3594

Researchers have developed a method for avoiding manufacturing mistakes by tracking the position and operation of hand-held tools that are used during assembly.

During various manufacturing steps, such as assembly, welding, and painting, it is often necessary for a worker to use a hand-held tool.  However, it can be difficult, if not impossible, for a worker to consistently duplicate exact work from one assembly to another assembly.  For example, assembly lines often require many threaded fasteners to be assembled using a torque gun at a single workstation.  While currently used control systems can count the number of times the torque gun reaches the required torque value, they cannot determine if all the fasteners were tightened, or if some were tightened twice, or if the fasteners were tightened in a specific sequence, leading to the possibility of manufacturing mistakes.  To overcome this drawback, researchers have developed a method and system that not only can determine whether a particular manufacturing operation is carried out, but also determine whether the operation was carried out at the correct location and/or in the correct sequence. The system also provides feedback about the task completion status and the quality of the finished product.

• Detects and prevents mistakes during the manufacturing process by tracking the position and operation of hand-held tools in real time and providing feedback in the event that the manufacturing process is not proceeding as prescribed.

Manufacturing

Patent(s) applied for