Terminal Crimping Machine Vision Alignment Aid
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manual alignment of terminals in crimping machines is challenging, especially for small terminals, requiring great skill and time, leading to inefficiencies and increased costs due to misaligned crimps and discarded leads, with a lack of adequate setup tools.
Innovation Solution
A terminal crimping machine equipped with an image acquisition device and display device that acquires images of the crimping zone, allowing alignment lines of the anvil and terminal to be superimposed on the display, facilitating precise alignment through visual feedback and potential automatic adjustment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual adjustment is used for terminal alignment, then the operator can position the terminal, but alignment precision deteriorates due to difficulty in making fine adjustments with small terminals
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical adjustment with an automated image processing system. The system captures images of the terminal and anvil, processes them to generate alignment lines, and automatically adjusts the terminal position based on the calculated offset between the terminal's alignment line and the anvil's alignment line. This substitution eliminates the need for operators to manually make fine adjustments to small terminals, thereby improving alignment precision while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a visual copy of the physical terminal and anvil through image capture and processing. By generating alignment lines that represent the ideal positions of the terminal and anvil, the system provides a visual guide that helps the operator understand the required adjustments. This copying approach transforms the invisible alignment requirements into visible graphical information, improving both measurement precision and ease of operation.
2Measurement precision
If manual alignment is performed without visual aids, then the process is simple, but alignment precision deteriorates due to lack of visual feedback
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces simple manual alignment with an automated vision-based alignment system. The system uses image capture devices to obtain images of the terminal and anvil, processes these images to generate alignment lines, and automatically calculates the offset between the terminal's alignment line and the anvil's alignment line. This mechanical substitution introduces visual feedback and automated calculation, significantly improving alignment precision while adding device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates visual copies of the terminal and anvil positions through image processing. By generating alignment lines that represent the ideal positions and calculating the offset between them, the system provides visual feedback that guides the alignment process. This copying approach transforms the physical alignment task into a visual guidance task, improving precision while increasing device complexity.
3Manufacturing precision
If skilled operators perform manual alignment, then alignment quality can be maintained, but productivity decreases due to time-consuming adjustments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces skilled manual alignment operations with an automated image processing and calculation system. The system captures images of the terminal and anvil, processes them to generate alignment lines, automatically calculates the offset between the alignment lines, and determines the required adjustment amount. This mechanical substitution eliminates the time-consuming manual adjustment process while maintaining high crimp quality, thereby improving productivity without sacrificing manufacturing precision.
4Manufacturing precision
If no alignment aid is provided, then the device is simple, but misaligned crimps increase leading to waste
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces simple mechanical alignment with an automated vision-based alignment system. The system uses image capture devices to obtain images of the terminal and anvil, processes these images to generate alignment lines, automatically calculates the offset between the terminal's alignment line and the anvil's alignment line, and determines the required adjustment. This mechanical substitution significantly improves crimp specification compliance by eliminating manual alignment errors, while the added device complexity is justified by the reduction in misaligned crimps and waste.
Data Source
AI summary
A terminal crimping machine includes an applicator having a movable ram and an anvil. The anvil is located in a crimping zone and configured to receive a terminal thereon. The ram has crimp tooling that is configured to crimp the terminal on the anvil to a wire during a crimp stroke of the ram. An image acquisition device is positioned to acquire at least one image of the crimping zone. A display device is configured to display the at least one acquired image.