Multistripe structured light sensor for determining the joint formed by small diameter intersecting tubing

Gary R. Bonser; Graham A. Parker

doi:10.1117/12.248570

21 August 1996 Multistripe structured light sensor for determining the joint formed by small diameter intersecting tubing

Gary R. Bonser, Graham A. Parker

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 2786, Vision Systems: Applications; (1996) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.248570
Event: Lasers, Optics, and Vision for Productivity in Manufacturing I, 1996, Besancon, France

Abstract

The robot application of arc welding relies upon the robots welding gun being kept in a known position relative to a workpieces joint to be welded. The use of sensor generated position and geometric information is critical if the robots nominal path is to be altered to compensate for the workpiece position and geometric variations. This paper describes a multistripe structured light sensor which establishes the saddle type joint formed by two small diameter intersecting tubes. The CCD based sensor derives geometric information which is transformed into an arc welding robots base coordinate system by using a calibration feature in the image. With a robot following a path based on the sensor generated positions each unique workpiece is successfully welded. The surface texture of the steel tubing and the curved surfaces involved mean that image enhancement and noise reduction methods are critical to the success of this method. The positional information extracted is accurate to +/- 0.1 mm, well within the welding process tolerance of approximately +/- 0.4 mm. Industrial collaboration has proven that the sensor can be integrated with an industrial robot and is capable of analyzing eight joints every 2 minutes from a PC host machine.

Citation Download Citation

Gary R. Bonser and Graham A. Parker "Multistripe structured light sensor for determining the joint formed by small diameter intersecting tubing", Proc. SPIE 2786, Vision Systems: Applications, (21 August 1996); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.248570

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