Feature Machine Vision Vision systems critical to automotive part handling
The manufacturing of automobile disc brakes can be a physically demanding and challeng- ing process that has sophisticated tracking requirements. Alber Gussbearbeitungs devel- oped a fully automated disc brake finishing and testing process that assures the highest quality product and relieves employees of physically heavy work. Integrated machine vision gives the handling process eyesight with a modern vision system and reliably reads alphanumeric characters (Optical Character Recognition).
Car parts manufacturers today are no longer satisfied manufacturing first rate precision components only. Many manufactured com- ponents must be tracked in order to ensure complete reliability in the traceability process. To meet this challenge Alber acquired two In-Sight smart vision systems from Cognex to read alphanumeric codes on rotating discs brakes.
Disc brakes for cars weigh between 12 and 20kg. Before Alber implemented Cognex machine vision technology, employees had to repeatedly lift the heavy discs out of a stainless steel box and place them on differ- ent stations. Performing this heavy work posed health risks to people on the produc- tion line. Today this is no longer an issue because the turning and milling process of downstream finishing and inspection work has been fully automated.
ing magnets to quickly grip the discs. After picking up the disc brake, the first step is reading the alphanumeric characters. To perform this step, the robot puts the disc brake on a rotary disc. A second In-Sight system reads the alphanumeric characters, helped by its integrated red LED lights, to put the characters into focus. The high speed 1K In-Sight line scan imager captures the pixe- lated embossed characters as the disc brake makes two rotations.
To automate this process CNC Automation Würfel, in collaboration with image process- ing experts from i-mation, taught a Yaskawa Motoman MH50-35 robot how to see. An In-Sight vision system was installed directly on the gripper’s head. With its auto- matic focus, quick image acquisition and built-in lighting, the fully integrated smart camera recognises the location of disc brakes delivered onto a conveyor belt. The camera aligns itself to the inside diameter then image data is transmitted to the robot control within fractions of a second, allowing high perform-
Reliable reading of different embossed characters was one of the most challenging tasks for the machine vision experts at i- mation, because the type of embossing can differ from one product lot to the next. i- mation overcame the challenge using a step by step teach-in procedure of all possible variants. This was made easier by the OCRMax image processing tool for OCR applications from Cognex and with user friendly In-Sight Explorer software. After reading the alphanumeric characters, the finishing and inspection steps take place, including balancing and sound testing. Finally, the robot creates stacks of six discs each in a stainless steel box and then places a wood cover on top. The robot’s In-Sight camera locates the exact position thanks to a simple black cross. Cognex
www.cognex.com T: 01327 856 040
Enter 243
INSPECTOR VISION SENSORS: POSITION, INSPECT, MEASURE
Easy to use, simple to integrate and straightforward to maintain; the Inspector vision sensor will help to save you money, increase your quality levels and improve your production processes. All of the range include the tools for high speed object location and feature detection; the new PIM60 has the additional capability to measure diameters, angles and variable distances. In-built illumination, and We think that’s intelligent.
www.sick.co.uk
Enter 115
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72