Two main areas of deployment
Machine tending — handling machines with a robot
The robot can pick a part from a set place or a vision system, feed it to the machine and take it out after the operation. The project requires an assessment of the grip, access, communication with the machine, cycle time and safe organisation of the cell.
This solution is worth considering for repeatable operations and a stable process. With frequent changes, difficult feeding or unpredictable parts, it must first be checked whether automation will be justified.
See the full scope of machine tending
Quality control with a vision system and AI
The system can analyse the image of a part and support the decision on conformity with the adopted criteria. AI is useful where simple rules do not describe the variation of appearance well, but only with suitable samples and unambiguous assessment criteria.
Before the project, you must define the types of defects, the way of marking samples, the requirements concerning errors and the action after a nonconformity is detected.
See the full scope of AI quality control
What the project can cover
- assessment of the process and feasibility criteria;
- selection of the robot kinematics and the way of gripping;
- preparation of part feeding and collection;
- integration of signals with the machine and the environment;
- selection of lighting, cameras or sensors, if needed;
- preparation of data and rules for the vision system;
- tests on set samples and under agreed conditions;
- agreement of the way of commissioning and handing over the cell.
The actual scope is created individually. Not every project needs all the elements listed.
Criteria first, equipment second
At the start of the conversation it is worth answering a few questions:
| Question | Example information to prepare |
|---|---|
| What is the robot or camera to do? | Description of the operation and the result |
| What does the part look like? | Photos, drawings, samples, mass and material |
| What may change? | Dimensions, position, appearance, variants |
| How does the environment work? | Machine, cycle time, feeding, space, contamination |
| How will we assess the result? | Test criteria and the way of handling unclear cases |
Only after such a description is it possible to compare technical variants responsibly.
When to stop before the project
If the process is not repeatable, the part has no stable features or it is not known what a good result means, the purchase of a robot alone will not solve the problem. In such a situation the first step is to organise the data and the process conditions.
Read how the assessment and the next stages of cooperation proceed