Automated Tile Placement Machine for Ballistic Armor
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for constructing surfaces and panels with individual tiles, such as ballistic armor panels, face challenges in efficiently and accurately arranging ceramic tiles in a predetermined pattern, particularly in maintaining tile alignment and advancing tiles for precise placement.
Innovation Solution
An automated tile placement machine is developed, featuring a linearly movable assembly table, robotic tile dispensers, and a control system that includes a programmable logic controller and human-machine interface, utilizing guide rails and a trolley mechanism to incrementally advance tiles and ensure precise positioning, allowing for the assembly of tiles in a predetermined pattern on a panel substrate.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If manual methods are used to arrange ceramic tiles, then flexibility in handling is maintained, but manufacturing precision and productivity are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The automation system is divided into distinct functional modules: robotic dispensers for tile handling, linear actuators for incremental advancement, guide rails for positioning, and a programmable logic controller for coordination. Each module performs a specific function, allowing the complex overall system to be managed through modular, independent components that can be individually optimized and maintained.
Solution Approach 2:
Manual mechanical operations are replaced with an automated control system. The programmable logic controller receives signals from a human-machine interface and automatically coordinates the robotic dispensers, linear actuators, and guide rails, eliminating manual intervention while maintaining system flexibility through programmable control logic.
2Productivity
If tiles are advanced in large increments, then productivity increases, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to alignment loss
Solution Approach 1:
The linear actuators advance tiles in controlled periodic increments rather than continuous motion. Each increment is precisely measured and controlled, allowing the system to maintain alignment accuracy while achieving high overall productivity through rapid, repeated small-step advancements rather than slow continuous positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where the programmable logic controller monitors the position and alignment of tiles during advancement. This feedback allows real-time adjustments to be made, ensuring that even as tiles are advanced rapidly through automated periodic motion, the alignment precision is maintained through continuous correction based on actual position data.
3Productivity
If robotic dispensers are used for tile placement, then productivity and precision improve, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic dispensers are designed with multi-functionality to handle various tile types and placement configurations through programmable control. Rather than requiring different specialized robots for different tasks, a single robotic dispenser system can be reprogrammed to perform multiple functions, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining high productivity across different production requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The programmable logic controller serves as an intermediary that simplifies the complexity of coordinating multiple robotic components. Instead of requiring complex direct communication and coordination between all robotic elements, the PLC acts as a central mediator that receives high-level instructions from the human-machine interface and translates them into coordinated actions for the robotic dispensers, linear actuators, and guide rails, thereby managing system complexity through hierarchical control.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus are provided for the automated assembly of individual tiles on a surface in a predetermined pattern. In one exemplary embodiment, an automated apparatus comprises a tile dispenser with an open ended shoe portion adapted for holding a stack of regularly shaped tiles, and a tile advancement mechanism for incrementally advancing tiles in the shoe toward the open end thereof. The automated apparatus may further comprise a robotic mechanism adapted to retrieve a tile from the end of the tile stack, and place the tile on the surface.