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Reconfiguration activities remain a significant challenge for automated Vision Inspection Systems (VIS), which are characterized by hardware rigidity and time-consuming software programming tasks. This work contributes to overcoming the current gap in VIS reconfigurability by proposing a novel framework based on the design of Flexible Vision Inspection Systems (FVIS), enabling a Reconfiguration Support System (RSS). FVIS is achieved using reprogrammable hardware components that allow for easy setup based on software commands. The RSS facilitates offline software programming by extracting parameters from real images, Computer-Aided Design (CAD) data, and rendered images using Automatic Feature Recognition (AFR). The RSS offers a user-friendly interface that guides non-expert users through the reconfiguration process for new part types, eliminating the need for low-level coding. The proposed framework has been practically validated during a 4-year collaboration with a global leading automotive half shaft manufacturer. A fully automated FVIS and the related RSS have been designed following the proposed framework and are currently implemented in 7 plants of GKN global automotive supplier, checking 60 defect types on thousands of parts per day, covering more than 200 individual part types and 12 part families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an innovative grasping system for pick-and-place applications, capable of handling a wide range of objects with varying characteristics, including size, shape, weight, rigidity, and fragility. The system uses a four-finger design to incorporate multiple grasping modes, including inner gripping, outer gripping, suction, and pinch-gripping. The paper details the development of a soft actuator system that drives a Watt's Type I link chain for mechanical compliance and passive safety. Additionally, an end-to-end grasping policymaker using depth vision is proposed to determine the optimal grasping mode and finger trajectory. Results from experiments demonstrate the system's versatility and state-of-the-art performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of intelligent manufacturing, the application of flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) is becoming increasingly widespread in diverse production environments. This article aims to explore the thermal environment simulation and product visual design of flexible manufacturing systems based on robot collaboration, in response to the thermal environment problems faced in the manufacturing process. The research designed a manufacturing workshop architecture and implemented intelligent robot collaborative scheduling through modeling steps. The performance of robot operation and scheduling was evaluated to ensure the efficient operation of the system. In terms of thermal environment simulation and optimization control in manufacturing processes, a simulation testing system was established, and a temperature field reconstruction method was proposed. The temperature distribution characteristics under different operating conditions were revealed through numerical simulation results, providing effective guidance for thermal management. Finally, combined with robot-assisted technology, the visual design and manufacturing process of the product was analyzed, and the improvement effect of robots on visual design efficiency and accuracy was verified through system communication testing. The results indicate that flexible manufacturing systems based on robot collaboration can significantly improve the management and control of thermal environments, while enhancing the quality of product visual design, providing new ideas for further development in the field of intelligent manufacturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial intelligence (AI) among other digital technologies promise to deliver the next level of process efficiency of manufacturing systems. Although these solutions such as machine learning (ML) based condition monitoring and quality inspection are becoming popular, these work under very limited conditions. Solutions do not scale-up in the real environment, where there is a mix of manufacturing equipment, where the quality and quantity of data available changes from machine to machine, or where the process changes, changing the distribution of data (i.e. concept drift). This is particularly challenging in highly reconfigurable and flexible environments. Having to develop machine learning models from scratch every single time is not cost-effective, time-consuming, requires expert knowledge that is typically not available in the manufacturing environment as well as can be challenging when data is not available in high volumes. Model robustness, reusability, adaptability and life cycle management are the keys to scale-up this technology in the manufacturing industry. In this work, a conceptual framework to enable simple and robust ML model development for the shop floor is introduced. Referred here as Frugal Industrial AI, the approach takes advantage of existing models and their context to build more robust ones in a data-efficient manner. Using a semantic knowledge base of how to construct these models for different manufacturing applications and semi-automating the development or reuse of solutions through semantic similarity, it is demonstrated how models can be developed in a more streamlined way. In addition, it is demonstrated how capturing process context information is important for the effective reuse of existing models through continual learning. This is key to building more robust ML solutions that can deal with real changing manufacturing environments, avoiding retraining from scratch as well as enabling the non-expert to use AI effectively on the shop floor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The trend of short-run production and personalized customization is more and more popular in the manufacturing industry. And the robots in these production lines must conduct task adjustment efficiently when learning new tasks. Thus, this paper developed the intelligent manufacturing cell based on the human–robot collaboration (HRC-IMC) which can enhance the learning ability of cobots by introducing the intelligence of human. The HRC-IMC was composed with four modules: the imitating learning module, the human–robot safety planning module, the task planning module and the visual inferring module. All of the four modules were designed to provide a set of systematic and effective methods. That was conductive to the efficiency improvement of the task adjustment for cobots' new task learning. The experimental results indicated that the efficiency of task adjustment can be increased by 42.8 % when the HRC-IMC was employed than that of Moveit. All in all, this study is of great significance for improving the efficiency of new task adjustment of cobots by imitating the manipulation experience of human via combining four algorithm modules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing demand for higher production flexibility and smaller production batch size pushes the development of manufacturing industry towards robotic solutions with fast setup and reprogram capability. Aiming to facilitate assembly lines with robots, the learning from demonstration (LfD) paradigm has attracted attention. A robot LfD framework designed for skillful small parts assembly applications is developed, which takes position, orientation and wrench demonstration data into consideration. In view of constraints in industrial small parts assembly applications, two cascaded assembly polices are learned from separated assembly demonstration data to avoid potential under-fitting problem. With the proposed assembly policies, reference orientation and wrench trajectories are generated as well as coupled with the position data. Effectiveness of the proposed LfD framework is validated by a printed circuit board assembly experiment with a torque-controlled robot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with technological and operational aspects of manufacturing process planning for multiple values of decision parameters. A discrete parametric model is proposed to generate multiple process plans for a given or proposed production system. The model is based on generating graphs for possible manufacturing process operations and production system capabilities. An automated platform-based system is built around this model to generate and analyze multiple manufacturing process plans based on the chosen priority criteria. The analyses are based on estimating distances in constructed graphs and several sets of priorities for final assembly production systems as well as parts suppliers. Both manufacturing process selection and production systems architecture used in this model are specifically adapted for the aerospace industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As robots become more ubiquitous, and their capabilities extend, novice users will require intuitive instructional information related to their use. This is particularly important in the manufacturing sector, which is set to be transformed under Industry 4.0 by the deployment of collaborative robots in support of traditionally low-skilled, manual roles. In the first study of its kind, this paper reports how static graphical signage can improve performance and reduce anxiety in participants physically collaborating with a semi-autonomous robot. Three groups of 30 participants collaborated with a robot to perform a manufacturing-type process using graphical information that was relevant to the task, irrelevant, or absent. The results reveal that the group exposed to relevant signage was significantly more accurate in undertaking the task. Furthermore, their anxiety towards robots significantly decreased as a function of increasing accuracy. Finally, participants exposed to graphical signage showed positive emotional valence in response to successful trials. At a time when workers are concerned about the threat posed by robots to jobs, and with advances in technology requiring upskilling of the workforce, it is important to provide intuitive and supportive information to users. Whilst increasingly sophisticated technical solutions are being sought to improve communication and confidence in human-robot co-working, our findings demonstrate how simple signage can still be used as an effective tool to reduce user anxiety and increase task performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a bi-objective scheduling problem of a flexible robotic cell is considered aiming to a trade-off between cell’s processes scheduling and the production cost. At the cell, machines are identical and parallel and in line. There is an input buffer for the raw materials and an output buffer for the products. A robot is in charge of loading and unloading of the items from the input buffer to machines and from machines to the out put buffer. The system is cyclic means repeats the same processes in every cycle. It is assumed that each machine processes one part in each cycle. A bi-objective mathematical model is presented to solve the problem, and as an alternative, an NSGAII is developed for large-sized problems. Several numerical examples are solved for examining the proposed mathematical model and NSGAII method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to enable an industrial robot to realize real-time adaptation to uncertainty, which is generally associated with the issue of machine flexibility of a flexible manufacturing system (FMS). A new robotic scheme called dynamic compensation robot with a new high-speed vision system is presented. Under the proposed scheme, a traditional multi-joint industrial robot is designated for fast and coarse global motion, whereas a direct-driven add-on module is realizing local compensation of accumulated uncertainty. 1000 fps image sensing and processing is realized within the new high-speed vision system. Overall latency of high-speed visual feedback was measured to be within 3.0 ms. As an early stage showcase towards flexible manufacturing application, contour tracing of planar target with uncertainty was evaluated. Effectiveness of the proposed method as well as the new high-speed vision was validated by experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces the concept of a measurement-aided welding cell (MAWC). It then focuses on developing the MAWC for body and chassis components in the automotive industry. Industry 4.0 requires flexibility and reconfigurability from manufacturing systems, which has been addressed by cellular manufacturing systems (CMS). Traditional automotive welding technology is not flexible enough to be used as a CMS. So, the core of automotive production does not meet the needs of next-generation manufacturing and Industry 4.0. For the first time, this demand has been answered-by the MAWC. The MAWC is based on two handling robots, a welding robot and an optical measurement system, all integrated into one welding cell. The measurement system controls guides and gives feedback to the handling and welding robots. This way, accurate welding is based on actual part-to-part adjustment, rather than hard mechanical tooling. The lack of hard mechanical tooling allows flexibility. Measurement-assisted assembly and machining is not new. However, it has not previously been applied to complex welding processes, because traditional measurement technologies have not been satisfactory. A newly developed system using multi-camera measurement technology meets the flexibility requirements. The technology required for a MAWC is reviewed and found to be in common use in the automotive industry. Three development projects are presented in which the main functions of a MAWC are successfully demonstrated. Two of these projects were done with BMW. A MAWC allows the manufacturing process to immediately swap to a different product on the same line, increasing the production line utilisation rate and making it possible to produce several low-volume products in one manufacturing system. So, the MAWC will not only yield benefits from its scalable capacity and global decentralization, but it will also open new business opportunities for manufacturing low-volume luxury car parts or post-production spare parts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manual forming of sheet metal parts through traditional panel beating is a highly skilled profession used in many industries, particularly for sample manufacturing or repair and maintenance. However, this skill is becoming gradually isolated mainly due to the high cost and lack of expertise. Nonetheless, a cost-effective and flexible approach to forming sheet metal parts could significantly assist various industries by providing a method for fast prototyping sheet metal parts. The development of a new fixtureless sheet metal forming approach is discussed in this article. The proposed approach, named Mechatroforming, consists of integrated mechanisms to manipulate sheet metal parts by a robotic arm under a controlled hammering tool. The method includes mechatronics-based monitoring and control systems for (near) real-time prediction and control of incremental deformations of parts. This article includes description of the proposed approach, the theoretical and modelling backgrounds used to predict the forming, skills learned from manual operations, and proposed automation system being built. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study flexible mixed model assembly lines with serially connected stages where stages may have one or more parallel stations. Station parallelism in flexible mixed model assembly lines improves system reliability and enables rapid adaptability to customer demand fluctuations. However, in order to effectively manage such lines under real-world conditions, there is a need to extend traditional assembly line management methods. This study extends the current research by simultaneously considering the problems of task assignment and model scheduling on parallel stations. Furthermore, scheduling of assigned tasks on each station is considered. We formulate the problem context first as a mixed integer programming model and then develop a decomposition scheme for large scale applications. Finally, we compare the performance of the proposed model and decomposition scheme using various size test instances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an adaptive and low-cost robotic coating platform for small production series is presented. This new platform presents a flexible architecture that enables fast/automatic system adaptive behaviour without human intervention. The concept is based on contactless technology, using artificial vision and laser scanning to identify and characterize different workpieces travelling on a conveyor. Using laser triangulation, the workpieces are virtually reconstructed through a simplified cloud of three-dimensional (3D) points. From those reconstructed models, several algorithms are implemented to extract information about workpieces profile (pattern recognition), size, boundary and pose. Such information is then used to on-line adjust the 'base' robot programmes. These robot programmes are off-line generated from a 3D computer-aided design model of each different workpiece profile. Finally, the robotic manipulator executes the coating process after its 'base' programmes have been adjusted. This is a low-cost and fully autonomous system that allows adapting the robot's behaviour to different manufacturing situations. It means that the robot is ready to work over any piece at any time, and thus, small production series can be reduced to as much as a one-object series. No skilled workers and large setup times are needed to operate it. Experimental results showed that this solution proved to be efficient and can be applied not only for spray coating purposes but also for many other industrial processes (automatic manipulation, pick-and-place, inspection, etc.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a flexible forming method for sheet metal part, multi-point forming (MPF) technology is discussed in the paper. It employs two reconfigurable element groups to approximate the continuous upper and lower solid dies. With the technique, rapid fabrication of 3D sheet metal part is realized. The principles of multi-point die forming (MPDF) and multi-point press forming (MPPF) are described and then the rules to determine the size of the element are given. For any spatial shape surface to be formed, all elements’ height can be calculated through the contacting point calculation equation. On the computer control, the shape of the two element groups can be adjusted by serial adjusting mode or parallel adjusting mode. MPDF apparatus that includes CAD software, computer control system, two element groups, hydraulic press and laser CMM is developed. Following the given MPF procedure, 3D sheet metal part was formed without failure. Due to the rapid change characteristics of the two element groups, several special MPF forming techniques that are impossible in conventional sheet forming have been investigated in detail. By flexible blank holder technique, thin sheet MPDF is realized. With sectional MPF, large size sheet would be formed on small scale MPF apparatus. Through closed loop MPF, spring-back would be compensated cycle by cycle, and large deformation part is obtained with incremental MPDF successfully. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible manufacturing cells (FMCs) are now common place in many manufacturing companies, due to their numerous advantages such as the production of a wide range of part types with short lead times, low work-in-progress, economical production of small batches and high resource utilization. Part and tool flows, two major dynamic entities, are the key factors and their management plays an important role in the operation of a FMC. The theme of this paper is to a generate joint operation - tool schedule in a FMC consisting of several machines and a common tool magazine (CTM). To achieve this aim, the jobs and tools must be jointly sequenced and scheduled in a tool constrained environment. Two heuristic algorithms, priority dispatching rules algorithm (PDRA) and simulated annealing algorithm (SAA) are proposed to derive optimal solutions. PDRA, are the most frequently applied heuristics for solving job shop/combinatorial scheduling problems in practice because of their ease of implementation and their low complexity, when compared with excel algorithms. SAA that belong to search categories, which are emerging along with the high computational capability of computers, can be used for FMS scheduling problems. Both adopt the Giffler & Thompson procedure for active feasible schedule generation. The performance of these two algorithms is compared with makespan and computational time. The analysis reveals that the SAA based heuristic provides an optimal or near optimal solution with reasonable computational time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An algorithm is presented that is based on a representation method for products, which lets us show, intuitively, the hierarchical relationships among components and/or assemblies of the product. This paper presents an algorithm for establishing a partial non-destructive disassembly sequence of a product. The disassembly sequence can be obtained for a component as well as for a sub-assembly (group of different components). The disassembly sequence is obtained autonomously and automatically and can be used in a flexible manufacturing system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The general constraints restricting the application of flexible manufacturing are summarised and related to the requirements of factory automation. Such specifications are compared with the combined functional and behavioural characteristics that can be obtained by employing robotics. A new (interconnected-decentralised) control architecture is presented, which has been specifically developed for raising productivity, whilst assuring extended flexibility for the plant operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A software system is presented for simulating the behaviour of an automated material handling and transportation system typically used in flexible manufacturing. The program is written in the UPL language on top of a commercially available CAD system. It makes use of a discrete event simulation model written in ECSL to generate a schedule of events defining an animation scenario. The program relies on a graphical library of modular component elements that enable structured automated material handling and transportation system elements to be created. The motion patterns are generic and are implemented as procedures that can be associated with any entity as required. Motion employs the concept of entity associativity within the CAD environment in order to apply the same motion patterns to groups of entities. The latter retain, however, their individual motion specification. Advantages of the program include inherent integration with CAM, availability of a host of parent CAD facilities and thus ability to visualise facility performance and to appraise design in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel quick action flexible fixture for two-dimensional clamping is fitted with sensors for automatically measuring the positions of the clamping surfaces and the vice opening. An algorithm is proposed to determine the location and orientation of the workpiece on the fixture. The NC codes preprogrammed with a given origin and orientation can then be modified with these data to appropriately transposed coordinates, which can then be downloaded to the NC controller for NC machining. With this system, the time and cost of fixturing will be greatly reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the rationale behind a new form of machine tool control system which has been developed at the Key Centre for Computer Integrated Manufacture (CIM Centre) in Melbourne Australia. The new control system is based upon standard computer hardware and is intended as a replacement for computer numerical control (CNC), which has severe limitations in the CIM environment. The paper also outlines the new CIM possibilities which are now available as a result of this development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]