Wall-Mounted Redundant Axis Robot for Paint Booth Envelope
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing painting robots in paint booths are costly, inflexible, and require significant booth modifications, leading to increased installation time, space requirements, and maintenance costs due to their limited ability to reach all surfaces and lack of backup capabilities, resulting in downtime and inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A redundant axis paint robot system with a seven-axis paint robot arm and five-axis opener robot arm, mounted on vertical columns, which eliminates the need for linear rail systems by incorporating a redundant axis of rotation to increase the usable envelope and avoid obstacles, allowing for efficient painting and opening of vehicle body panels without the need for extensive booth modifications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If floor-mounted six-axis robots are used for painting, then the robots can perform painting operations, but they require significant booth modifications, increase installation time and cost, and require more booth length and width
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from floor-mounted robots to wall-mounted robots, changing the mounting dimension from horizontal (floor) to vertical (wall). This dimensional change allows the robot base to be positioned on vertical walls rather than requiring floor space and extensive floor modifications, thereby reducing the booth's length and width requirements while simplifying installation.
2Productivity
If floor-mounted six-axis robots are used for painting, then the robots can perform painting operations, but they require frequent cleaning due to paint accumulation, resulting in higher maintenance costs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the mounting orientation from floor-level to wall-level positioning. By mounting robots on vertical walls rather than horizontal floors, the robot bases are positioned above the paint spray zone and down-draft airflow, preventing paint accumulation on the base and reducing maintenance requirements.
3Adaptability or versatility
If six-axis robots are used for painting, then the robot arm can reach certain positions, but the limited configurations cause interference with other robots or components, reducing flexibility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds a seventh axis by mounting the six-axis robot arm on a vertical wall rather than the floor. This dimensional change provides an additional degree of freedom in positioning the robot base, enabling the end-effector to reach positions and orientations that are inaccessible to floor-mounted six-axis robots without interfering with other booth components.
4Device complexity
If one painting robot is used, then the system is simpler, but one robot cannot reach substantially all paintable surfaces, requiring additional robot zones
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes vertical wall mounting to extend the robot's working envelope in the vertical dimension. This allows a single robot to access upper portions of the vehicle body that would be inaccessible to floor-mounted robots, improving surface coverage capability without adding multiple robot zones.
Data Source
AI summary
A robotic apparatus for painting a workpiece includes a redundant axis robot for use in a robotic painting system. The redundant axis of rotation provides the robot arm additional flexibility in avoiding obstacles and reaching an interior of the workpiece to apply paint thereto. The robotic apparatus could be a seven-axis robot arm or a five-axis parallel link panel opener robot arm for opening and/or closing the panel. The robot arms are mounted on at least one vertically oriented column adjacent a path of travel of the workpiece through a painting booth and the robot arms can be mounted on a common base.