Robot-based automated production of wrapped connections with single solid round wires

Abstract

The solderless wrapping process is an electrical connection technology. It is mainly used in applications which require high reliability, such as the aerospace industry. A single solid conductor is wrapped around a connecting terminal. The process is currently being realized manually and the worker's qualification highly determines the overall process quality and efficiency. The challenges of this specific task include the handling of the flexible wire, the production process of standard-conforming wrapped connections and the required positioning accuracy of the tool relative to the wrappost. An automation of the production process is essential to meet the increasing quality and efficiency requirements of modern production environments, however, available solutions still highly rely on the operator and therefore lack the aspired automation degree. To enable the automated production of wrapped connections, a lightweight robot is equipped with several components. In this paper, the design of the whole system, including the newly developed robotic end-effector, is presented. The main components are two wrapping tools, each driven by an electric motor and attached to an electric slide. The device can be moved onto the wrappost extending the electric slide. A wire feeder realizes the conveying movement of the wire. Moreover, an optical sensor is used to determine the wrappost's position and orientation. The newly developed system enables the automated production of wrapped connections conforming to standards.