SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR STORING AND PROCESSING A VARIETY OF PART SHAPES USING ROBOTIC TENDING

• Main Authors: BROWN, Sean, Gabriel, YOUNGWERTH, Albert, James, LEBSACK, Eric, James, DITTRICH, Shane, Christopher, BLAINE, Benjamin, Thomas
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 21.06.2017
• Subjects: CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES; COMBINATIONS OR ASSOCIATIONS OF METAL-WORKING MACHINES, NOTDIRECTED TO A PARTICULAR RESULT; DETAILS, COMPONENTS, OR ACCESSORIES FOR MACHINE TOOLS, e.g.ARRANGEMENTS FOR COPYING OR CONTROLLING; HAND TOOLS; MACHINE TOOLS; MACHINE TOOLS IN GENERAL CHARACTERISED BY THE CONSTRUCTION OFPARTICULAR DETAILS OR COMPONENTS; MANIPULATORS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; TRANSPORTING

A system and method for using a robotic arm and a part gripping jaw to tend a CNC machine. A robotic arm picks up a part gripping jaw and used the jaw to grip a part, and moves the part into a vise in the CNC machine. The part gripping jaw has features which the vise engages, and secures the part in the part gripping jaw for processing in the CNC machine. The system and method includes a novel racking system, robotic end of arm tool, jaw grippers and vise system. The jaw grippers that hold the part are moved from the rack system, with the part to be processed, by the robot, to the vise where the vise uses the jaw grippers to secure the part for processing. After the part is processed, the robot removes the part from the vise with the jaw grippers and stores the part back into the rack system using the jaw grippers.