High-precision assembly of electronic devices with lightweight robots through sensor-guided insertion

Abstract Through-hole devices still play an important role in power electronics production. Due to a high number of variants in this field, an automated placement by special machines is often not economically feasible. The resulting manual process is characterized by monotony, ergonomic strain and high labor cost. As a result, a partial automation, using lightweight robots in hybrid assembly system, yields high potential. The lower stiffness and resulting accuracy deficiency of lightweight robots compared to common industrial robots, combined with the precision requirements and inherent fragility of the devices, prohibits the deployment of such systems. In this contribution, a scalable setup and strategies for visual and force-torque guided tactile insertion of such devices is presented and evaluated. A library, based on a system for the offline-programming of such tasks, is used to decrease implementation efforts. A performance evaluation of the system on printed circuit boards with multiple different devices is conducted.