Workpiece Posture Alignment Using Reference Image Overlay
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for installing workpieces in machining apparatuses, particularly those with uneven surfaces or large sizes, face challenges in accurately determining the posture, leading to attachment errors equivalent to or greater than the cutting margin, and require repeated use of measurement contact probes for correction.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a reference workpiece with adjusted posture, captured images, and superimposed reference lines to align and adjust the posture of subsequent workpieces using cameras and image processing, allowing for efficient alignment without direct contact probes, enabling precise adjustment and minimization of attachment errors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a measurement contact probe is used to obtain precise position and posture of workpiece, then measurement precision is improved, but productivity deteriorates due to repeated measurements and corrections
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a reference image capturing the precise posture of a reference workpiece with known correct positioning. This reference image serves as a template that can be repeatedly compared against measurement images of subsequent workpieces, eliminating the need for repeated contact probe measurements while maintaining high measurement precision through image-based posture determination.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary positioning of a reference workpiece and captures its correct posture in advance as a reference image. This preliminary action establishes a baseline for subsequent workpiece positioning, allowing operators to quickly compare and adjust later workpieces against the pre-established reference without repeating the entire measurement and correction process.
2Ease of operation
If a straight line connection method is used to estimate workpiece posture, then ease of operation is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to attachment errors on uneven surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical contact probe measurement system with an optical image-based measurement system. By capturing images of the workpiece and comparing them against a reference image, the system determines posture without physical contact, thereby avoiding the attachment errors that occur when probes contact uneven surfaces while maintaining ease of operation through visual comparison.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a reference image as an intermediary between the workpiece and the measurement process. Instead of directly measuring the workpiece posture with a probe, the system uses the reference image containing posture information as a mediator for comparison and determination, which eliminates the harmful contact with uneven surfaces while preserving operational simplicity.
3Productivity
If multiple workpieces require the same machining, then productivity should be improved, but time is lost due to repeated posture measurement and correction of each workpiece
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a reusable reference image from a single reference workpiece that captures the correct posture and positioning. This reference image can be copied and applied to multiple subsequent workpieces of the same type, allowing operators to quickly determine and adjust posture for each workpiece by comparison without repeating the full measurement and correction process, thereby significantly reducing time loss in batch machining operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs the time-consuming posture measurement and correction process only once for a reference workpiece to create the reference image. This preliminary action establishes a template that can be rapidly applied to multiple subsequent workpieces, transforming a repetitive time-consuming process into a single initial setup followed by efficient repeated comparisons, thus improving batch machining productivity while minimizing time loss.
Data Source
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AI summary
A workpiece installation method includes obtaining a reference image that shows a reference workpiece whose posture has been adjusted, setting workpiece reference lines on a boundary of a first image area occupied by the reference workpiece in the reference image, obtaining a measurement image that shows a workpiece, generating, using a processor, a measurement combined image in which workpiece reference lines are superimposed on the measurement image and which shows the workpiece reference lines pass through positions respectively identical to workpiece reference line positions, and adjusting a posture of the workpiece such that a boundary of a second image area occupied by the workpiece in the measurement combined image is shown to be substantially parallel to or substantially coincident with the workpiece reference lines.