Robot Ball Bearing Assembly to Prevent Ball Damage and Jamming
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing ball bearing assembly process faces issues such as ball damage, dust and foreign matter attachment, ball jamming, and the need for dedicated jigs, which increase production costs and complexity.
Innovation Solution
A ball bearing assembly method and device that uses a robot arm to individually air-transport balls into the gap space between the outer and inner ring raceway surfaces, eliminating the need for dedicated jigs and reducing friction and collision-related damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple balls are inserted at once through a ball insertion nozzle, then productivity is improved, but ball damage occurs due to collision and dust attachment increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ball insertion process is segmented into individual ball insertions rather than inserting multiple balls at once. The robot arm picks up and inserts one ball at a time through the raceway groove, eliminating collisions between balls and preventing dust attachment while maintaining efficient productivity through automated sequential insertion.
2Productivity
If a ball insertion nozzle is used to insert multiple balls, then assembly speed is improved, but ball jamming occurs
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of inserting balls through a nozzle from above into the raceway groove, the invention inverts the approach by having the robot arm pick up balls from a storage container and insert them directly into the groove from the side, following the natural flow direction of balls through the raceway. This inversion eliminates jamming by avoiding forced insertion through narrow passages.
3Manufacturing precision
If dedicated jigs are used for ball bearing assembly, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity and production cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The robot arm assembly system serves as a universal platform that can assemble different types and specifications of ball bearings by changing control parameters and pick-up positions, eliminating the need for dedicated jigs for each bearing type. The system maintains manufacturing precision through automated control while reducing device complexity by replacing multiple specialized fixtures with one multi-functional robotic system.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
A ball bearing assembly device includes: an inner and outer ring holding unit which holds an outer ring and inner ring in a state where an outer ring raceway surface and inner ring raceway surface are eccentric to each other on a same plane so as to form a gap space; a stocker; a robot arm; a ball holding mechanism which is disposed at a tip of the robot arm; and a control unit. The control unit controls the ball holding mechanism to hold any ball from the stocker, controls the robot art to transport the held ball to a ball insertion position in the gap space corresponding to a kind of ball bearing, and inserts the held ball into the gap space, which are repeated by the number of balls of the ball bearing.