Wood Panel Cutting Machine With Multi-Gripper Robotic Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cutting machines for wood panels have low productivity due to the small movement capacity of robotic manipulators, which can only position and feed back one component at a time, resulting in long work cycles.
Innovation Solution
The cutting machine incorporates a gantry frame with a robotic manipulator that can hold and move multiple components, allowing simultaneous positioning and feeding of components to the cutting station, and a trapdoor system for efficient scrap disposal, enabling increased throughput.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a robotic manipulator with small movement capacity is used, then the machine structure remains simple, but productivity decreases because only one component can be positioned and fed back at a time
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic manipulator is divided into multiple independent grippers (first gripper, second gripper, third gripper) that can operate simultaneously. Each gripper can hold and position different components independently, allowing parallel processing of multiple components during a single work cycle, thereby resolving the contradiction between maintaining simple structure and improving productivity.
2Productivity
If the robotic manipulator processes one component at a time, then the device complexity remains low, but the work cycle length increases reducing overall efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The multiple grippers are configured to operate continuously and simultaneously throughout the work cycle. While the first gripper positions one component, the second and third grippers are already positioning other components, ensuring that the robotic manipulator is continuously productive without idle time, thus reducing work cycle duration while maintaining device simplicity.
3Manufacturing precision
If the limit stop device remains in the raised operating position continuously, then component positioning is always ensured, but the robotic manipulator cannot access components for feedback
Solution Approach 1:
The limit stop device is designed to be movable between a raised operating position and a lowered retracted position. The control system dynamically adjusts the limit stop position based on the operational phase: raised when positioning is needed, lowered when component feedback is required. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by ensuring the limit stop provides positioning accuracy when needed while allowing component access when retracted.
Data Source
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AI summary
A cutting machine to cut panels (2) made of wood or the like has a main pusher (21) and a secondary pusher (22) to move respective panels (2) through a cutting station (17), downstream of which a first limit stop device (38) is mounted parallel to a feeding direction (4) of the pushers and a second limit stop device (40) is mounted parallel to an alignment direction (42) placed at different angles of 0° and 90° with respect to the feeding direction (4).