G D van Albada, J M Lagerberg and A Visser
Outlines research work to design a robot calibration system which isportable, accurate and low‐cost. Describes prototype measuring systemwhich is based on a camera in the robot…
Abstract
Outlines research work to design a robot calibration system which is portable, accurate and low‐cost. Describes prototype measuring system which is based on a camera in the robot hand, plus a known reference object in the robot workspace. Gives details of the measuring procedure, the camera lens, the reference plate and the possible sources of measurement errors. Concludes that this method, based on photogrammetry to obtain measurements for the calibration of robot systems, has been implemented and tested and provides promising results for practical application.
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Describes an automated laser cutting cell used in the automotiveindustry. The cell has the benefits of fast throughput because of highcutting speeds, adaptability of height…
Abstract
Describes an automated laser cutting cell used in the automotive industry. The cell has the benefits of fast throughput because of high cutting speeds, adaptability of height sensing, safety of crash protection and flexibility of part modifications via robot path and program modifications. Outlines the feature of the cell which consists of two Nd:YAG lasers with fibre‐optic delivery and two five‐axis robots with trepanning heads, and describes their performance characteristics. Concludes with a summary of the advantages of using a laser cutting cell.
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Describes a robot calibration package which produces a set of identifiedrobot model parameters. Uses a measurement target mounted on therobot’s end effector and a pair of…
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Describes a robot calibration package which produces a set of identified robot model parameters. Uses a measurement target mounted on the robot’s end effector and a pair of theodolites under automatic control. Typically permits the global positioning error of a robot to be reduced from 10 mm to 1mm. Concludes that calibration procedures such as these are essential for successful off‐line programming of robot systems.
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Examines the problem of the robot and fixture calibration from theperspective of simulation and off‐line programming. Looks at the twobasic methods of measuring robot…
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Examines the problem of the robot and fixture calibration from the perspective of simulation and off‐line programming. Looks at the two basic methods of measuring robot position—optical systems and cable‐driven systems—and describes examples of both of these methods. The Workspace PC‐based robot simulation system and the RoboTrak three‐cable measuring system for calibration are used as examples and compared with other commercial systems, and a calibration case study is presented. Concludes that if the accuracy required by a robot application of the order of 1 mm and the robot program is to be generated by an off‐line software package, then it is necessary to calibrate the robot first.
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Chuangui Yang, Junwen Wang, Liang Mi, Xingbao Liu, Yangqiu Xia, Yilei Li, Shaoxing Ma and Qiang Teng
This paper aims to propose a four-point measurement model for directly measuring the pose (i.e. position and orientation) of industrial robot and reducing its calculating error…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose a four-point measurement model for directly measuring the pose (i.e. position and orientation) of industrial robot and reducing its calculating error and measurement uncertainty.
Design/methodology/approach
A four-point measurement model is proposed for directly measuring poses of industrial robots. First, this model consists of a position measurement model and an orientation model gotten by the position of spherically mounted reflector (SMR). Second, an influence factor analysis, simulated by Monte Carlo simulation, is performed to investigate the influence of certain factors on the accuracy and uncertainty. Third, comparisons with the common method are carried out to verify the advantage of this model. Finally, a test is carried out for evaluating the repeatability of five poses of an industrial robot.
Findings
In this paper, results show that the proposed model is better than the three-SMRs model in measurement accuracy, measurement uncertainty and computational efficiency. Moreover, both measurement accuracy and measurement uncertainty can be improved by using the proposed influence laws of its key parameters on the proposed model.
Originality/value
The proposed model can measure poses of industrial robots directly, accurately and effectively. Additionally, influence laws of key factors on the accuracy and uncertainty of the proposed model are given to provide some guidelines for improving the performance of the proposed model.
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Jianran Lv, Hongyao Shen and Jianzhong Fu
3D printing for objects whose size exceeds the scope of the printer is still a tough challenge in application. The purpose of this paper is to propose a visual stitching…
Abstract
Purpose
3D printing for objects whose size exceeds the scope of the printer is still a tough challenge in application. The purpose of this paper is to propose a visual stitching large-scale (VSLS) 3D-printing method to solve this problem.
Design/methodology/approach
The single segmentation point method and multiple segmentation point method are proposed to adaptively divide each slice of the model into several segments. For each layer, the mobile robot will move to different positions to print each segment, and every time it arrives at the planned location, the contours of the printed segments are captured with a high-definition camera by the feature point recognition algorithm. Then, the coordinate transformation is implemented to adjust the printing codes of the next segment so that each part can be perfectly aligned. The authors print up layer by layer in this manner until the model is complete.
Findings
In Section 3, two specimens, whose sizes are 166 per cent and 252 per cent of the scope of the 3D-printing robot, are successfully printed. Meanwhile, the completed models of the specimens are printed using a suitable traditional printer for comparison. The result shows that the specimens in the test group have basically identical sizes to those in the control group, which verifies the feasibility of the VSLS method.
Originality/value
Unlike most of the current solutions that demand harsh requirement for positioning accuracy of the mobile robots, the authors use a camera to compensate for the lost positioning accuracy of the device during movement, thereby avoiding precise control to the device’s location. And the coordinate transformation is implemented to adjust the printing codes of the next sub-models so that each part can be aligned perfectly.
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States that manufacturing lines cannot be used for production during commissioning and that it is therefore always the goal to reduce the necessary efforts to a maximum extent…
Abstract
States that manufacturing lines cannot be used for production during commissioning and that it is therefore always the goal to reduce the necessary efforts to a maximum extent. Starts with a description of the state‐of‐the‐art in this field based on the situation in the automotive industry. Additionally lists RTD fields to overcome these problems. Goes on to present methods and software tools aiming at a tremendous decrease in efforts required today.
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F. Hidalgo and P. Brunn
Robot calibration and metrology systems vary widely in performance, but, as a general rule, they are considered to be expensive systems that are normally beyond the budget of the…
Abstract
Robot calibration and metrology systems vary widely in performance, but, as a general rule, they are considered to be expensive systems that are normally beyond the budget of the average company. A market survey involving some of the leading systems available reveals that the leading performers are characteristically easy to set‐up, operate and, most important, more economical. Nevertheless, the price range of these systems is still too high for them to be in widespread, regular use. The development of systems that combine these characteristics, but at a low‐cost, would fill an important void in the automated manufacturing industry.
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Abstract
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Moritz Karl Herbert Petermann and Hannes Zacher
The concept of workforce agility has become increasingly popular in recent years. However, defining it has sparked much discussion and ambiguity. Recognizing this ambiguity, this…
Abstract
Purpose
The concept of workforce agility has become increasingly popular in recent years. However, defining it has sparked much discussion and ambiguity. Recognizing this ambiguity, this paper aims to inductively develop a behavioral taxonomy of workforce agility.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors interviewed 36 experts in the field of agility and used concept mapping and the critical incident technique to create a behavioral taxonomy.
Findings
The authors identified a behavioral taxonomy consisting of ten dimensions: (1) accepting changes, (2) decision making, (3) creating transparency, (4) collaboration, (5) reflection, (6) user centricity, (7) iteration, (8) testing, (9) self-organization, and (10) learning.
Research limitations/implications
The authors’ research contributes to the literature in that it offers an inductively developed behavioral taxonomy of workforce agility with ten dimensions. It further adds to the literature by tying the notion of workforce agility to the performance literature.
Practical implications
The authors’ results suggest that it might be beneficial for companies to take all workforce agility dimensions into account when creating an agile culture, starting agile projects, integrating agility into hiring decisions or evaluating employee performance.
Originality/value
This paper uses an inductive approach to define workforce agility as a set of behavioral dimensions, integrating the scientific as well as the practitioner literature on agility.