Vehicle Body Assembly Station With Synchronized Temporary Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicle body assembly stations face inaccuracies due to variable conveyor seating, undesirable lateral movements, vibrations, and lack of stability, leading to inefficiencies in assembly operations.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle body assembly station utilizing temporary transport means with moving devices on robot tracks that operate in synchronism to create a new coordinate reference system, allowing assembly robots to perform operations with higher accuracy and reduced vibrations, independent of the main conveyor system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If vehicle bodies are conveyed continuously by main transport means through assembly stations, then productivity is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to variable seating, lateral movements, and vibrations
Solution Approach 1:
The transport system is segmented into two independent parts: the main transport means for continuous conveyance and temporary transport means for precise positioning. The vehicle body is transferred from the main conveyor to the temporary transport means at assembly stations, allowing continuous production while achieving high precision during assembly operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The temporary transport means acts as an intermediary between the main transport means and the assembly robot. It receives the vehicle body from the main conveyor, provides a stable platform for assembly operations, and then returns the vehicle body to the main conveyor, thereby isolating the assembly process from conveyor vibrations and movements.
2Adaptability or versatility
If assembly robots track the movement of the main conveyor, then adaptability is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to conveyor vibrations and lateral movements
Solution Approach 1:
The temporary transport means serves as an intermediary that decouples the assembly robot from the main conveyor movements. The robot operates on the stable temporary transport means while the vehicle body is transferred to and from the main conveyor, eliminating the need for the robot to track conveyor vibrations and lateral movements.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically switches between two transport modes: continuous conveyance by the main transport means and stable positioning by the temporary transport means. This dynamic transition allows the assembly robot to operate in a stable environment while maintaining continuous production flow through the assembly line.
3Manufacturing precision
If the vehicle body is stopped in front of the robot for assembly, then manufacturing precision is improved, but productivity deteriorates due to loss of continuous flow
Solution Approach 1:
The assembly station is segmented into a temporary transport means that can be independently positioned and stopped. While the main conveyor continues moving other vehicle bodies, the temporary transport means stops only the specific vehicle body needing assembly, allowing precision work without halting the entire production line.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of stopping the entire conveyor system, only the temporary transport means carrying the specific vehicle body is stopped for assembly operations. This partial stopping minimizes the impact on overall productivity while achieving the necessary precision for assembly work on that particular vehicle body.
Data Source
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AI summary
The vehicle body assembly station (100) comprises main transport means (120) for conveying a vehicle body (110) along a first direction (D1) in which at least one assembly robot (210) is provided to move along a second direction (D2), and temporary transport means (200) whose operation is more accurate than that of the main transport means (120) for moving the vehicle body (110) independently from the main transport means (120) while the assembly robot (210) is performing operations on the vehicle body (110), whereby a new coordinate reference system is created by the temporary transport means (200).