Panel Bender Profile Control via Visual Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional panel bender machines struggle to accurately control complex metal profiles with multiple successive bends, as existing methods are laborious, prone to errors, and unsuitable for real-time adjustment within the machine, especially for profiles with multiple segments and varying lengths.
Innovation Solution
A procedure utilizing a TV camera and graphical analysis software to superimpose the real profile acquired from the panel bender machine with the nominal profile from a CAD drawing, allowing a skilled operator to adjust bending parameters for precise control and alignment, enabling real-time correction of deviations during the bending process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional manual measurement methods are used to check the profile shape, then the measurement process is simple, but the measurement precision and reliability are poor due to laborious procedures and human error
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a TV camera to capture an optical copy (image) of the real metal profile, which is then displayed on a screen for comparison with the nominal profile. This optical copying method replaces manual measurement tools and provides precise visual measurement without physical contact with the workpiece.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical measurement methods with an optical-electronic system consisting of a TV camera, display screen, and graphical analysis software. This substitution eliminates human error in manual measurement while providing real-time visual feedback for profile verification.
2Manufacturing precision
If real-time profile control is implemented during the bending process, then the manufacturing precision improves, but the device complexity increases due to additional control systems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback control system where the TV camera captures the real profile during or after bending, displays it on a screen for comparison with the nominal profile, and allows operators to observe deviations. This visual feedback enables real-time adjustment of bending parameters to correct profile inaccuracies.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a display screen as an intermediary between the bending process and the operator. The screen visually presents the comparison between real and nominal profiles, serving as a mediator that translates complex measurement data into intuitive visual information for easy interpretation and control decisions.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple successive bends are performed to create complex profiles, then the adaptability of the panel bender increases, but the manufacturing precision deteriorates due to accumulation of bending errors
Solution Approach 1:
The visual feedback system allows operators to detect profile deviations after each bending operation in a sequence. By observing the real profile compared to the nominal profile on the display, operators can identify error accumulation early and adjust subsequent bending operations to compensate, maintaining precision even with multiple successive bends.
Data Source
AI summary
Described is a procedure for controlling the shape of a complex metal profile obtained by a successive series of a plurality of bends of a metal sheet on a panel bender machine equipped with a data processing and functions control unit for the machine comprising the entering in the processing unit of data relative to a drawing of the complex profile with physical coordinates, as well as data relative to the thickness of the metal sheet and the distance from the axis of the panel bender machine of the metal sheet-profile edge, and conversion of the drawing supplied with physical coordinates into a digital image with imaging coordinates. The nominal profile processed as above is shown on a suitable display superimposed on the image of the complex profile of the metal sheet acquired by a suitably positioned TV camera. A visual control the correspondence between the two superimposed profiles is then performed on the display. From this comparison it is possible to make corrections to the bending parameters of the panel bender machine.