Image Registration Using Fiducials for Accurate Article Printing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automated manufacturing processes struggle with variations in product size, shape, and alignment, leading to misaligned and distorted printing on substrates, especially for three-dimensional objects with irregular shapes, and lack the capability to automatically identify and adjust graphics based on individual article conditions.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that generates a shape model from an article's image, using fiducials to align and adjust graphics accurately, accounting for size, shape, and orientation variations, and applies these models to automate the manufacturing process for articles like footwear and apparel, including printing systems that can recognize and adapt to individual article characteristics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If automated manufacturing processes are used, then productivity is improved, but adaptability deteriorates due to difficulty handling product variability
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts printing parameters based on real-time image analysis of each article. The shape model and fiducial marker system enable the automated printing system to adapt its positioning and alignment dynamically for each unique article geometry, maintaining both high productivity and adaptability to product variability
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes printing parameters (position, orientation, scale) based on detected article characteristics. By capturing images of each article and comparing them to shape models, the system automatically adjusts printing parameters to match the specific geometry of each article, enabling automated processing of varied products
2Adaptability or versatility
If manual processes are used to handle product variability, then adaptability is improved, but productivity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-alignment and self-positioning through automatic image capture and analysis. Each article is automatically imaged, compared to shape models to determine its specific geometry, and the printing system automatically adjusts accordingly without manual intervention, achieving both adaptability and high productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical alignment processes with an optical and computational system. Instead of workers physically positioning articles and manually adjusting printing equipment, the system uses image capture, shape model comparison, and automated control to achieve precise positioning, dramatically improving productivity while maintaining adaptability
3Manufacturing precision
If image registration is performed to improve printing precision, then manufacturing precision is improved, but measurement and detection difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces fiducial markers as intermediary reference elements on the articles. These markers serve as known reference points that simplify the image analysis process by providing easily detectable features for alignment and positioning, reducing the complexity of measuring and detecting article geometry while improving printing precision
Data Source
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AI summary
The application relates to a method for printing on article, comprising: generating an image of an article placed in a print bed and a fiducial disposed in the print bed; locating the fiducial in the image; using the fiducial to establish a point of reference relative to a graphic location on the article; providing a raster or vector graphic file comprising a graphic; printing a representation of the graphic on the article at the graphic location; and removing the article from the print bed.