Machine vision inspection of the hottest ceramic t

Machine vision inspection of ceramic tiles

great challenges brought by ceramic tiles

French ceric automation needs to implement a powerful and reliable solution to detect ceramic tiles for one of its customers. But in this process, the company has encountered many challenges: in view of the diversity of the appearance of ceramic tiles after calcination and the complexity of testing work, the only available solution is the machine vision system. The supplier who is qualified for this task is but Cognex

although ceramic tile has long been considered as a purely functional building material, it has also become an exterior decoration element in addition to cost factors. Manufacturers now need some creativity to meet customers' traditional or unique tastes at the same time. Nowadays, ceramic tiles have different sizes and shapes, rich materials and colorful colors. For ceramic tile manufacturers, it is not surprising to have more than 100 ceramic tiles with different colors and characteristics. It is in this case that sailike automation company is entrusted by its customers who produce ceramic tiles to deploy a material conveying system. Considering the complexity and diversity of products provided by the ceramic tile industry, sailike realized that it was by no means easy to complete this task

challenge: how to equip robots with the sharpest eyes

after two processes of casting and drying, ceramic tiles need to be calcined. The tiles before calcination are arranged disorderly on the conveyor belt, and the robot accurately places each tile on the next conveyor belt, and finally enters the furnace. When selecting tiles and placing them on the next conveyor belt, the robot cannot damage the tiles or remove them by mistake. Although these tiles are similar in shape, their colors and materials are different. Even if the shape is slightly different, it does not need to be removed. The solution that sailike came up with at the beginning was to rearrange these tiles by mechanical means. However, due to other reasons, such as the diversity of tile size, shape and material, this method is not feasible

vision system: the only real-time solution

considering the following technical limitations, such as dusty operating environment, poor lighting and the need to keep the error rejection rate at a very low level. In addition, each tile has different characteristics, so the vision system is the only feasible solution. So sailike began to look for companies that could provide this solution. The challenges encountered by sailike reflect the requirements of the visual system deployment: many inherent difficulties in the process, and most companies consulted by sailike cannot implement the task in real time, nor can they deal with the inherent risks of the task well. Only kangnaishi is qualified for this job. Cognex's plan is to deploy a vision system above the conveyor belt to detect the colored surface of tiles. After testing the solution, sailike decided to adopt the solution. For 10 months, the vision system has effectively controlled the material conveying system for customers

the vision system provided by Cognex consists of two FANUC robots and a Cognex in sight 5100. In sight 5100 is a powerful camera system, which conforms to IP67 standard. With the help of excellent positioning software patmax, in sight can solve the most difficult problems encountered in the current application process

ensure reliable identification even in difficult environments

patmax is a software with excellent performance, which can ensure that the in sight 5100 can accurately obtain the image of each ceramic tile even in a dim and dusty environment. Considering that the transmission interval of ceramic tiles is only 2 seconds, it is very impressive to achieve such results under such a challenging situation. Patmax ensures that the position of each tile can be accurately obtained and recorded. These details are transmitted to the robot through Ethernet. The robot uses this information to find each tile and place them on the next conveyor belt. The in sight 5100 can "remember" 80 different models, which means that when different models pass through the conveyor belt, there is no need for additional programming and interruption of the production process

St é phane Faivre duboz of Cognex France commented: "The challenge brought by this application scheme can be called one of the most complex challenges encountered in the process of deploying the vision system. How to effectively deal with the complex colors and materials, as we have encountered in the production of ceramic tiles, is a major problem faced by the vision industry. Because the in sight vision system has strong recognition and computing capabilities, and is long-lasting, flexible, and easy to operate, Cognex provides the solution The solution is very effective. "

thalick can now confidently introduce its vision guided robot solutions to customers in France and around the world. This is due to the strong support that Cognex can provide to customers all over the world. (end)