4 ms·

I take an abnormal amount of appreciation for the simple metal funnel guide that allows the operator to quickly get the screw loaded onto the driver.

bredren 3y ago
Ya, I immediately saw the scratches on the one early in the video. I wondered how the bit orientation and screw head were getting lined up. Is it the force and shape of the bit is enough for the screw to spin as needed and receive it? Also, it seemed like the driver almost had force feedback over the screw points. Because the worker’s arm seemed to slow just a bit out of what I’d expect. Could be just great precision though, if possible, why not try to keep the lateral motion confined or even on a particular track. At that point it seems like robotics could be doing all this better.
- mschuster91 3y ago
  > At that point it seems like robotics could be doing all this better. Robots still aren't at the same amount of dexterity that humans can achieve, at least not in a price-competitive way. Also, robots don't have the "automated QA" built-in that a human has - a robot will keep on placing screws and not notice something like a scratch or other imperfection, while a human can recognize this and yeet the partial assembly towards rework or recycling.
- jccalhoun 3y ago
  Way back in the mid-90s I worked a couple summers at a factory and one of the jobs there was using a machine like this. Now things may have changed in the 30 years since then but it basically just vibrated to get the screws to go down the V. Sometimes one would get through misaligned and you just threw it back in the hopper. Sometimes it would get jammed and you had to spend a couple minutes unclogging it. The screwdriver just had a trigger on it to make it spin. The bit was magnetized so if you got it close to lined up with the screw then it would put the screw in the slot correctly.

bredren 3y ago

Ya, I immediately saw the scratches on the one early in the video. I wondered how the bit orientation and screw head were getting lined up. Is it the force and shape of the bit is enough for the screw to spin as needed and receive it? Also, it seemed like the driver almost had force feedback over the screw points. Because the worker’s arm seemed to slow just a bit out of what I’d expect. Could be just great precision though, if possible, why not try to keep the lateral motion confined or even on a particular track. At that point it seems like robotics could be doing all this better.

mschuster91 3y ago
> At that point it seems like robotics could be doing all this better. Robots still aren't at the same amount of dexterity that humans can achieve, at least not in a price-competitive way. Also, robots don't have the "automated QA" built-in that a human has - a robot will keep on placing screws and not notice something like a scratch or other imperfection, while a human can recognize this and yeet the partial assembly towards rework or recycling.
jccalhoun 3y ago
Way back in the mid-90s I worked a couple summers at a factory and one of the jobs there was using a machine like this. Now things may have changed in the 30 years since then but it basically just vibrated to get the screws to go down the V. Sometimes one would get through misaligned and you just threw it back in the hopper. Sometimes it would get jammed and you had to spend a couple minutes unclogging it. The screwdriver just had a trigger on it to make it spin. The bit was magnetized so if you got it close to lined up with the screw then it would put the screw in the slot correctly.