Fastener Supply Rail and Pocket Feed for Compact Auto Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automatic fastener assembly devices face challenges in efficiently and compactly supplying fasteners, as they often require bulky systems that take a long time to align and supply fasteners.
Innovation Solution
The proposed automatic supply and assembly device includes a main frame, a rail with a guide groove, a storage box, a supply unit, a holding plate, a withdrawal unit, and an assembly driver. This configuration allows for efficient alignment and supply of fasteners, enabling easy assembly while minimizing space requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If a continuous rotating cylinder is used to align and supply fasteners, then the fasteners can be supplied automatically, but the supply device becomes bulky and takes a long time to supply fasteners
Solution Approach 1:
The continuous rotating cylinder is divided into multiple independent pockets, each capable of holding and supplying fasteners independently. This segmentation allows the device to maintain automation while reducing the volume required for fastener storage and supply, as each pocket can be optimally sized for its specific function rather than requiring a large continuous rotating structure.
2Extent of automation
If a continuous rotating cylinder is used to align and supply fasteners, then the fasteners can be supplied automatically, but the supply time increases
Solution Approach 1:
Fasteners are pre-loaded into the pockets of the rotating cylinder before the supply operation begins. This preliminary action allows the fasteners to be ready for immediate supply when needed, eliminating the time required for alignment and supply during the actual assembly operation, thus reducing the overall supply time while maintaining automation.
3Volume of moving object
If the device volume is reduced for compact integration with robot arms, then space requirements are minimized, but the fastener supply mechanism becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The pockets are nested within the rotating cylinder structure, with each pocket containing the fastener and alignment features integrated into the cylinder wall. This nesting approach allows the device to maintain a compact volume for integration with robot arms while avoiding excessive complexity by using a simple, elegant nested structure rather than multiple separate components.
Data Source
AI summary
Proposed is an automatic supply and assembly device for fasteners, the automatic supply and assembly device being capable of automatically aligning and supplying fasteners and assembling the fasteners. An automatic supply and assembly device for fasteners according to an embodiment includes a main frame, a rail having a guide groove guiding the fasteners, a storage box provided at a second end of the rail and storing the fasteners, a supply unit lifted in the storage box and supplying the fasteners stored in the storage box to the guide groove located at the second end of the rail, a holding plate located apart from a first end of the rail, a withdrawal unit individually withdrawing the fasteners received in the guide groove located at the first end of the rail to the holding plate, and an assembly driver movable upward and downward and assembling a fastener located in the holding plate.