AMT

Core Technologies

Machine Vision Applications

AMT has experience in designing, integrating, and programming machine vision systems for the following tasks:

Vision Inspections. Simple applications where it is desirable to inspect a part for features, machining operations, paint or sealant, lettering, color, function or anything else which can be sensed with visible light or thermal cameras.
Robot Guidance, where the vision system is used to locate the part for the robot to pick it up or perform work upon it.
Robot mounted camera part inspection, for maximum flexibility and efficiency.
Fixed camera part inspection, where the robot picks up each part and holds it in front of the camera for inspection.
Identification: identifying a bar code, seven-segment display, meter, or written words
2-D Robot Guidance (Pick & Place, Palletizing)
3-D Robot Guidance (Auto Racking, Bin Picking)
Product Traceability
Gauging or tolerance measurements of a component part
Part present/not present
Alignment or determining the orientation and position of a part

Let our experience help you reduce cycle time, improve quality, meet production deadlines and offer innovative solutions to your automation needs. Robot guidance or inspection, our expertise can add value to your automation process. We have extensive research background in the physics of lighting & optics, lens selection, filtering and easy to use calibration methods.

Applications Examples

ABB Truview Vision Guided Rack Unload

When a rack is loaded into the cell, The PLC commands the robot to start its pickup routine for that rack. Each rack has several parts in it, so the robot starts at on side and searches for a part. The robot approaches the part and positions the camera for the vision system above the part and triggers the vision system. The camera takes a picture and the vision system determines if there is a part there, and in what (of 8) orientation the part is in. It then gives the robot the coordinates of the part allowing the robot to pick up the part. The robot then reorients and picks up the part. After the pickup is complete, the robot waits for the signal to allow it to drop onto the conveyor. Once the drop is complete, the robot will continue to unload the rack. The PLC monitors the position of the rack and once the robot is at the last part, that rack will be flagged for removal, and the robot will begin to unload the other rack.

Complications with this system were that the part could be in any of 8 orientations and be at virtually any angle and skew. The Vision software had to determine what orientation the part was in and then accurately determine the coordinates of the part so the robot could pick it up. The robot then had to calculate the correct path to take to get to the coordinates the vision system produced.

Available Videos ↓

Robotic 3D Bin Picking

Using hardware and software from Shafi and Cognex, this Motoman robot locates and places automotive parts randomly located in a plastic bin.

Available Videos ↓

Automotive Quarter Panel 3D Pick & Place

Using hardware and software from Shafi and Cognex, this ABB robot locates automotive quarter panels within a dunnage rack, compensates the pick position of the robotic gripper in three dimensions as it picks the parts, and places them on a loading fixture.

Available Videos ↓