A PLANNING APPROACH FOR ROBOT-ASSISTED MULTIPLE-BENT PROFILE HANDLING

This paper describes a solution for the general problem of handling a multiple-bent profile of sheet metal in the constrained environment of a bending machine. The handling device is a robot feeding the machine and handling the sheet metal in between the bending operations. A new planning approach for a multiple-bent profile handling which is based on the configuration space and a potential function is presented. Special heuristics for the multiple-bent profile are applied and accelerate the motion planning process by recognition of the critical part of the profile and its orientation and position relative to the bending machine. This approach assists the sheet metal part planner to plan in advance the handling operations and to confirm if the robot can perform the handling or not. Two examples of handling multiple-bent profiles inside a bending machine are described and demonstrate the overall approach by a simulation.