Pick & Place Speed Increase
GOAL
Decrease pick and place cycle time without changing pick tooling
HIGH-PERFORMANCE SOLUTION
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Constraints
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Determine acceleration limits for picker tooling
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Confirm constrained motions like pick direction and speed
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Design
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Develop motion profiles with continuous jerk
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Blend X and Z motions of picker tool to allow accelerations to be lower in magnitude and longer in duration
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Results
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Cycle time reduced by 40% enabling higher throughput of machine
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Peak picker tool accelerations reduced by 20% improving reliability
Precision Material Control
GOAL
Develop device to precisely control fabric edges during sewing
HIGH-PERFORMANCE SOLUTION
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Constraints
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Fabric speed during sewing operation
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Device cannot damage thin knitted fabrics
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Design
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Maintain constant contact with fabric
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Mitigate device to fabric slip through understanding force balance
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Provide solution to regain control if slip occurs
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Results
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Device controls fabric edge to within +/- 2 mm at full speed
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Device awarded patent
High Speed Cell Tester
GOAL
Double the throughput rate of previous testing equipment
HIGH-PERFORMANCE SOLUTION
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Constraints
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Maintain same footprint as previous equipment
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Maintain same test procedure
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Design
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Develop multi-axis electromechanical cam drive system to synchronize test head to continuous feed belt
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Optimize motion profile to minimize servo size and energy consumption
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Results
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First production tester achieved target rate with qualified test procedure upon factory acceptance testing
