Purpose This paper aims to propose a robotic automation system for processing special-shaped thin-walled workpieces, which includes a measurement part and a processing part. Design/methodology/approach In the measurement part, to efficiently and accurately realize the three-dimensional camera hand-eye calibration based on a large amount of measurement data, this paper improves the traditional probabilistic

Purpose Motivated by the problems that the positioning error of strap-down inertial navigation system (SINS) accumulates over time and few sensors are available for midwater navigation, this paper aims to propose a self-aided SINS scheme for the spiral-diving human-occupied vehicle (HOV) based on the characteristics of maneuvering pattern and SINS error propagation. Design/methodology/approach First

Purpose With the rapid development of e-commerce, logistics demand is increasing day by day. The modern warehousing with a multi-agent system as the core comes into being. This paper aims to study the task allocation and path-planning (TAPP) problem as required by the multi-agent warehouse system. Design/methodology/approach The TAPP problem targets to minimize the makespan by allocating tasks to the

Purpose Virtual maintenance simulation is of great importance to help designers find and avoid design problems. During its simulation phase, besides the high precision requirement, collision detection must be suitable for all irregular objects in a virtual maintenance environment. Therefore, in this paper, a collision detection approach is proposed based on encapsulation for irregular objects in the

Purpose Vortex grippers use tangential nozzles to form vortex flow and are able to grip a workpiece without any physical contact, thus avoiding any unintentional workpiece damage. This study aims to use experimental and theoretical methods to investigate the effects of nozzle diameter on the performance. Design/methodology/approach First, various suction force-distance curves were developed to analyze

Purpose This paper aims to propose an elementary approach toward the identification of assembly defects of a cam curved groove mechanism. Design/methodology/approach A numerical analysis method for identifying the assembly defects of the cam curved groove mechanism is proposed by resorting to Hertz contact theory. A general mathematical model is established to analyze the kinematic and dynamic characteristics

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore a multi-innovation with forgetting factor-based EKF-SLAM (FMI-EKF-SLAM) algorithm to solve the error increasing problem, caused by the Extended Kalman filtering (EKF) violating the local linear assumption in simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) for mobile robots because of strong nonlinearity. Design/methodology/approach A multi-innovation with

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the part feeding scheduling problem with electric vehicles (EVs) for automotive assembly lines. A point-to-point part feeding model has been formulated to minimize the number of EVs and the maximum handling time by specifying the EVs and sequence of all the delivery tasks. Design/methodology/approach First, a mathematical programming model of point-to-point part

Purpose This study aims to accurately evaluate the influence of various error intervals on the performance of the wiper. Design/methodology/approach The wiper structural system is decomposed into classical four-link planar for kinematics analysis, and it was modeled respectively by using interval method, universal grey number theory and enumeration approach depending on the nature of uncertainty. Findings

Purpose The modern manufacturing industry has put forward higher requirements for the assembly accuracy of components with the development of the industrial technology. For precision assembly, the traditional assembly process study based on tolerance has had difficulty in meeting these requirements. Hence, the distribution of the form errors must be considered. The registration between the two mating

Purpose The kitting feeding policy creates kits with the parts of each product to assemble. Each kit contains elements with heterogeneous physical properties imposing heterogeneous logistic facilities and management solutions for storage and handling. The purpose of this paper is to present and apply a two-step procedure to design the part warehouse layout and to assign locations in case of kitting

Purpose Electrical defects cover an important part of assembly defects and strongly affect the vehicle system performance. Almost 40% of assembly defects are classified as human errors and electrical connection failures represent a significant part of them. Humans still remain a cost-effective solution for the flexible manufacturing systems with increasing product complexity. So, understanding human

Purpose This paper aims to enable the robot to obtain human-like compliant manipulation skills for the peg-in-hole (PiH) assembly task by learning from demonstration. Design/methodology/approach A modified dynamic movement primitives (DMPs) model with a novel hybrid force/position feedback in Cartesian space for the robotic PiH problem is proposed by learning from demonstration. To ensure a compliant

Purpose This study aims to present an automated guided logistics robot mainly designed for pallet transportation. Logistics robot is compactly designed. It could pick up the pallet precisely and transport the pallet up to 1,000 kg automatically in the warehouse. It could move freely in all directions without turning the chassis. It could work without any additional infrastructure based on laser navigation

Purpose This study aims to monitor and guide the assembly process. The operators need to change the assembly process according to the products’ specifications during manual assembly of mass customized production. Traditional information inquiry and display methods, such as manual lookup of assembly drawings or electronic manuals, are inefficient and error-prone. Design/methodology/approach This paper

Purpose Admittance control is a typical complaint control methodology. Traditionally, admittance control systems are based on a dynamical relationship described by Voigt model. By contrast, after changing connection of spring and damper, Maxwell model produces different dynamics and has shown better impact absorption performance. This paper aims to design a novel compliant control method based on Maxwell

Purpose The increasing energy shortage leads to worldwide attentions. This paper aims to develop a mathematical model and optimization algorithm to solve the energy-oriented U-shaped assembly line balancing problem. Different from most existing works, the energy consumption is set as a major objective. Design/methodology/approach An improved flower pollination algorithm (IFPA) is designed to solve

Purpose This paper aims to develop a theoretical method to analyze the rotation accuracy of rotating machinery with multi-support structures. The method effectively considers the geometric errors and assembly deformation of parts. Design/methodology/approach A method composed of matrix and FEA methods is proposed to do the analysis. The deviation propagation analysis results and external loads are

Purpose From the past few decades, parallel grippers are used successfully in the automation industries for performing various pick and place jobs due to their simple design, reliable nature and its economic feasibility. So, the purpose of this paperis to design a suitable gripper with appropriate design parameters for better performance in the robotic production systems. Design/methodology/approach

Purpose Installing a tight tolerant stepped shaft is not a trivial task for an industrial robot. If all peg-hole constraints are complete, the cascaded peg-in-hole task can be simplified into several independent stages and accomplished one by one. However, if some of the constraints are incomplete, the cross stage interference will bring additional difficulties. This paper aims to discuss the cascaded

Purpose Parallel assembly sequence planning (PASP) reduces the overall assembly effort and time at the product development stage. Methodological difficulties at framework development and computational issues at their implementation made the PASP complex to achieve. This paper aims to propose a novel stability concept for subassembly detection to minimize the complexities in PASP. Design/methodology/approach

Purpose The implied assembly constraints of a computer-aided design (CAD) model (e.g. hierarchical constraints, geometric constraints and topological constraints) represent an important basis for product assembly sequence intelligent planning. Assembly prior knowledge contains factual assembly knowledge and experience assembly knowledge, which are important factors for assembly sequence intelligent

Purpose In this paper, an attempt has been made to develop an algorithm equipped with geometric pattern registration techniques to perform exact, robust and fast robot localization purely based on laser range data. Design/methodology/approach The expected pose of the robot on a pre-calculated map is in the form of simulated sensor readings. To obtain the exact pose of the robot, segmentation of both

Purpose This paper proposes a novel method of fault detection, which is based on H_/H∞ Runge–Kutta observer and an adaptive threshold for a class of closed-loop non-linear systems. The purpose of this paper is to improve the rapidity and accuracy of fault detection. Design/methodology/approach First, the authors design the H_/H∞ Runge–Kutta fault detection observer, which is used as a residual generator

Purpose This paper aims to improve the anti-interference ability of the airborne radar stabilization platform, especially the ability to suppress continuous disturbance under complex air conditions to ensure the clarity and stability of airborne radar imaging. Design/methodology/approach This paper proposes a new active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) strategy based on the cascade extended state

Purpose The product family assembly line (PFAL) is a mixed model-assembly line, which is widely used in mass customization and intelligent manufacturing. The purpose of this paper is to study the problem of PFAL, a flexible (evolution) planning method to respond to product evolution for PFAL, to focus on product data analysis and evolution planning method. Design/methodology/approach The evolution

Purpose Human assembly process recognition in human–robot collaboration (HRC) has been studied recently. However, most research works do not cover high-precision and long-timespan sub-assembly recognition. Hence this paper aims to deal with this problem. Design/methodology/approach To deal with the above-mentioned problem, the authors propose a 3D long-term recurrent convolutional networks (LRCN) by

Purpose This paper aims on the trajectory tracking of the developed six wheel-legged robot with heavy load conditions under uncertain physical interaction. The accuracy of trajectory tracking and stable operation with heavy load are the main challenges of parallel mechanism for wheel-legged robots, especially in complex road conditions. To guarantee the tracking performance in an uncertain environment

Purpose Varied shapes and sizes of different products with irregular rough surface and fragile properties give a challenge to traditional contact gripping. Single Bernoulli grippers are not suited to handle fragile objects as the impact of center negative pressure force could result in large deformation and stress which damage the materials, and they are also have some limitations for gripping objects

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate dimensional accuracy (Δd), surface roughness (Ra) and micro hardness (HV) of partial dentures (PD) prepared with synergic combination of fused deposition modelling (FDM) assisted chemical vapour smoothing (CVS) patterns and conventional dental casting (DC) from multi-factor optimization view point. Design/methodology/approach The master pattern for

Purpose The authors consider the problem of optimizing temporary fastener patterns in aircraft assembly. Minimizing the number of fasteners while maintaining final product quality is one of the key enablers for intensifying production in the aerospace industry. The purpose of this study is to formulate the fastener pattern optimization problem and compare different solving approaches on both test benchmarks

Purpose In robot programming by demonstration (PbD) of small parts assembly tasks, the accuracy of parts poses estimated by vision-based techniques in demonstration stage is far from enough to ensure a successful execution. This paper aims to develop an inference method to improve the accuracy of poses and assembly relations between parts by integrating visual observation with computer-aided design

Purpose This study aims to present a new haptic-enabled virtual assembly system for the automatic generation and objective assessment of assembly plans. The system is intended to be used as an assembly planning tool along the product development process. Design/methodology/approach The generation of product assembly plans is based on the analysis of the assembly movements and operations performed by

Purpose This paper aims to propose fuzzy-regression-particle swarm optimization (PSO) based hybrid optimization approach for getting maximum weld quality in terms of weld strength and bead depth of penetration. Design/methodology/approach The prediction of welding quality to achieve best of it is not possible by any single optimization technique. Therefore, fuzzy technique has been applied to predict

Rabbit chase (RC) is used as one of the most effective techniques in manufacturing systems, as such systems have high level of adaptability and increased productivity in addition to providing uniform workload balancing and skill improving environment. In assembly systems, RC inspires the development of walking worker assembly line (WWAL). On the other hand, U-type assembly lines (UALs) may provide

Posture adjustment plays an important role in spacecraft manufacturing. The traditional posture adjustment method, which has a large workload and is difficult to guarantee the quality of posture adjustment, cannot meet the requirements of modern spacecraft manufacturing. This paper aims to optimize the trajectory of posture adjustment, reduce the internal force of the posture adjustment mechanism and

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the adaptability of the tracked robot in complex working environment. It proposes an angle-changeable tracked robot with human–robot interaction in unstructured environment. The study aims to present the mechanical structure and human–robot interaction control system of the tracked robot and analyze the static stability of the robot working in three terrains

This paper aims to investigate the scheduling and loading problems of tow trains for mixed-model assembly lines (MMALs). An in-plant milk-run delivery model has been formulated to minimize total line-side inventory for all stations over the planning horizon by specifying the departure time, parts quantity of each delivery and the destination station.,An immune clonal selection algorithm (ICSA) combined

Purpose Bolted joints are the most common type of mechanical connections, and improving the anti-loosening performance of bolts for the reliable performance of mechanical and building structures is highly significant. Design/methodology/approach Because of the lack of sufficient theoretical basis for the evaluation and design of anti-loosening bolts, a quantitative evaluation model exhibiting the following

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discriminate fake interference caused by polygonal approximation so as to achieve accurate assembly sequence planning and assembly simulation. Design/methodology/approach An approximation zone model is proposed to formulate polygonal approximation. Fake interference is discriminated from hard interference by evaluating if polygonal models intersect within corresponding

Purpose This paper aims to solve the problem of free-form tubes’ machining errors which are caused by their complex geometries and material properties. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the authors propose a multi-view vision-based method for measuring free-form tubes. The authors apply photogrammetry theory to construct the initial model and then optimize the model using an energy function

Industry 4.0 emerged as the Fourth Industrial Revolution aiming at achieving higher levels of operational efficiency, productivity and automation. In this context, manual assembly systems are still characterized by high flexibility and low productivity, if compared to fully automated systems. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to propose the design, engineering and testing of a prototypal adaptive

The assembly quality of complex products is pivotal to their lifecycle performance. Assembly precision analysis (APA) is an effective method used to check the feasibility and quality of assembly. However, there is still a need for a systematic approach to be developed for APA of kinematic mechanisms. To achieve more accurate analysis of kinematic assembly, this paper aims to propose a precision analysis

Line–cell conversion and rotation of operators between cells are common in lean production systems. Thus, the purpose of this study is to provide an integrated look at these two practices through integrating job rotation scheduling and line-cell conversion problems, as well as investigating the effect of rotation frequency on flow time of a Seru system.,First, a nonlinear integer programming model

The purpose of this study is to achieve multi-variety and small-batch assembly through direct cooperation between equipment and people and to improve assembly efficiency as well as flexibility.,Firstly, the concept of the human–computer interaction is designed. Secondly, the machine vision technology is studied theoretically. Skin color filter based on hue, saturation and value color model is put forward

The efficient speed controller is found to be an important requirement to run the motor for the brushless direct current (BLDC) motor. This requirement is considered as superior, as it may increase the operating speed and system efficiency. In the existing methods, proportional plus integral (PI) controller has been included because of its simple architecture. But the PI controller produces load disturbance

Optimizing material handling within the factory is one of the key problems of modern assembly line systems. The purpose of this paper is to focus on simultaneously balancing a robotic assembly line and the scheduling of material handling required for the operation of such a system, a topic that has received limited attention in academia. Manufacturing industries focus on full autonomy because of the

The purpose of this paper is to present a mathematical model and a new hybrid algorithm for flexible job shop scheduling problem with assembly operations. In this problem, each product is produced by assembling a set of several different parts. At first, the parts are processed in a flexible job shop system, and then at the second stage, the parts are assembled and products are produced.,As the problem

The purpose of this study is to propose an innovative methodology in solving the lean production design from semiconductor crystal-ingot pulling manufacturing which is an important industry. Due to the complexity of the system, it is computationally prohibited by an analytical approach; thus, simulation optimization is adopted for this study.,Four control factors that affect the system’s performance

The paper aims to propose an assembly scheme based on master–slave coordination for a compliant dual-arm robot to complete a peg-in-hole assembly task.,The proposed assembly scheme is inspired by the coordinated behaviors of human beings in the assembly process. The left arm and right arm of the robot are controlled to move alternately. The fixed arm and the moving arm are distinguished as the slave

Electrospark deposition (ESD) attracts special attention from scientists and engineers because of its unique advantages. However, the ESD process has been carried out by hand up to the present. This prevents ESD from preparing complex curve/surface coatings owing to manual operation characteristics. To meet the coating precise preparation requirements for a lot of parts with complex surface from various

This paper aims to propose an enhanced static model of commercial braided pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs), which is fully analytical without the need for experimentally determined parameters.,To address the highly nonlinear issues of PAMs, the enhanced model is derived considering the irregular shapes close to their end-fittings, as well as the elastic energy stored in both their braids and rubber

This paper aims to study the relationship between normal contact stiffness and contact load. It purpose a new calculation model of the normal contact stiffness of joint surfaces by considering the elastic–plastic critical deformation change of asperities contact.,The paper described the surface topography of joint surfaces based on fractal geometry, and fractal parameters and of fractal function derived

This paper aims to achieve automatically surface segmentation for painting different kinds of aircraft efficiently considering the demands of painting robot.,This project creatively proposed one method that accepts point cloud, outputs several blocks, each of which can be handled by ABB IRB 5500 in one station. Parallel PointNet (PPN) is proposed in this paper for better handling six dimensional aircraft

The flexible automatic transportation and manual assembly jobs for large aircraft components demand an automated guided vehicle (AGV) system with heavy-duty capacity and omnidirectional movability. This paper aims to propose a four driving-steering wheels-four supporting-steering wheels (4DSW-4SSW) layout plan to enhance the controllability and moving stability of AGV.,The anti-vibration structure

Rotating machineries are widely used in manufacturing, petroleum, chemical, aircraft, and other industries. To accurately identify the operating conditions of such rotating machineries, this paper aims to propose a fault diagnosis method based on sensitive dimensionless parameters and particle swarm optimization (PSO)–support vector machine (SVM) for reducing the unexpected downtime and economic losses

Purpose Parallel two-sided assembly lines are usually designed to produce large-sized products such as trucks and buses. In parallel two-sided assembly lines, both left and right sides of the line are used for manufacturing one or more products on two or more assembly lines located parallel to each other. The purpose of this paper is to develop a new mathematical model for the parallel two-sided assembly

Purpose This paper aims to present an image-based visual servoing algorithm for a multiple pin-in-hole assembly. This paper also aims to avoid the matching and tracking of image features and the remaining robust against image defects. Design/methodology/approach The authors derive a novel model in the set space and design three image errors to control the 3 degrees of freedom (DOF) of a single-lug

This paper aims to deal with the trade-off of the stability and the accuracy in learning human control strategy from demonstrations. With the stability conditions and the estimated stability region, this paper aims to conveniently get rid of the unstable controller or controller with relatively small stability region. With this evaluation, the learning human strategy controller becomes much more robust

Assembly sequence planning (ASP) plays a vital role in assembly process because it directly influences the feasibility, cost and time of the assembly process. The purpose of this study is to solve ASP problem more efficiently than current algorithms.,A novel assembly subsets prediction method based on precedence graph is proposed to solve the ASP problem. The proposed method adopts the idea of local