conveyor technology and stationary workstations, limiting their ability to respond to varying production demands.
Innovation Solution
A method that allows for the flexible adaptation of production plants by using movable workstations and lightweight robots, along with autonomous industrial trucks, to reconfigure workstations and transport paths based on current production needs, enabling quick adjustments to production requirements without extensive reconstruction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fixed conveyor technology and stationary workstations are used, then structural stability and reliability are improved, but adaptability to changing production requirements deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by replacing fixed conveyor systems with mobile robots that can dynamically reposition themselves and adapt their movement paths. The workstations remain stationary but their functionality changes dynamically as robots are reprogrammed and repositioned to perform different tasks, resolving the contradiction between structural stability and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements parameter changes by modifying the programming and control parameters of the robots rather than changing their physical structure. By changing software parameters, the same robotic system can adapt to different production requirements, maintaining structural stability while achieving high adaptability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If movable workstations and lightweight robots are used, then adaptability to production requirements is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by designing robots that can perform multiple functions through reprogramming. A single robotic unit can be reassigned to different workstations and tasked with various operations, reducing the need for specialized equipment and simplifying the overall system despite the mobility capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses copying by replicating standardized robotic modules that can be deployed across multiple workstations. Instead of creating complex custom solutions for each station, identical robotic units are copied and repositioned, reducing device complexity through standardization while maintaining adaptability.
3Ease of operation
If modular workstations with identical modules are used, then ease of operation and quick exchange are improved, but manufacturing precision may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by changing software parameters and programming configurations rather than physical modifications. When precision is required, the system adjusts control parameters, speed settings, and operational sequences through software, allowing identical modular hardware to achieve high manufacturing precision while maintaining ease of operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A method to operate a production plant having a plurality of work regions in which respective work stations are arranged to carry out at least on respective work step, and having at least one transport system that transports goods to be processed on at least one predetermined path between the work stations, involves selecting the arrangement of the work stations, the work step that is able to be carried out by the respective work station, and the at least one predetermined path according to at least one predetermined criterion that is related to a production requirement, and adapting these due to a change of the at least one criterion.