Conveyor tracking using adept robot with vision guidance system

This thesis examines the integration of the robotic assembly workcell and the capability of the AdeptOne SCARA robot in performing both non-vision and vision based conveyor tracking. An experiment is set up for a Plastic Leadless Chip Carrier, or PLCC, chip and socket assembly operation. A PLCC chip is a square-shape integrated circuit that has its pins bent down around its perimeter to prevent damage to the pins during assembly and transportation. Binary image processing is employed by the vision system to recognize the random locations of incoming PLCC chips at the upstream location of the conveyor. When at least one PLCC chip is identified, the robot will acquire the chip using a special designed end effector and will wait until a printed circuit board passes the sensor at the downstream location of the conveyor. The robot will then insert the PLCC chip into the PLCC socket on the moving circuit board which is transported into the robot\u27s work envelope by the conveyor. The circuit board is fixed on the conveyor belt. The entire operation is conducted without any interruption of the conveyor\u27s motion. This thesis covers the design of the robot workcell and the end effector that accomplishes the assembly task and the results of non-vision and vision conveyor tracking during PLCC assembly using the Adept robot system