Laser Marking Image Validation to Prevent Over Marking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing laser marking techniques face issues with over marking and incorrect detection of materials, leading to defective products and material wastage, as they lack the ability to understand and validate the pattern on the material accurately.
Innovation Solution
A laser marking system that employs pre-inspection and post-inspection using machine learning techniques to modify coordinate data for precise marking and validate the marking process, preventing over marking and ensuring accuracy through automated image processing and threshold adjustments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional laser marking techniques are used without monitoring, then the marking process is simple and fast, but over marking occurs leading to defective materials and wastage
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary monitoring and analysis of the material surface before laser marking to detect existing patterns. By capturing images and comparing them with predefined patterns, the system identifies materials that already have markings, preventing over marking before it occurs. This preliminary inspection ensures that only suitable materials proceed to the marking process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring the material surface during the marking process. The monitoring unit captures images and compares them with the predefined pattern to determine if marking is complete and correct. This real-time feedback allows the system to adjust or stop the marking process to prevent over marking and defects.
2Reliability
If existing monitoring techniques are used to reject all materials with any marking, then over marking is prevented, but materials with partial valid patterns are incorrectly rejected
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of making a binary decision to reject or accept entire materials, the system applies local quality assessment by analyzing specific regions and patterns on the material surface. It compares the captured images with the predefined pattern to determine the degree of match, allowing partial patterns to be identified as valid. This enables selective marking of only the missing portions rather than rejecting the entire material.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of pattern matching from a binary threshold to a continuous similarity score. By computing how closely the existing marking matches the predefined pattern, the system can distinguish between irrelevant markings and partial valid patterns. This parameter change allows for more nuanced decision-making about which materials to mark and how to mark them.
3Ease of manufacture
If manual measuring and comparison is used to validate laser marking, then the validation process is simple, but it is complex, tedious, and inaccurate
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces manual mechanical measuring and comparison with an automated optical monitoring system. The monitoring unit captures images of the marked material and uses image processing to automatically compare the marking with the predefined pattern. This substitution eliminates the need for manual measurement while providing more precise and consistent validation results.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a digital copy (image) of the marked material surface and compares it with a digital copy of the predefined pattern. This copying approach allows for precise automated comparison without physical contact or manual measurement, improving both accuracy and efficiency of the validation process.
Data Source
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AI summary
Embodiments of present disclosure discloses system and method for performing laser marking. Initially, a first image of a region to be laser marked may be captured and compared with a predefined image of a predefined pattern to be laser marked on the region. By the comparison, a first score may be computed. The first score may indicate marking present in the region to be laser marked, in relation to the predefined image. Further, a co-ordinate data of a configuration file, relating to the predefined pattern, in the laser marking system may be modified based on the first score, for performing the laser marking on the region.