Structural Member Pre-Plating With Vision-Guided Robotic Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for pre-fabricating building structures, such as trusses, are inefficient in splicing and pre-plating structural members, as they require manual intervention and lack precision in aligning and securing plates, leading to increased construction time and potential errors.
Innovation Solution
A pre-plating system that includes a plate picking robot, transfer pedestal, press loading robot, infeed and outfeed robots, and intelligent conveyor systems to automate the process of picking, positioning, and pressing plates into structural members, ensuring accurate alignment and secure fixation without the need for manual indicia on the members.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual intervention is used in splicing and pre-plating structural members, then flexibility and adaptability are maintained, but construction time increases and precision decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses vision guidance to automatically locate and align plates with structural members without manual intervention. The robotic end effector self-adjusts to position plates precisely based on detected member locations, eliminating the need for manual indicia or measurement while maintaining high precision
Solution Approach 2:
Manual mechanical operations are replaced with an automated robotic system that uses vision sensors to detect structural members and a robotic end effector to apply plates. This substitution of manual mechanical processes with automated vision-guided robotics dramatically reduces construction time while improving precision
2Manufacturing precision
If manual alignment and securing of plates is performed, then adaptability to different member configurations is maintained, but precision and consistency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The vision system continuously detects the location and orientation of structural members and provides real-time feedback to the robotic end effector. This closed-loop feedback mechanism allows the system to automatically adjust plate positioning to achieve precise alignment and consistent securing across different member configurations
Solution Approach 2:
Manual alignment operations are replaced with automated vision-guided positioning. The system uses image processing to detect member locations and calculates precise positioning coordinates, then the robotic end effector executes the positioning with high consistency, eliminating human error and variability
3Productivity
If automated systems are introduced to reduce manual intervention, then construction time and precision improve, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic end effector is designed as a multi-functional device that can perform multiple operations including plate positioning, alignment, and securing. The vision system serves multiple purposes by detecting both structural members and plate positions. This universality reduces the need for multiple separate devices, managing system complexity while maintaining high productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The vision system acts as an intermediary between the robotic end effector and the structural members, translating visual information into positioning commands. This intermediary layer simplifies the control architecture by handling the complex tasks of image processing and coordinate transformation, allowing the robotic system to focus on execution while improving overall system efficiency
Data Source
AI summary
Plating systems and related methods are disclosed for prepping of structural members, such as splicing and/or pre-plating structural members. A plating system can include a splicing system and a pre-plating system. A splicing system include an infeed system, an outfeed system, and a press to affix or otherwise secure a plate to opposing surfaces of structural members to splice the structural members together. Guides are automatically positioned to guide short members through the splicing system. A pre-plating system includes a press, an infeed system configured to deliver a structural member to the press, and an outfeed system configured to remove the structural member from the press. The press is configured to secure a plate to the structural member on a surface other than the opposing surfaces used to splice the structural members together. A plate picking robot is configured to pick a plate from a plate container and position the plate on a press surface.