Mechanical Gripper Positioning for Fish Portion Cutting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Automated poultry portion processing systems are hindered by the high cost and complexity of robotic cutting arms, which prevent widespread adoption despite offering efficient cutting plans tailored to individual portions.
Innovation Solution
A method utilizing a mechanical gripper to grip and arrange poultry portions relative to a cutting unit, allowing for complex cutting plans to be executed by a simpler cutting unit, with a control unit determining target weights based on mass distribution and order requirements, and incorporating inspection units like weighing, imaging, and scanning to ensure accurate cutting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a complex robot arm with water jet is used to trim poultry portions, then cutting precision and customization are improved, but device cost and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the cutting task into two independent components: a simple stationary cutting unit and a mechanical gripper that performs the complex positioning and orientation tasks. This segmentation allows the cutting unit to remain simple while the gripper handles the customization and precision requirements through programmable motion control.
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanical gripper acts as an intermediary between the control system and the simple cutting unit. It receives instructions from the control system, inspects the poultry portion characteristics, and positions the portion correctly relative to the cutting unit, enabling the simple cutter to achieve complex cutting patterns without requiring complex cutting mechanics.
2Device complexity
If a mechanical gripper is used to arrange poultry portions, then device cost is reduced, but the ability to execute complex cutting plans is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanical gripper is designed with dynamic positioning and orientation capabilities that allow it to adapt to different poultry portion shapes, sizes, and mass distributions. The gripper can adjust its grip position and rotate the portion to various orientations, enabling execution of diverse cutting plans using a relatively simple cutting unit.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameters of the poultry portion presentation to the cutter by using the mechanical gripper to adjust position, orientation, and angle. This allows a simple cutting unit with fixed cutting geometry to execute complex cutting plans by varying how the workpiece is presented to the cutter rather than making the cutter itself complex.
3Measurement precision
If inspection units are integrated into the processing system, then cutting accuracy is improved, but system complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanical gripper serves multiple functions: it grips the poultry portion, positions it, orients it, and also houses or coordinates with inspection units for mass distribution measurement. By combining these functions in a single component, the system achieves high measurement accuracy without proportionally increasing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The inspection units provide real-time feedback on poultry portion mass distribution to the control system, which then adjusts the mechanical gripper's positioning and orientation to optimize the cutting plan. This closed-loop feedback ensures high cutting accuracy based on actual portion characteristics while keeping the cutting unit itself simple.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of processing fish portions determines at a control unit a target weight of a cut fish portion; inspects a fish portion using an inspection unit to determine a mass distribution of said fish portion and providing said mass distribution to the control unit; calculates a cutting plan of the poultry fish portion based on the target weight and the mass distribution using the control unit; uses a mechanical gripper so as to grip the fish portion and arrange said poultry fish portion for execution of the cutting plan; and cuts the fish portion using a cutting unit in accordance with the cutting plan so as to produce a cut fish portion in accordance with the target weight. A system for processing fish portions is configured to perform the foregoing method, among others.