Flexible robotic assembly efforts at Ford Motor Company

Current robotic applications in automotive plants are limited primarily to material handling and spot welding operations. The Ford Advanced Manufacturing Technology Development Center (AMTD) has been pursuing force controlled robotic technology and adaptive learning techniques for teaching force controlled robots since 1996. The paper outlines efforts Ford has participated in to develop a force controlled robot assembly capability on Robotics Research, Kawasaki, FANUC, and MicroDexterity robot platforms. The paper also outlines the robotic learning progress made by Case Western Reserve University under a NIST ATP project called "Flexible Robotic Assembly for Powertrain Applications".