JPH042481A - Assembly process design device and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To shorten the time required in designing an assembly process, by providing an arithmetic means which calculates the assembly direction of a part as solution, based on the coordinates data of the characteristic point of the part stored in a memory means and the criterion of the hardness in assembly. CONSTITUTION:The coordinates data that the shape and characteristic point of the part with respect to assembly are expressed by the positional vector to a world coordinates system and the determinant consisting of a tertiary rotating matrix, the criterion on the easiness in assembly by the assembly direction of a part and product, the shape and function of the assembly machine used for assembly and using tool and the peripheral environment are stored in a memory means. The content 16 of this memory means is read and the assembly direction, assembly order and arrangement of a using machine are automatically calculated by an arithmetic means 1 based on the read content.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an assembly process design device and its device that automatically or interactively determine the assembly direction of parts, the order of assembly, the machines to be used, and the arrangement of the assembly machines of the tools to be used. Regarding.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, as a method for automatically designing an assembly process, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-288683, the lower parts are positioned first based on the layout information of the sample product.
The assembly order is based on the rule that the parts located above are then placed on top of each other.

There was one that automatically determined the work order.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

When considering general assembly, there are almost no products that can be assembled using simple building blocks like the technique described above. That is, when considering the assembly of general products that are joined by screwing, press-fitting, adhesive, etc., it is possible to assemble the products either vertically or horizontally. Furthermore, even if the orientation of the product is the same, it is possible to consider many different assembly orders as shown in FIG. In order to automatically determine the actual product assembly order 9 work order, it is necessary to take such assembly operations into consideration, but it is impossible to take these into account with conventional techniques.

The purpose of the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art by assembling a product automatically or interactively, taking into account the shape of the product, the functions of the machine, jigs, and the structure of the surrounding environment, etc. The object of the present invention is to provide an assembly process design system that determines the assembly direction, assembly order, machines used, and layout for the assembly process.

[Means to solve the problem]

This assembly process design system is used to determine the assembly direction and assembly order for the above purposes.

a storage means for storing coordinate data of feature points of parts related to assembly and criteria for determining difficulty of assembly; and based on the coordinate data of feature points of parts and criteria for determining difficulty of assembly stored in the storage means; The apparatus is provided with calculation means for determining the assembly direction of the parts and calculating the assembly order in the assembly direction as a solution.

In addition to the above-mentioned means, in order to determine the machines used for assembly and the arrangement of the machines, which is another object of the present invention, the functions and shapes of machines for assembling parts and their jigs and tools are stored in a storage means. The calculation is performed based on the coordinate data and the criteria for determining the difficulty level of assembly.

[Effect]

The shape and feature points of parts related to assembly are expressed by coordinate data expressed as a determinant consisting of a position vector and a cubic rotation matrix with respect to the world coordinate system, and degrees according to the assembly direction of parts and products.
Memorize the criteria for determining ease of assembly, the shape and function of the assembly machine used for assembly, the shape and function of the tools used, and the surrounding environment, read the contents of the storage means, and use the calculation means based on the read contents, The assembly direction, assembly order, and arrangement of machines used can be automatically calculated. In addition, this calculation result is displayed, and when there are multiple assembly directions, assembly orders, and machine layouts, an input means for inputting to select one solution from among them allows the user to interactively select the assembly direction, assembly order, and layout of the machine used. The assembly order and the arrangement of the machines to be used can be determined.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10.

As an example of assembly work, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, the nose 108. Main wing 109. Let us consider assembling a model airplane, which consists of six parts: a front fuselage 110, a rear fuselage 111, a horizontal stabilizer 112, and a vertical stabilizer 113, and when assembled, it will look like the completed diagram shown in FIG.

The method of assembling this airplane is shown in FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b).

FIG. 4(a) shows an example in which parts are assembled one by one using, for example, one robot. In other words, as shown in the figure number, (main wing 109) → (1!
P1 front 110) → (rear fuselage 111) → (horizontal stabilizer 11
2) It is assembled in the order of (vertical stabilizer 113) → (nose 108).

In addition, in Fig. 4(b), three robots are used to move (main wing 109) → (nose 108 - front fuselage 110 - rear fuselage 111).
)→(horizontal stabilizer 112)→(vertical stabilizer 113).

That is, (i) the robot 114 places the main wing; (ii) the robot 116 places the nose 108 and the robot 1 on the front fuselage 110 held by the robot 115;
At the same time, assemble the rear fuselage 111 held by 17.

(iii) The robot 115 holding the front fuselage 110 assembles the (nose 108 - front fuselage 110 - rear fuselage 111) assembled in (ii) to the main body 1109.

(iv) The robot 116 attaches the horizontal stabilizer 112 to the rear fuselage 11.
Assemble to 1.

(V) The robot 117 moves the vertical tail 113 to the horizontal tail 11
Assemble to 2.

This is the assembly order.

Also, if you change the assembly direction of each assembly part.

In addition to the methods shown in FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b), many other methods can be considered. Among these many assembly methods,
In order to select an assembly direction suitable for actual work, feature data of parts stored in part data 6, data on positional relationships between parts stored in product data 15, and assemblability knowledge 10, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 1, are used. .

Now, in order to demonstrate the method for determining the assembly direction, consider parts A and B shown in FIG. Part A has three holes 101 to 10.
3. Part B has four holes 104 or 6107 and one rod 108.

In order to determine the assembly direction of such parts A and B, the following assemblability knowledge is used. As an example of assemblability knowledge, the assemblability evaluation method (NIKKE MECHANI) is commonly used.
CAL 1988.3.21 pp, 38-59) states that it is easiest to assemble parts from top to bottom.

This embodiment shows a method of automatically determining the assembly direction of a product based on the knowledge that it is easiest to assemble parts from top to bottom.

In FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b), in the case of one component A alone, the total number of assembly directions (↓: top to bottom, I+: sideways) is shown in the following. Table 1: Table 1 As is clear from the first table, assembly method 1 requires more assembly work in the ↓ direction. Therefore, in the case of component A alone, it is easier to assemble if assembly direction l is adopted.6 However, as shown in FIGS. 2(C) and (d), if the assembled component is composed of component A and component If so, the total number of assembly directions (↓: top to bottom, →: sideways) will be as shown in Table 2.

Table 2 Therefore, the assembly direction of component A shown in assembly method 1 cannot be said to be optimal.

That is, as a method for assembling parts A and B, for example, the directions shown in FIGS. 2(c) and 2(d) (assembly direction 3.4
). Assembly direction 3 is part B from the side of part A.
The rod 108 is to be inserted. Also,
In assembly direction 4, the rod 108 of component B is inserted into component A from above.

When we add up the assembly directions for each assembly direction for 3.4, we get the results shown in Table 2, which shows that it is easiest to assemble parts from the top to the bottom. If used, the product as a whole will be in assembly direction 4 rather than assembly direction 3.
This means that it is easier to assemble.

In this way, in order to determine the optimal assembly direction for the entire product, it is necessary to calculate the sum of the assembly directions of characteristic points such as holes and rods of each part in the assembled state.

In the present invention, in order to automatically perform such operations, coordinate system data indicating the positions and orientations of the holes and rods of each component, as shown in FIG. 5, is used as component characteristic data.

That is, the position of the part's reference coordinate system Ba5e is expressed by the position vector of the part's reference coordinate system Ba5e with respect to the world, and the orientation of the part's reference coordinate system, B a s e, is expressed by the position vector of the part's reference coordinate system Ba5e between the world and the part's reference coordinate system Ba5e. It is represented by the following rotation matrix. As an internal representation, a 4×4 matrix combining both is used. Also, the feature points of the part (holes 101, 102, 103, rod 108
), and the orientation of the feature point of the part is represented by the orientation of the feature point of the part and a cubic rotation matrix of the reference coordinate system Ba5e of the part.

In FIG. 5(a), A Holel to A-Hol
e3 is a coordinate system representing the position and orientation of the hole with respect to the reference coordinate system ABa5e of the part A. Similarly, A B
a5e represents the reference position and orientation of part A with respect to the world coordinate system. These data are, for example, AB
The origin position vector of A Holel for a5e is P,
A The unit vector of Ho1e1 in the x, y, and z axes directions is M.

If N becomes. here shall be.

Similarly, for part B, the position of the part's reference coordinate system is
Part reference coordinate system B Ba5 relative to the world coordinate system
The orientation of the reference coordinate system of one part expressed by the position vector of e can be expressed by a third-order rotation matrix between the world and the reference coordinate system of the part. The connection relationship of these data is shown in Figure 5 (b
) can be expressed as

In addition, the product composed of parts A and B is shown in Figure 6 (a').
Shown below. The positional relationship data between the parts of this product can be expressed as shown in FIG. 6(b) using the expression shown in FIG. 5(b).

Here, it is assumed that the Z-axis direction of each feature point coordinate system is set to match the assembly direction. That is, Fig. 5 (a
), taking part A as an example, it is A H.

Since another part B on the upper surface of part A represented by lel and AHole2 is inserted from top to bottom, the Z axis of each coordinate system is set downward. Also, regarding the hole on the right side of part A represented by A Ho1e3, rod 10 of part B
8 is set from right to left in the figure. By doing this, for example, even if a product that combines parts A and B shown in FIG. 6(a) is placed in any direction, the coordinate systems of each feature point of parts A and B can be If you look in the direction of the Z axis,
It becomes possible to count how many times the product as a whole needs to be assembled in different orientations.

That is, (i) the coordinate system of the feature points of each part is expressed as relative coordinates from the reference coordinate system of each part. Therefore, even if you move/rotate each part (that is, move/rotate the reference coordinate system of each part), the position/orientation of each feature point with respect to the world coordinates will be determined by the relative coordinates of each feature point to the reference coordinates. It is found by multiplying the conversion rows.

(ii) The positional relationship between the parts constituting the product is given by connecting the relative coordinate systems of the reference points and feature points of each part in a tree structure, as shown in FIG. 6(b).

Therefore, when moving/rotating one part A in Fig. 6,
Characteristics of part A with respect to reference coordinate system A Ba5e of part A in tree structure Pisces 1lA (AHo1el~A Ho
1e3), feature point coordinates of part B connected to feature points of part A (B Rod, B Hoel~
B Ho1e4) and regarding the reference coordinates, (i)
You can see that it is necessary to perform the following operations.

(iii) In order to consider various assembly directions for the product, for example, if the product is rotated by 90' around the X-axis of the reference coordinate system of one part A (i.e., 4 different directions around the of the two axes of each feature point obtained as a result, the positive direction of the Z axis is opposite to the Z axis of the world coordinate system. Add up the numbers. Also, Y of the reference coordinate system of 1 part A.

Similar operations are performed around the Z axis.

(iv) Among the assembly directions obtained as a result of the operation in (iii), the one in which the Z-axis direction of the feature point is the opposite to the Z-axis direction of the world coordinate system is adopted as the product assembly direction. .

This procedure makes it possible to determine the assembly direction of the product.

When counting the Z-axis direction of the feature point in the (stop) operation, it is necessary to distinguish whether the currently targeted coordinate system is that of the reference point or the feature point. This problem can be solved, for example, by adding data as shown in FIG. 7 to the component characteristic data. The data shown in FIG. 7 is composed of the name of the coordinate system and a flag indicating whether the coordinates are reference coordinates or feature coordinates (0: reference coordinates, 1: feature coordinates). In the operation (iii) above, when tracing the tree structure and checking the two-axis directions of each coordinate, it is determined from the data in Figure 7 whether the coordinate currently being operated is the reference coordinate or not. The Z-axis direction is checked only when it is a feature coordinate.

The above procedure is shown in FIG. Each step in FIG. 8 will be explained below.

Step (,1001) Select one product assembly direction. As mentioned above, this applies when the product is rotated by 90 degrees around the X axis of part A (4 ways), when the product is rotated around the Y axis (4 ways), and when the product is rotated around the Y axis (4 ways)
One way is selected from a total of 64 ways when rotating around the axis (4 ways).

Step (1002) Initialize the counter for the number of assembly directions in the ↓ direction.

Step (1003) Select one coordinate value by tracing the tree of coordinate values, Fig. 6 (
In the example shown in b), starting from World, A Ba5
e-+A Holel~A H.

le3→B Ba5e-)B Rod-+B H
.

The selections are made in the order of lel to BHole4, but if this step 1003 is reached first, ABase is
Next, based on the determination in step 1008, this step 1003
, A-Hole 1 is selected.

Step (1004) Determine whether the selected coordinates are feature coordinates. For example, if A Ba5e in FIG. 6(b) is selected in step (1003), in the coordinate system name-determination flag correspondence table shown in FIG. 7, the determination flag for A-Base is 0 (reference coordinate system). It becomes. If the coordinate system selected in step (1003) is the reference coordinate as a result of the determination in step 1004, the process proceeds to step 10o8. Otherwise, go to 1005.

Step (1005) Find the values of the coordinates selected in step (1003) in the world coordinate system by coordinate transformation.

Step (1006) Select the coordinate value in step (1003), and
If the direction of the two axes of the coordinates transformed in 005) is opposite to the direction of the two axes of the world coordinate system, (in Figure 6(a), ↓
direction) go to step 1o07. Otherwise, go to step 1008.

Step (1007) Increment the counter for the number of assembly directions in the ↓ direction.

Step (1008) For all coordinates to be assembled, step (1008)
Determine whether steps 004) to (1007) have been performed (determination is made by checking whether there is a coordinate below or to the right of the coordinate being determined in the tree structure of FIG. 6(b)).Unprocessed If there is a coordinate system, go to step (1003), otherwise go to step (1009).

Step (1009) The number of downward assembling directions counted in steps (1003) to (1008) is stored in correspondence with the assembly direction of the product selected in step (1001).

Step (1010) It is determined whether determination has been made for all assembly directions of the parts.

Step (l O11) Select the one with the most downward directions from among the assembly directions of the product.

Above, we have shown a method for determining the assembly direction using the only judgment criterion, ``It is easiest to assemble parts from top to bottom,'' as assemblability knowledge.
As shown in the figure, it is also possible to determine the difficulty level in advance depending on the direction of assembly.

The data in FIG. 9 assigns difficulty levels to various assembly directions, and the smaller the numerical value, the easier the assembly is.

As is clear from FIG. 8, in this embodiment, it is possible to determine the assembly direction of the characteristic points of each component constituting the product with respect to various assembly directions of the components. (For example, in the above example, the direction of the two axes of the coordinate system indicating the hole) Therefore, the first step is to determine which type of direction of assembly of the data in Fig. 9 corresponds to the assembly direction of the feature points obtained in this way. By making a determination using the calculation means 1 shown in the figure and adding up the difficulty levels, it is possible to obtain the total assembly difficulty level for various product assembly directions. Then, by selecting the assembly direction with the lowest difficulty level, it becomes possible to determine the assembly direction of the parts.

Next, interactive processing with the user will be explained.

That is, when the direction of product assembly is determined by the above operations, (1) there are multiple solutions with the same "number of times of assembly from top to bottom" and different degrees of difficulty;

(2) The next best solution is adopted due to factors other than the assembly direction, such as the lack of a machine that can perform the desired task.

This can be considered. In the present invention, the above (1)
), (2), Figures 10(a) to (d)
An interactive system such as the one shown in Figure 1 will be used.

FIGS. 10(a) to 10(d) show various display examples of the display screen, and each screen of FIGS. 10(a) to 10(c) shows a display area of a candidate for assembly direction and a candidate number.

It consists of an input menu and a candidate switching menu. In particular, when displaying candidates, (i) Display of candidates using three-dimensional shapes, (ii) Simultaneous display of data to support the user's decision making, such as difficulty level, and (iii) Priority order, such as descending difficulty level. It is possible to display with There is also a candidate switching menu.

Next = Displaying the next candidate Previous: Previous 〃 First: 1st l! All candidates: This means that all candidates are displayed. Then, by performing an operation such as picking these menus with a mouse, the display of candidates is switched.

That is, when a candidate switching menu on the screen is picked using the mouse, (i) the data input device inputs the menu selection result to the calculation means 1;
send to

(ii) The arithmetic device 1 creates an assembly direction candidate using the parts data 6, product data 151 and assembly knowledge ra10 in the database 16, and sends data for displaying it to the display device 2.

(iii) Display device 2 displays the selected candidate.

The candidate display will be changed by following these steps.

Candidate No. and Candidate is an area for selecting one from the candidates checked as above.
For example, the candidate No. is input using a keyboard or the like.

By providing the display 27 input means 3 as described above,
In cases like (1) and (2) above, it becomes possible for the user to select a desired candidate from among a plurality of candidates.

FIGS. 10(a) to 10(d) are respectively displayed as shown below.

(a): Initial state display. Only one candidate that the system considers to be optimal will be displayed.

(b): When the "Next" menu is selected and the second priority candidate is displayed.

(C): When all candidates are displayed.

(d): Display all candidates with their priority (No,) and reason (
An example of displaying the difficulty level is shown below. If you select this topsoil, a three-dimensional shape will be displayed.

The method for determining the assembly direction of a product has been described above, but the results determined in this way can also be used to determine the optimal arrangement of assembled parts.

That is, when considering assembly work, it includes the work of bringing each part from its placement position before assembling the parts. When the arrangement direction of the component is the same as the assembly direction of the component itself, operations such as changing the component posture and re-gripping during assembly are minimized, and the number of man-hours required for assembly is reduced. For this reason, the direction of each part when assembling the product, which is determined from the direction of assembling each part into the product, is used as the arrangement direction (posture) of the parts.

In the embodiments described above, a method for determining the assembly direction of products and parts using assemblability knowledge has been shown.

When determining the assembly order, it is also possible to adopt a method of assembling the parts from the bottom to the top according to this assembly direction.

However, when considering actual assembly, in addition to products that can be assembled by inserting in one direction or bonding, there are parts that need to be rotated or slid after insertion, and parts that need to be held during assembly.

For example, if we consider the assembly shown in Figure 11 (a)
When assembling in the direction shown in
After placing Cap1202 on top of 203 bolt120
You can tighten it to 0, but the bol
Body 1203 and Cap when tightening t1200
1202 must be held together.

In order to determine the assembly order, including the cases described above, in addition to the coordinate values, detailed attributes of the assembly work (required to be retained during rotational assembly after insertion, etc.) are required as part data in Figure 1.
) is required, as shown in Figure 12.

Each part is a set of data indicated by a part name. For example, part class master craftsman 204 shown in part name 1213 in FIG. 12, joining method, joining position 1205, joining method attribute 1
206, standard fish confidence fa1207, difficulty level 1208, difficulty level calculation method 12o9 6 also. The characteristic data of a certain part is the grip point 121 of the characteristic information 1214 of the part in FIG.
0. It is obtained by referring to a set of data indicated by the component class name, such as the approach point 1211 and departure point 1212.

For example, if the parts name class 1213 and parts characteristic information 1214 in FIG. 12 are stored in arbitrary areas in the database 16 in FIG. Any value representing the start address of the area where 1214 is stored may be used.

The difficulty level of the above data represents, for example, the difficulty level used when determining the assembly direction, and is automatically updated using a difficulty level calculation method every time the assembly direction changes.

The product structure can be expressed by connecting the data of each of these parts in a tree structure as shown in FIG. 5(b) or FIG. 6(b).

A method for determining the assembly order using the data shown in FIG. 12 will be described below.

As for how to use the joining method attribute, for example, if it is necessary to rotate or slide after insertion, a high difficulty level is added in the difficulty level calculation. Here, the difficulty level calculation refers to (i) calculation of the total number of assembly directions from top to bottom, as in the example shown when determining the assembly direction of the product and assembly parts for the product (ii)
) This is equivalent to the calculation of adding the difficulty level set for each type of assembly direction, but more detailed judgment is possible by considering the joining method attribute.

In the above embodiment considering the assembly operation of one part, a method of determining the assembly order by considering the detailed attributes of the assembly work was shown, but when considering the interference of parts and the movable range of the machine,
More detailed studies are required to find a feasible assembly order.

For example, in a robot as shown in Fig. 13(a), the first
Consider a case where assembly work as shown in Fig. 3(b) is performed. In this example, as shown in FIG. 13(c), the robot's own movable range is that its hands can reach the center of the workbench, but when performing actual assembly, just being able to reach the hands is not enough.

In other words, when trying to insert part B into part A as shown in (b), the hand must move linearly within the range indicated by the arrow.To do this, considering the robot's range of motion, ( The robot must be installed in the position shown in b).

In order to check the possibility of assembly in this way, the machine function data 7, such as whether the robot can move in a straight line, etc.
Tool function data 8, surrounding environment function data 9 such as the robot's movable range, movable range data of the machine used 7, tool movable range data 8, movable range data of the surrounding environment 9, parts data 6 for checking interference, Machine data used 7
, tool data 8, and shape data 9 of the surrounding environment are required.

FIG. 14 shows a procedure for checking the feasibility of the assembly order required in the above-described embodiment using these data.

Each of the 5 steps in FIG. 14 will be explained below.

(Step) Using the database 16 shown in FIG. 1, the arithmetic unit 1 determines the assembly direction and assembly operation by the method shown in FIG. 8, and selects one assembly operation.

<S t e p 2> In order to calculate the movement section of the assembly work, the machine function data 7 used, such as whether the robot can move in a straight line, tool function data 8, and surrounding environment function data 9, such as the robot's movable range.
, movable range data 7 of the machine used, tool movable range data 8, movable range data 9 of the surrounding environment, parts data 6, machine data 7 used, tool data 8, shape data 9 of the surrounding environment for checking interference. use Here, the moving section refers to a section as shown by the arrow in FIG. 13(b), and is determined, for example, by the method shown below.

Now, let us explain the details of the parts insertion work as shown in Fig. 13(b) in the first step.
It is shown in Figure 5.

X, Y, Z, and H represent the shape and dimensions of each part of part A.

S represents the distance immediately before assembling parts A and B,
A Ba5e, B Ba5e is part A.

The reference coordinates of B, ABottom, are the feature coordinates of the hole portion of part A, and f3 GrasP represents the gripping point of part B.

In such a case, in order to insert part B into part A, Z in the World coordinate system is It can be seen that it is only necessary to move the distance (S + H) in the negative direction of the axis.

<Step 3> For example, using the function data of the machine data 7 and tool data 8 shown in Fig. 1, select a machine and a tool that can perform the work determined in (Step 2). Knowledge 1
1 and the data stored in the tool selection button wi12.

<5 step 4) Using the selected machine movable range data 7 and tool movable range data 8, install the machine in a position where the work determined in <Step 2> can be performed based on the machine location knowledge m and 14. do.

(Step 5) At the installation position determined in <5step 4>, read the shape data from the parts data 6, the machine used data 7, and the tool data 8 to check whether there is interference with other machines or the surrounding environment, etc. Check based on placement knowledge '1j114.

By repeating the above operations for each assembly operation, the assembly order, the machines/tools to be used, and the layout are determined.

In the above-mentioned machine/tool selection in (Step 3) and layout determination in (Step 4), there may be a plurality of solutions.

As shown in Fig. 10, a method for selecting one solution from among these multiple solutions is to display candidate solutions and information to support the user's decision making on a display device, and to decide through interactive processing. This is a possible method. For example, when selecting a machine/tool, it is conceivable to display usage frequency, operating rate, etc. at the same time as candidate solutions to support the user's decision making.

Furthermore, when determining the layout, it is also possible to perform interactive processing while looking at one display device screen, as shown in FIG.

Figure 16 shows assembly work using a robot.
In addition to 3D display of the robot, table, parts, etc., the robot's movable range and movement section are also displayed in 3D. The user can change the installation position of the robot while viewing this screen using an input device such as a mouse.

When the installation position of the robot changes, the movable range also changes accordingly.

Now, if we calculate the inclusive relationship between the movable range and the moving section, and change the display method of the parts of the moving range that are within the movable range and the parts that are outside the movable range (for example, by showing changes in color or brightness). It becomes possible to check whether any assembly work can be performed at any robot installation position.

The above method can be performed for each individual assembly operation, or it is also possible to simultaneously display and check the assembly sections related to the assembly operation of the entire product.

Further, the menu at the bottom right of FIG. 16 is for instructing a viewpoint change and rotation/translation of a displayed figure, and can be used by a pick operation with a mouse, etc.

A method of using machine/tool selection knowledge and mechanical device knowledge to automatically perform the above-mentioned machine/tool selection and layout determination will be described below.

First, as for the system configuration, as shown in Fig. 1, the database includes machine selection knowledge 11, tool selection knowledge 12,
Machine layout knowledge 14 is stored.

Further, an inference mechanism 4 is provided for inference using this knowledge.

The processing procedure is the same as the procedure shown in FIG. 14, but the above-mentioned knowledge and reasoning mechanism 4 are used in <5tep3> and <5tep4) shown above.

(In Step 3>, the moving section and functional data obtained in Step 2> are input, and the machine/tool to be used is automatically determined using knowledge regarding the number of times the machine is used, the operating rate, the number of setup changes, etc.).

In <5step 4>, the movement range obtained in <5step 2> and the movement range data of the machine/tool to be used determined in (Step 3) are input, and knowledge regarding the distribution of movement range, movement distance/time, etc. is used as input. Automatically determine the layout.

The part feature data used in the above explanation is the coordinate data of the feature points of each part with respect to the reference coordinate system of each part, and the data necessary for assembly when determining the shape of the part using the CAD system, which is the upper system of this system. It is created by inputting assembly operations, etc.

FIG. 17 shows the part data sent from the CAD shown in FIG. 1 displayed on a display device, and each menu has the following meanings.

Coordinate system setting 2 After picking the hole or rod part of the displayed part using a mouse, etc., select this menu to set and display the coordinate system for the picked part.

Coordinate system change: Parallel/rotational movement of the set coordinate system is performed using the X-movement to Z-rotation menus.

Joining method: Enter the joining method for holes, rods, etc. by picking the holes or rods of the displayed parts using a mouse, etc., and then selecting menu items such as "glue" or "press fit".

Using the method of creating characteristic data for these parts, you can choose from multiple assembly orders, taking into account the machine used, the surrounding environment, etc.
Interactive decisions allow for the most efficient assembly.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to automatically select the one with the best assembly efficiency from among a plurality of possible assembly directions and orders of parts and products. It can save time.

Furthermore, since the arrangement of the assembly machines can be determined to improve assembly efficiency, it is possible to quickly respond to changes in the use of the product.

Furthermore, when determining the assembly direction, assembly order, and arrangement of assembly machines, the solution calculated by the arithmetic means of the device is displayed and the user can select the desired assembly direction of the parts and products using the input means. Order 1 The arrangement of the assembly machine can be selected.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of an example of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a block diagram of an example of the present invention.
A diagram showing an example of the assembly direction of the assembly parts, Figure 3 shows the nose,
Figure 4 shows an example of the assembly order of a model airplane consisting of six parts, including the main wing, front fuselage, rear fuselage, horizontal stabilizer, and vertical stabilizer, and the completed drawing of the assembled parts. Figure 5 shows the coordinates of the feature points of parts A and B.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the positional relationship with respect to the world coordinate system, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the relative positional relationship of two assembly parts using feature point coordinates. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing determination flags for feature points of assembled parts.
A flowchart for determining the assembly direction, FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the difficulty level of each assembly direction, FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the screen displayed by the display means, and FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the bolt, h
Figure 12 is a diagram illustrating the assembly direction of a product consisting of four parts: ole, cap, and body. Figure 12 is a diagram illustrating the classification of component attributes. Fig. 14 is a flowchart for determining the arrangement of the assembly machine, Fig. 15 is a drawing showing the necessary movable distance of the robot to assemble one part, Fig. 16 is a drawing showing the movable range of the robot, FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a display screen of a subsystem for creating part shape data used in the present invention. 1... Arithmetic device. 2...Display device 3...Data input device 4...Inference device 5...Product usage data 6...Parts data 7...Machine data 8.
・・Tool data 9・・Surrounding environment data 10・・Assembly knowledge 11・・Machine selection knowledge 12・・・Tool selection knowledge 16・・Database 17・・CAD system (ε) cd) Manzuki (α) Kuzuzu <a) (b) Figure 1 Calculation! T diagram

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Storage means for storing coordinate data of feature points of parts related to assembly and criteria for determining difficulty of assembly, and coordinate data of feature points of parts stored in the storage means and assembly 1. An assembly process design device comprising a calculation means for calculating the assembly direction of parts as a solution based on a difficulty level determination criterion. 2. Coordinate data of the shape and feature points of parts related to assembly expressed as a determinant consisting of a position vector and a cubic rotation matrix with respect to the world coordinate system, and criteria for determining ease of assembly based on the assembly direction of parts and products. The assembly direction of the parts is determined based on the storage means to be stored, the coordinate data of the storage means, and the criterion for the difficulty level of the assembly direction, and the difficulty level of the assembly order in the determined assembly direction is calculated as a solution. a calculation means, a display means for displaying the solution that is the calculation result of the calculation means, and when there are multiple solutions for the part or product obtained by the calculation means, select one appropriate solution from among the plurality of solutions; An assembly process design device comprising: input means for inputting a selection. 3. Coordinate data representing the shape and feature points of parts related to assembly as a determinant consisting of a position vector and a cubic rotation matrix with respect to the world coordinate system, the assembly direction of parts and products, and the ease of assembly based on assembly operations. a storage means for storing the function and shape of the machine for assembling the parts and its jigs and tools; and coordinate data of the storage means, assemblability determination criteria, and optimal assemblability based on the function and shape An assembly process design device comprising: arithmetic means for calculating the arrangement of the machines so that 4. Coordinate data for the shape and feature points of parts related to assembly expressed as a determinant consisting of a position vector and a cubic rotation matrix with respect to the world coordinate system, and criteria for determining the ease of assembly based on the assembly direction of parts and products. An operation for determining the difficulty level of assembly according to the direction of assembly of the part based on the storage means for storing the part, the coordinate data of the feature points of the part, and the criterion of the difficulty level of assembly, and calculating the assembly order with good assembly efficiency as a solution. means, a display means for displaying the solution obtained by the arithmetic means, and an input means for inputting an input to select one solution when there are multiple solutions displayed by the display means. An assembly process design device featuring: 5. Coordinate data representing the shape and feature points of parts related to assembly as a determinant consisting of a position vector and a cubic rotation matrix with respect to the world coordinate system, and criteria for ease of assembly based on the assembly direction of parts and products. , a memory means for storing the function, shape, and surrounding environment of a machine that assembles the parts and jigs and tools used in the machine; computing means for determining the degree of difficulty of assembly according to the assembly direction and calculating the arrangement of the machine as a solution to optimize assembly ease; display means for displaying the solution obtained by the computing means; and display means for displaying the solution obtained by the computing means. 1. An assembly process design device comprising: an input means for inputting an input to select one solution from among a plurality of solutions when there are a plurality of solutions. 6. The assembly process design apparatus according to claim 3 or 5, wherein the storage means stores jig selection knowledge for selecting a jig and tool suitable for assembly work. 7. The display means displays candidates using three-dimensional solid shapes based on the input from the input means, displays relative difficulty levels based on the order of assembly, and displaying candidates in descending order of difficulty, etc., as a solution to the calculation means. 7. The assembly process design apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a display means for displaying at least one of a priority order and a display with a reason attached to each display. 8. A CAD system that determines the shape of the parts is used as a host system of this device, and the shape data of the parts is received from the CAD system, and the shape and feature points of the parts related to assembly are determined by position vectors and cubic rotation matrices with respect to the world coordinate system. It memorizes the coordinate data expressed as a determinant, the criteria for determining the ease of assembly based on the direction of assembly of parts and products, and the functions, shapes, and surrounding environment of the machine that assembles the parts and the jigs and tools used in that machine. a storage means for determining the degree of difficulty of assembly according to the direction of assembly of the part, based on the coordinate data of the feature points of the part in the storage means and a criterion for the degree of difficulty of assembly, and calculating the order of assembly of the parts as a solution; means, a display means for displaying the solution obtained by the arithmetic means, and an input means for inputting an input to select one solution when there are multiple solutions displayed by the display means. An assembly process design device featuring: 9. Information from the CAD system that designs the parts includes the shape and feature points of the parts related to assembly, the coordinate data expressed by a determinant consisting of a position vector and a cubic rotation matrix with respect to the world coordinate system, the position and connection of the parts. A subsystem that inputs at least one method as feature data, a subsystem that calculates the difficulty level of the assembly order of the parts as a solution based on the feature data of the parts created by the subsystem, and the criteria for determining the difficulty level of assembly. a calculation means for displaying the solution obtained by the calculation means; and an input means for inputting an input to select one solution from among the solutions when there are multiple solutions displayed by the display means. An assembly process design device characterized by: 10. Store the coordinate data of the feature points of the parts related to assembly and the criteria for determining the difficulty of assembly, and solve the assembly direction of the parts based on the coordinate data of the feature points of the parts and the criteria for determining the difficulty of assembly. An assembly process design method characterized by calculating as follows. 11. Coordinate data representing the shape and feature points of parts related to assembly as a determinant consisting of a position vector and a cubic rotation determinant with respect to the world coordinate system, and criteria for determining ease of assembly based on the assembly direction of parts and products. Based on the coordinate data and the criteria for determining the degree of difficulty of assembly, the assembly direction is determined so as to improve the ease of assembly when assembling the external parts, and the ease of assembly is determined within the determined assembly direction. By calculating a good assembly order as a solution, displaying the calculated solution, and inputting to select one appropriate solution from among the multiple solutions if there are multiple computed assembly orders. An assembly process design method characterized by determining an assembly order in an interactive manner. 12. Coordinate data representing the shape and feature points of parts related to assembly as a determinant consisting of a position vector and a cubic rotation determinant with respect to the world coordinate system, and criteria for determining ease of assembly based on the assembly direction of parts and products. It memorizes the functions and shapes of the machine that assembles the parts, the jigs and tools used in that machine, and the surrounding environment, and stores the coordinate data, the criteria for determining the difficulty of assembly, the machine that assembles the parts, and the jigs and tools used in that machine. Determining an assembly direction to improve assembly efficiency when assembling external parts based on the function and shape of the tool as well as the surrounding environment, and determining an assembly order with good assembly efficiency within the determined assembly direction; Calculate the placement of the assembly machine so that the assembly direction and order are achieved, display the calculated placement of the assembly machine, and if there are multiple calculated placements of the assembly machine, select from among the multiple solutions. An assembly process design method characterized in that an assembly order is determined interactively by inputting one selection.