Deformable PCB based on connector mating method by using iHand for improving HRC performance efficiency

In human and robot cooperated electronics manufacturing system, correctly mating connectors by robot, not human, is vital for the improvement of overall performance. Although static force model has been established based on force and position information during mating, there are some difficulties should be overcome to implement a mating process monitoring task on deformable PCBs. For this purpose, a simple new model is proposed to describe the process of mating connectors, within which the distance between the connector and deformable PCB is the observable variable. A new designed intelligent robotic hand (iHand) including a small PSD laser distance finder at the bottom of the gripper is used to measure the ever changing distance. The effectiveness of proposed sensor and method is proved by the experiments.