3m Innovative Properties Company

Brett R Hemes

Jonathan B Arthur

Thomas J Strey

Aaron K Nienaber

Nathan J Herbst

Mark W Orlando

Christie L Vitale

Sarah M Mullins

Marc Eberwein

Erich A Mielke

Gilles J Benoit

Brian E Brooks

Jon A Kirschhoffer

Nicholas A Johnson

Glenn E Casner

Maureen Ann Kavanagh

Frederick J Arsenault

Steven P Floeder

Himanshu Nayar

Peter O Olson

Tyler W Olson

Andrew K Hartzell

Christopher M Brown

Patrick G Zimmerman

Timothy J Clemens

Jeffrey P Adolf

Schoen A Schuknecht

John W Henderson

Lori A Sjolund

John J Schmidt

Andreas Backes

Juan A Munoz

Lucas D Crestik

Gregory P Moriarty

Peter J Schneider

Miaoding Dai

Carter C Hughes

Cory D Sauer

Nicholas D Richardson

Daniel M Bodily

Zachary M Schaeffer

Scott L Barnett

Matthew H Purdin

A dual mounted end-effector system mounted on a motive robot arm for preparing an object surface is described. The system includes a first tool configured to contact and prepare the object surface and a second tool configured to contact and prepare the object surface. The system also includes a force control. The force control is configured to align, in a first state, with the first tool in position to contact and prepare the object surface and, in a second state, with the second tool in a position to contact and prepare the object surface.

Dual mounting for automated repair systems

A method and associated system provides automated abrasive paint repair using automated abrasive paint repair devices that selectively sand, buff, and polish a substrate in response to received instructions generated by a controller. The controller receives coordinates of each identified defect in the substrate along with parameters describing characteristics of each defect, selects a sanding process, a buffing process, and/or a polishing process based on empirically derived rules established by skilled/expert human operators and the received parameters. The controller outputs instructions to cause the automated abrasive paint repair devices to execute the selected sanding process, buffing process, and/or polishing process using the received parameters. The empirically derived rules and parameters may be stored in a lookup table and/or updated by a machine learning module.

Paint repair process by scenario

A disc changing system for a robotic defect repair system is presented. The system has a first abrasive disc and a second abrasive disc. The first and second abrasive discs are coupled to a liner. The system includes an abrasive disc placement device configured to automatically: remove the first abrasive disc from the liner, transport the first abrasive disc to a robotic tool of the robotic defect repair system, and place the first abrasive disc on a backup pad coupled to the robotic tool. The system also includes an abrasive disc remover configured to automatically remove the first abrasive disc after receiving a removal signal. The system also includes a controller configured to send an instruction to the disc placement device to remove, transport and place the first abrasive disc, instruct the robotic tool to conduct an abrasive operation. The controller is also configured to send the removal signal. The controller is a processor and the instructions are stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executed by the processor.

Robotic paint repair

A robotic device that can include an end effector configured to manipulate one or more tools that drives one or more consumable abrasive products to abrade a substrate along several different surface dimensions, wherein the end effector comprises: three linear actuators each configured to move orthogonal relative to one another and at least one tool mount coupled to one of the three linear actuators and coupled to the tool.

Multiple degree of freedom compliant actuator force control systems and methods used in robotic paint repair

A defect detection and ranking system for a vehicle assembly line is provided. The system includes an image capture device that captures a plurality of images of a vehicle on the vehicle assembly line. The system also includes a defect detector that analyzes the plurality of captured images and, based on the analysis, detects a plurality of defects on the surface of the vehicle. Each of the plurality of defects has an associated x-y-z coordinate location, a defect type, and a defect severity. The system also includes a datastore containing a vehicle specification, for the vehicle on the vehicle assembly line, and a defect priority based on the vehicle specification. The system also includes a defect prioritization generator configured to: receive the plurality of defects from the defect detector, retrieve the vehicle specification and the defect priority, and apply the defect priority to the plurality of defects, and output a prioritized list of defects, wherein the prioritized list of defects. The defect prioritization generator outputs the prioritized list of defects to an output device associated with the vehicle assembly line.

Automated vehicle repair system

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for optimizing a process of manufacturing a product. In one aspect, the method comprises repeatedly performing the following: i) selecting a configuration of input settings for manufacturing a product, based on a causal model that measures causal relationships between input settings and a measure of a quality of the product; ii) determining the measure of the quality of the product manufactured using the configuration of input settings; and iii) adjusting, based on the measure of the quality of the product manufactured using the configuration of input settings, the causal model.

Manufacturing a product using causal models

A repaired area on a work surface is presented. The repaired area includes a repairboundary. Within the repairboundary, the work surface has a repair texture and, outside of the repair boundary, the work surface has a work surface texture. The repaired area also includes a repair depth distribution within the repair boundary and a concealing feature. The repaired area is a result of a robotic repair executed on the work surface to remove a defect.

Robotic repair control systems and methods

A robotic paint repair system that can comprise: a consumable abrasive product configured to abrade a substrate, a tool configured to drive the consumable abrasive product to abrade, a robotic device configured to manipulate the tool and a compliant accessory actuator positioned between the tool and the substrate, wherein the compliant accessory actuator is driven to apply a desired force and a desired stiffness to the consumable abrasive product in response to sensed data collected between the tool and the substrate.

Robotic paint repair systems and methods

Robot end effector

An apparatus includes a robotic manipulator with a stationary base, and an end effector actuated by the robotic manipulator, wherein the end effector is adjacent to a workpiece. A scanning laser head unit includes a laser and an optical train configured to move a laser beam over the workpiece. A control unit is configured to move the robotic manipulator such that movement of the end effector tracks movement of the laser beam.

Material processing system with low-inertia laser scanning and end effector manipulation

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Woodbury, MN, United States of America

Brett R Hemes