Software-defined testing facility for component testing with industrial robots

Abstract

A key aspect of industry 4.0 is the transition of production to batch size one and consequently unique dimensions and structures of components for each product. Since many components are only available in small quantities it is not feasible to design expensive test benches for each of these components, however it is still important to test them to ensure the quality of each individual component. Therefore, we propose an approach for a flexibly programmable robotic test bench for destructive component testing of various components. This includes a concept for planning and execution of different test movements in a component test on robotic test benches and a unified data platform for controlling sensor-based motions as well as the recording of test data.

Sensor-guided motions for robot-based component testing

“…These robots are arranged around a clamping field (7 m length x 2.5 m width) that allows flexible fastening of components. This facility is described in more detail in [3]. For the sensorguided motions, we used two additional sensor systems (see figure 2).…”

“…Therefore, a flexible test bench is required to test various types of components with different testing motions. With focus on destructive component testing, in which the component is actively and irreversibly deformed until it fails [2], we developed a concept to perform robot-based destructive component testing with heavy duty industrial robots [3]. The six degrees of freedom (high number of movement directions) and the large working range of an industrial robot enables applying forces and torques to different components.…”