Automated Process Planning for Robotic Sheet Metal Bending Operations

Abstract

This paper describes a generative process planning system for robotic sheet metal bending press brakes. This process planning system employs a distributed planning architecture. Currently, the system consists of a central operation planner and three specialized domain-specific planners: tooling, grasping, and moving. The central operation planner proposes various alternative partial sequences, and each specialized planner evaluates these sequences based on its objective function. The central operation planner uses state-space search techniques to optimize the operation sequence. Once a CAD design is given for a new part, the system automatically determines: the operation sequence, the tools and robot grippers needed, the tool layout, the grasp positions, the gage, and the robot motion plans for making the part. The distributed architecture allows the development of an open-architecture environment for doing generative process planning and encapsulating the specialized knowledge in specialized planners.