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Force and position deviations estimation for ultra-thin tube assembly

Chao Shao (School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China)
Xin Ye (School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China)
Zhijing Zhang (School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China)
Dengyu Zhou (School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China)
Yuhong Liu (School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China)

Assembly Automation

ISSN: 0144-5154

Article publication date: 5 September 2016

238

Abstract

Purpose

Micro ultra-thin tubes have important implications in aerospace, nuclear energy and other fields. In microassembly process, these parts are characterized by following reasons: the small size can easily lead to damage when gripping, even for low intensity and the parts are mainly affected by the instability of light source, for vision-based systems, the visual information about ultra-thin tubes is difficult to gather and the contact state is hard to monitor.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents a new method to adjust the position deviations based on contact forces during microassembly processes. Specific research is such that the assembly model was established based both on mechanic calculation and numerical simulation; the assembly task was carried out on an in-house microassembly system with coaxial alignment function (MSCA), the contact statements were controlled based on force sensor feedback signals and the model of the relationship between contact force and assembly deviations was established. Through a comparative study, the results of experiment and simulation differ by less than 11 per cent, validating the accuracy and feasibility of the method.

Findings

The model of assembly force and position deviations of micro ultra-thin tubes based on MSCA has been built. Besides, the assembly force threshold, and the assembly process parameters have been obtained.

Originality/value

The assembly process parameters obtained from experiments can be applied in the precision assembly and provide theoretical guidance and technical support to the precision assembly of the multi-scale parts.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51127004), (51575052) and (51405025). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Citation

Shao, C., Ye, X., Zhang, Z., Zhou, D. and Liu, Y. (2016), "Force and position deviations estimation for ultra-thin tube assembly", Assembly Automation, Vol. 36 No. 4, pp. 405-411. https://doi.org/10.1108/AA-11-2015-109

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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