A demonstration robot cell at the 2015 PPMA show will highlight innovative applications in pattern recognition and path tracing. Visitors to the show’s Robot Feature Area (K90), will be able to draw their own freeform shapes, present them to the vision system within the cell, and then watch as the delta robot traces the shape. The system accurately follows the path as the shape is rotated or moved back and forth on a linear slide to demonstrate on-the-fly conveyor synchronisation.
The fun demo highlights a host of applications for path-following where it is either not possible or not desirable to have the path generated within a CAD system. The ability to draw a closed shape freehand and have it accurately traced, saves time and could have important applications in areas such as food production, packaging, healthcare and more, enabling new levels of customisation for short batch runs or even single products, with full flexibility for changes in the design.
The demo cell at the PPMA show will feature an Omron delta robot, controlled by a Sysmac NJ controller, and linked to an FH vision system, all networked over EtherCAT. It will also integrate safety technology including a light curtain at the entrance to the cell, highlighting the ease of integration of the safety control system with the automation control system.
Visitors will present their freehand shape through the cell entrance onto a turntable held on a linear slide, under Omron’s FH vision camera. The vision system will analyse the pattern and send data to the controller which will generate the profile for the robot to follow. As if following a static pattern wasn’t difficult enough for the robot, the shape will be rotated on the turntable and moved back and forth by the linear slide, with the delta robot constantly adjusting its position to maintain an accurate trace of the path shape, with full repeatability.
Food industry applications might include laying down custom or short run icing patterns on cakes for decoration, or cutting cakes to specific shapes. In packaging applications, the robot could lay down custom glue patterns for short run promotional items. And there are many other applications where the ability to cut out a one-off shape into a material using nothing more than a hand drawn sketch could significantly reduce turnaround times.
The demonstration shows how the system addresses key issues and trends across industries. The fast teaching time means minimal downtime on the production line, and eliminates the requirement for generating a CAD profile first, which can be a time consuming operation in itself. In particular, the system highlights how the use of integrated robotics and vision technology can enable more flexible production, offering huge potential to improve efficiency, reduce costs and improve throughput.
The robot cell also highlights the ease of integration and programming of different technologies for machine builders. With Omron’s Sysmac platform, the controller, robot, vision system, safety technology, drives and servos are all connected over EtherCAT and programmed using a single unified software package, reducing programming, configuration and set-up times and offering the assurance that the final system will work as expected.
