Robot Arm Skive Assembly for Sealant Bead Control

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current vehicle paint shop sealing processes are labor-intensive and wasteful, as manual operators must apply and remove sealant from seams, leading to viscosity variations and dimensional instability issues that require time-consuming manual adjustments.

Innovation Solution

A robot arm equipped with a skive assembly and a nozzle for dispensing sealant, where the skive tools are independently extendable and retractable to perform skiving operations without interference, and a vision system adjusts dispensing pressure to compensate for viscosity changes.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If manual operators apply and remove sealant from seams, then sealant can be applied to seams, but the process becomes labor-intensive and wasteful

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesealing process efficiencyVSAvoidmanual labor requirement

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces manual mechanical operations with an automated robotic system. The robot arm with integrated nozzle and skive tools performs sealant application and removal automatically, eliminating manual labor while maintaining sealing quality and reducing material waste through precise control.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The robotic end effector combines multiple functions into a single tool assembly: sealant dispensing through the nozzle and excess sealant removal through the skive tools. This multi-functional design consolidates what were previously separate manual operations into one automated process.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Manufacturing precision

If manual operators adjust pre-pressure of each bead to compensate for viscosity changes, then sealant application can be maintained, but the process becomes time-consuming

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesealant bead consistencyVSAvoidadjustment time

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system incorporates vision sensors that continuously monitor sealant bead characteristics and provide feedback to the control system. This enables real-time automatic adjustment of dispensing parameters to compensate for viscosity variations, maintaining bead consistency without manual intervention and eliminating adjustment time losses.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically adjusts dispensing parameters such as flow rate, pressure, and nozzle position based on monitored conditions. This automated parameter adjustment maintains consistent sealant bead dimensions and application quality while eliminating the time-consuming manual adjustment process.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Manufacturing precision

If vision sensors measure seam drift, then dimensional requirements can be maintained, but the process becomes very time consuming

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveseam dimensional accuracyVSAvoidmeasurement time

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The vision sensing and measurement process operates continuously throughout the sealing operation rather than as separate discrete measurements. The system maintains continuous monitoring of seam position and dimensions, enabling real-time detection and compensation for drift without stopping production or adding significant measurement time.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #20Continuity of useful action

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary measurements and adjustments during the sealing process itself rather than requiring separate measurement steps before or after. This integrated approach maintains dimensional accuracy while minimizing total process time by overlapping measurement and application operations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

4Productivity

If multiple skive tools are used simultaneously, then skiving operations can be performed in parallel, but the skives may interfere with each other

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveskiving operation speedVSAvoidskive tool coordination

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The skive assembly divides the skiving function into multiple independent tools that can operate simultaneously at different locations along the seam. Each skive tool is independently controlled and can be activated or deactivated as needed, allowing parallel processing without interference while maintaining manageable complexity through modular design.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS20250121512A1Skive System with Skive Assembly and Cleaner

Publication Date: 2025.04.17 FANUC ROBOTICS NORTH AMERICA INC

AI summary

A robot arm including a skive assembly coupled thereto. The skive assembly includes a coupler coupled to an end of the robot arm and a plurality of skive tools extending from the coupler opposite to the robot arm, where each skive tool includes a rod extending from the coupler and a skive attached to the rod opposite to the coupler. In one embodiment, the plurality of skive tools is three skive tools positioned in a circle and spaced 120° relative to each other. Each rod is extendable and retractable from the coupler independent from the other rods so as to allow the extended skive to perform a skiving operation without interference from the other skives. The robot arm also includes a nozzle configured for dispensing a sealant onto a seam of a part, where the skives remove some of the sealant after the sealant has been dispensed.