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Main Authors: Jaya, Tanureza, Michalak, Benjamin, Radke, Marcel, Haninger, Kevin
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.10829
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author Jaya, Tanureza
Michalak, Benjamin
Radke, Marcel
Haninger, Kevin
author_facet Jaya, Tanureza
Michalak, Benjamin
Radke, Marcel
Haninger, Kevin
contents Cabling tasks (pulling, clipping, and plug insertion) are today mostly manual work, limiting the cost-effectiveness of electrification. Feasibility for the robotic grasping and insertion of plugs, as well as the manipulation of cables, have been shown in research settings. However, in many industrial tasks the complete process from picking, insertion, routing, and validation must be solved with one system. This often means the cable must be directly manipulated for routing, and the plug must be manipulated for insertion, often in cluttered environments with tight space constraints. Here we introduce an analysis of the complete industrial cabling tasks and demonstrate a solution from grasp, plug insertion, clipping, and final plug insertion. Industrial requirements are summarized, considering the space limitations, tolerances, and possible ways that the cabling process can be integrated into the production process. This paper proposes gripper designs and general robotic assembly methods for the widely used FASTON and a cubical industrial connector. The proposed methods cover the cable gripping, handling, routing, and inserting processes of the connector. Customized grippers are designed to ensure the reliable gripping of the plugs and the pulling and manipulation of the cable segments. A passive component to correct the cable orientation is proposed, allowing the robot to re-grip the plug before insertion. In general, the proposed method can perform cable assembly with mere position control, foregoing complex control approaches. This solution is demonstrated with an industrial product with realistic space requirements and tolerances, identifying difficult aspects of current cabling scenarios and potential to improve the automation-friendliness in the product design.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2404_10829
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Industrial Cabling in Constrained Environments: a Practical Approach and Current Challenges
Jaya, Tanureza
Michalak, Benjamin
Radke, Marcel
Haninger, Kevin
Robotics
Cabling tasks (pulling, clipping, and plug insertion) are today mostly manual work, limiting the cost-effectiveness of electrification. Feasibility for the robotic grasping and insertion of plugs, as well as the manipulation of cables, have been shown in research settings. However, in many industrial tasks the complete process from picking, insertion, routing, and validation must be solved with one system. This often means the cable must be directly manipulated for routing, and the plug must be manipulated for insertion, often in cluttered environments with tight space constraints. Here we introduce an analysis of the complete industrial cabling tasks and demonstrate a solution from grasp, plug insertion, clipping, and final plug insertion. Industrial requirements are summarized, considering the space limitations, tolerances, and possible ways that the cabling process can be integrated into the production process. This paper proposes gripper designs and general robotic assembly methods for the widely used FASTON and a cubical industrial connector. The proposed methods cover the cable gripping, handling, routing, and inserting processes of the connector. Customized grippers are designed to ensure the reliable gripping of the plugs and the pulling and manipulation of the cable segments. A passive component to correct the cable orientation is proposed, allowing the robot to re-grip the plug before insertion. In general, the proposed method can perform cable assembly with mere position control, foregoing complex control approaches. This solution is demonstrated with an industrial product with realistic space requirements and tolerances, identifying difficult aspects of current cabling scenarios and potential to improve the automation-friendliness in the product design.
title Industrial Cabling in Constrained Environments: a Practical Approach and Current Challenges
topic Robotics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.10829