Hybrid additive robotic workcell for autonomous fabrication of mechatronic systems - A case study of drone fabrication

•A hybrid additive manufacturing / pick-n-place robotic workcell enables autonomous, flexible fabrication of full-scale functional mechatronic systems.•A modular electronics concept is demonstrated to enable error-free autonomous, robotic construction of full-scale mechatronic sub-systems.•The workcell's functionality is verified through the back-to-back manufacture of different drone designs that are able to fly directly from the build platform.•Functional drones are rapidly manufactured at the point of need in under four hours. This paper presents the realization of a robotic workcell capable of autonomous, flexible, fabrication of complete, full-scale, functional mechatronic systems. Using a 6-DOF robotic arm with a hybrid Additive Manufacturing (AM)/Pick and Place (PnP) end effector, the workcell can rapidly print enclosures, insert and wire functional electronics, and embed them into the printed structure. The workcell's scalable control system, digital workflow for creating assembly instructions, hybrid AM/PnP toolhead design, and autonomous part tending mechanism are detailed. In addition, a modular electronics infrastructure is presented to enable facile, error-free robotic wiring of large-gauge copper wire. The workcell's ability to manufacture is verified in a case study wherein it is used to autonomously fabricate a variety of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs). In the study, the workcell produces a functional quadrotor drone, releases the drone from the workcell, and allows the drone to record the workcell constructing a second, different drone - all without human involvement. The resulting workcell, which combines digitally-integrated manufacturing, robotics and automation, and hybrid process manufacturing, enables autonomous manufacture of complete, functional mechatronic systems that are tailored to custom design needs in a just-in-time manner.