Mini assembly cell for the assembly of minisized planetary gearheads

This paper discusses a novel assembly method and system for a commercially available 8mm diameter miniature planetary gearhead. Our system comprises a commercially available fourdegree of freedom industrial robot, two vision systems, a force feedback system in the robot wrist, and specially designed flexible part feeders. The system has proved successful in assembling planetary gear units independently. Depending on the task, one can select whether to use the high accuracy and repeatability of the robot or alternatively use programmable frequency vibration in the gripper to stochastically align the parts that the robot handles.