Connector Housing Mounting via Rotational Alignment Gripper
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inaccurate positioning of connector housings and contact parts during the manufacturing of electrical line harnesses due to manufacturing tolerances, leading to unreliable and inefficient mounting processes.
Innovation Solution
An alignment process involving a rotatable alignment gripper and camera system that determines and corrects the rotational and height positions of contact parts before insertion, ensuring precise alignment and reducing positional deviations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional mounting devices are used without alignment correction, then the manufacturing cost is reduced, but the positioning accuracy of contact parts deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment gripper performs preliminary rotational position correction of the contact part before the actual insertion operation. The system detects the initial rotational position, calculates the required correction angle, and executes the alignment adjustment before mounting, ensuring accurate positioning without requiring complex high-precision mounting devices
Solution Approach 2:
A separate alignment gripper is introduced as an intermediary device between the contact part supply and the mounting device. This intermediary component专门 handles the alignment function, allowing the main mounting device to focus on insertion operations, thereby resolving the contradiction between positioning accuracy and device complexity
2Productivity
If manual alignment procedures are used, then the equipment cost is reduced, but the productivity and consistency of the mounting process deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces manual alignment operations with an automated alignment gripper controlled by a control unit. The control unit automatically determines the required rotational correction based on detected positional deviations and commands the alignment gripper to execute the correction, eliminating manual intervention while maintaining process consistency and productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment system performs self-correction by automatically detecting its own positioning deviations and executing the necessary rotational adjustments without external intervention. The control unit monitors the alignment status and autonomously commands corrections, enabling the system to self-correct positioning errors
3Reliability
If rotational position correction is performed, then the reliability of mounting is improved, but the cycle time of the mounting process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment gripper performs rotational position correction in a continuous, streamlined manner integrated into the mounting process flow. The detection and correction operations are executed sequentially without interruption to the overall mounting rhythm, minimizing time loss while ensuring reliable positioning through automatic real-time adjustments
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Significantly increases the reliability and efficiency of the mounting process by ensuring correct rotational and height positioning of contact parts, allowing for precise alignment with cavity features and maintaining system throughput.
Implementation Method 1
determining an actual rotational position of the held contact part in relation to a rotation axis extending in parallel to an insertion direction
Implementation Method 2
The use of the camera allows for a contact free and fast detection of the rotational position of a contact part
Data Source
AI summary
A method for automatically mounting a connector housing with a contact part attached to an electrical line includes holding the contact part, determining an actual rotational position of the contact part, comparing the actual rotational position with a predetermined rotational position, and performing a rotational position correction thereby aligning the connector part to the connector housing. The connector housing is fixed to a holder and the contact part is inserted into a cavity of the connector housing by means of a movable gripper.